Palin gets chance to overcome doubts in VP debate

Thursday 02nd October, 06:00 AM JST

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USARonin at 10:18 PM JST - 2nd October

Nessie, no Clinton was never a moron for sure.

As for Palin bein' a "moron", you've just insulted nearly all of America so your critique isn't goin' to go very far.

If you want to play "moron", Google "Biden gaffes".

Good stuff. Bring Guinness.
SezWho2 at 10:43 PM JST - 2nd October

USARonin,

I already explained why the statistics are incomparable.

First you are comparing an individual to a group and the group is not even running for the office in question. Comparable statistics between Biden and Palin do not show Palin in a favorable light.

Add to that the unknown provenance of your statistics. What is your source? Are you giving statistics that say that 85% of Americans don't believe Congresspeople have the right qualifications or are you giving statistics which show that 85% of Americans aren't satisfied with the job Congress is doing?

My daughter is qualified to make A's in school but sh
SezWho2 at 10:45 PM JST - 2nd October

Oops. New computer keyboard.

As I was saying, my daughter could make A's in school. However, she prioritizes her friendships and gets lesser results. She's qualified, but I'm not particularly satisfied.
USARonin at 10:57 PM JST - 2nd October

Sez, and I'm invalidatin' your original premise that the folks who comprise your statistics are overwhelmingly nullified by the statistics in my group. You are tryin' to proceed from a logical fallacy.

If you don't believe me and feel like it, you can Google the American public's satisfaction with Bush and the Democratic Congress. The liberal Democratic Congress rating is less than half that of Bush's. Bush's is around 30-something and Congress is around 15.

You say your daughter is qualified to make A's in school. That's what every school counselor has told a dejected parent since time immemorial. I wish her well.
SezWho2 at 10:59 PM JST - 2nd October

smithinjapan,

Palin is a Governor of a US state and she has a good approval rating in her state. She has had prior experience as a city mayor. She comes to the position with administrative experience that Biden does not have--nor any of the other candidates either.

As I said before, I do not think she has the intellectual and experiential qualifications to be Vice-President. However, this debate is not about that. This debate is about convincing the American public that she has the capability to be the veep.

Biden may try to make it about experience, but Palin seems to have been able to confront this kind of challenge before in debates for the Alaska governorship. She has the advantage of format. And her eye-candy appeal will not hurt her either, especially when subdued into a severe presentation. And if Palin knows anything, she knows how to make a presentation.

Biden is exponentially more qualified but he lacks appeal in the popular imagination. I think the debate is Palin's to lose.
SezWho2 at 11:10 PM JST - 2nd October

USARonin,

I've explained your logical fallacy. Now, if you can, please explain mine.

I don't say that "the folks who comprise [my] statistics are overwhelmingly nullifed by the statistics in [your] group". At first blush that sounds backward. I'm claiming that my statistics are appropriate and that yours are not. So, if anything, I would think the claim would be that my statistics nullify yours. On closer look, I find that I don't really have any idea what your statement means--folks nullified by statistics? How does that work?

Furthermore, it is now very clear that you are comparing answers to "do you think that X is qualified for the office of Y?" with answers to "are you satisfied with A's performance?" Ability to do a job is not the same thing as actually doing it. And assessment of ability to do a job is not comparable to satisfaction with the job done.
USARonin at 11:24 PM JST - 2nd October

Sez, it's not so complicated.

You're sayin' that Group A makes an assessment of B.

I'm sayin' another Group Double-A states that group A is so disrespected by Group Double-A that Group A is not qualified to make an assessment of B.

Your original premise that Group A is quaified to assess B is a logical fallacy.

It is clearly not.

You must start from the beginning.
zurcronium at 01:20 AM JST - 3rd October

Congress is half republican, if there were more democrats the rating would be much, much higher. Not that it matters.

bush is now polling at 23 percent approval. Lowest every recorded. He is just one person, one total loser. Not 535 members.

The endless repeating by the repubs of congress ratings are worthless. 97% ger relected so the numbers on the congress as a whole are stupid to discuss. But that does not stop the wingers from making up stuff to try and spin the bush failures and the collapse of the repub party.

Landslide in one month, get ready all you losers.
adaydream at 05:20 AM JST - 3rd October

Is Sarah Palin the very best the the republicans could get to enlist as the candidate for vice president? I think that there are serious doubts as to her qualifications. Or should I rephrase it, there are many more people I'm sure more qualified that wouild have been McCain's running mate.

Is she the best qualified for the job?

Can't wait to hear her answers to tonight's questions. < :-)
Sarge at 06:57 AM JST - 3rd October

zurcronium - "Landslide in one month"

I dunno... I think Obama's going to make a respectable showing.
SezWho2 at 08:54 AM JST - 3rd October

USARonin,

I do not have any premise that "Group A is qualified to assess B". I have merely observed that "Group A has assessed B". In addition to your fallacy in comparing apples to oranges, you can add error in identifying the oranges.

This whole discussion arose because Sarge claimed that "there [was] no question that [I was] wrong" in claiming that there was no question that Palin was durrently unqualified for the job. I introduced the statistics to show that a good many people, in fact a majority, also do not believe she is qualified. So there is at least some question whether I am wrong.

Now, if you mean that because some people believe that Palin is qualified there is at least a question that she is qualified, that would be a good point. That would have been a very easy point to make. However, neither Sarge nor you have bothered to make it.

Furthermore, I am speaking for myself, expressing my opinion. It would have been an easy point to make that a more accurate statement from me would have been that "I have no question that Palin is currently unqualified". That would would have been a good point. Again, however, neither you nor Sarge bothered to make it.

In neither case, however, would those points have changed the fact that only 25% of Americans believe now that Palin is qualified for the office. Nor would they have changed the fact that I, yours truly, believe she is unquestionably not now qualified. Your introduction of the public's approval rate of Congress and your attempt to compare public confidence in Palin with public approval of Congress is an inappropriate comparison which (a) compares public ratings of an individual with public ratings of a group, (b) ignores the more direct comparison between Palin and Biden and (c) distracts from the issue.
WilliB at 01:38 PM JST - 6th October

daydream

" e I'm sure more qualified that wouild have been McCain's running mate. "

It is interesting to see how coordinated the talking points are. First, it was all about here disabled kid, then about her pregnant daughter. That didn´t stick, so now the new slogan is "experience". That seems to get some traction, so MSNBC and the parrotting crowd sticks with that.

An interesting talking point though, considering that she is a) only runnning for VP and b) is more experienced than the no. 1 guy on the democrat ticket.

But whatever sticks, right?
SezWho2 at 07:52 AM JST - 7th October

WilliB,

One thing Palin is not is "more experienced than Obama". While it is true that she has 1 more year of official public service (maybe 2 if you count her energy commission service), she has less experience of state service and no experience of national service.
Nessie at 08:07 AM JST - 7th October

One thing Palin is not is "more experienced than Obama". While it is true that she has 1 more year of official public service (maybe 2 if you count her energy commission service), she has less experience of state service and no experience of national service.

Aren't you forgetting her PTA-level experience?
SezWho2 at 09:32 PM JST - 8th October

Nessie,

Yes. My bad. At this late date I would try to balance with some mumbling about community organizing.