I went into the debate expecting a meltdown of epic proportions for Sarah Palin. She has been unable to put together coherent sentences in interviews in the past weeks. One would naturally assume that this debate was going to be the equivalent of a goat heading to slaughter. If you watched the debate, you would know that it wasn’t the case. I once again viewed this year’s Vice-Presidential debates from Pace University’s Schimmel Theater in New York City where almost everyone was an Obama supporter.

I did miss the first 15 minutes of the debate due to an Indian club throwing an event with food. I love Indian food so I gave up the first 15 minutes of the debate for it. The topic appeared to be energy when I got to the theater. My first impression was how well Sarah was speaking. I had almost forgotten how well she spoke in her speech during the Republican Convention. The Sarah at this debate was more like the one who I thought had ended the Democrat’s chance at the White House this year.

As far as substance goes, there is really nothing new to report here. My views on the first Presidential debate apply here all the same. Both candidate’s ideas are ridiculous and not different from each other.

Biden did stress one point to be a fundamental difference between the two tickets: the Iraq War.

Unfortunately, Biden must not know the meaning of fundamental. I agree that we should withdraw from Iraq and end the wasteful war. However, that point alone is not a fundamental difference. Iraq is only one part of a much larger picture. That picture is the American Empire. We are in 130 countries–I can’t even name 130 different countries. When one of these candidates decide to talk about withdrawing all our troops from around the world, then they can call it a fundamental difference.

To make matter worse were their comments about Pakistan and Iran. I was displeased with what Obama and McCain had said in their debate and the same goes for Biden and Palin. Pakistan has had nukes for years and we’ve been giving them money in the tune of billions! Why is this suddenly a grave problem?

And in a spin-off of that topic, you would have thought that the citizens of Isreal would be voting for our President in November. What was the point of all that pandering to Isreal? Isreal has more nukes than any nation in the Middle East. They can defend themselves just fine. We are constantly coddling Isreal as if they are powerless. There are few countries in that part of the world that can match Isreal’s sophistication and military strength. If any country needs protecting, it is Iran.

In regards to the powers of the Vice President, both candidates need to more regularly read the Constitution. Biden referred to Article I of the Constitution and claims that it says the Vice President is part of the Executive branch. Of course, Article I does not say that but says that the Vice President is the President of the Senate and has no vote except when there is a tie. Clearly, that speaks of the Legislative branch and not the Executive. The VP in fact does have authority in the Congress since he or she is the President of the Senate. The VP would have no authority in the Executive. The best demonstration of the VP’s job functions is displayed in HBO’s recent John Adams mini-series.

When Washington was elected President, Adams was the runner up and became the Vice President. Adams in fact sat in the Congress bored out of his mind most of the time. He would advise the President from time to time as other members of the cabinet did. Otherwise, he could just as well has sat in the Senate and read the newspaper. I would have preferred if that was all Cheney did.

To believe that either Biden or Palin offered anything substantial, different, or meaningful is a reflection of how far we’ve strayed from the ideas of the Founding Fathers. I don’t want to constantly reiterate the same point but, both parties are the same! They will only make government bigger and take away more and more freedoms. The way that they do it might be a little different but, the end result is going to be the same. Big government has predictable consequences and it is never a good one.

The candidates also briefly talked about a topic that I have a strong opinion on: global warming or “climate change”. For some reason, we have changed the term describing this “crisis” from global warming to climate change. It might have something to do with the fact that the Earth is not warming–just a hunch. To claim that the climate is changing is absurd. When is the Earth’s climate not changing? I can write pages about the ridiculous government policies on climate change but, I will spare you from it. You can read what I’ve written in the past.

So who won the debate? Putting aside my dislike for both parties and both tickets, I would say that Sarah Palin came out the victor. I expected her to trip all over herself. She didn’t. She was charismatic–more so than Biden or Obama. She smiled often. She spoke in the vernacular. She looked confident–except for a few times where she seemed nervous.

While people in the big cities aren’t as likely to be wooed by Palin’s seemingly common-folk ways, I am still inclined to believe that the vast majority of Americans will be. She just feels warmer and less like a politician.

An example that demonstrates this point is when the candidates discussed how they were really just like you and me. Sarah talked about her kids–one going to war, one with a disability, and those going to college. She talked about paying bills, etc. Biden had his own story of hardship and how he is better off now. The big difference here is when they talked about sitting at the kitchen table to figure out the finances.

This is where Biden is so clearly a politician. He claims the American people are looking for help. I’m sorry, but I don’t want any government handouts and neither do the majority of the American people. We are hard working and self sufficient people. In order for government to “help” anyone, it has to steal from someone else and I do not support thievery. The only form of “help” I want from government is for them to stay the hell away–the further away the better. I am convinced that most people are still willing to make an honest living and Biden’s suggestion is an insult. 

In the study of marketing, the product is only one factor in a successful campaign. Sarah Palin can be the least qualified person to be a heartbeat from sitting behind the Resolute Desk but, if the rest of pieces are sound, she just might end up in that position.

The best case scenario is if the American people rise up and vote third party. The Republocrats are still on track to take us into the smoldering depths of hell. There are four other candidates in the running: Barr, Baldwin, McKinney, and Nader. Pick one of them.

The first of 4 Presidential debates took place today and I watched most of it at Pace University in New York City. It was a very pro-Obama crowd as one would expect at a university in New York. I am against both of these parties because neither of them are speaking any sense and that was on display at the debate. I may have been the only person in support of a third-party candidate at the event.

The two candidates argued over a variety of issues including the economy and foreign policy. Neither of them would say whether they were in support of the $700 billion bailout. They just danced around the question when all they needed to say was yes or no. The majority of Americans are against this bailout bill and obviously neither of these candidates have the balls to take a stance knowing that the bill is unpopular and if they do nothing the economy will collapse. The economy will collapse whether this bill gets passed or not but, it is a lot harder to spin the collapse if they take a concrete position. I appreciated the moderator’s attempts to get the candidates to provide a solid answer but it was to no avail–in the end, McCain gave a half-hearted “sure”.

While some people may say that there is a real difference between these two candidates, this debate clearly demonstrated that there is not. McCain started talking about earmarks and pork barrel spending that–according to Obama–totaled $21 billion dollars. Clearly that is chump change with the Iraq War and all these bailouts and welfare programs. McCain then accused Obama of some million dollar earmarks for things of no matter while Obama dissected McCain’s tax cuts for the rich.

On the surface that might seem like a difference but, it is not. Neither candidate is willing to actually cut any spending. McCain proposed a spending freeze except for the war, veterans benefits, and welfare programs. My question it, exactly what spending are you freezing? The two biggest parts of our budget is the war and welfare programs. A spending freeze on useless things is not going to make a difference. Obama, instead of asking McCain the question I would have, argued against a spending freeze and basically danced around the idea of changing his plans to account for this $700 billion bailout if it passes.

Yea, they are so different. They both want to ensure that we continue spending ourselves into oblivion and maintain troops in 130 countries. Totally different candidates for sure.

On the foreign policy front, both candidates agreed that Russia was the aggressor and evildoer in the conflict against Georgia. I’ve written about that topic and clearly showed that the real story is that Georgia attacked two independent territories with a lot of Russian citizens and Russia merely protected its own people. McCain even told a story where he said he was in that area and saw a poster with Putin’s picture and a caption that read, “He is our President”. Yea, that is correct. The people living in that area associate themselves with Russia and not Georgia. Georgia attacked innocent people and Russia was just protecting them. Granted, Russia should not have invaded Georgia but, by no means is Georgia innocent.

The debate over war in the middle east was also nonsensical. Somehow we are soon going to attack Pakistan and Iran for no reason at all. Both candidates are willing to extend war into any and every country in the region. It is on this issue that I agree with Obama the most. We should leave Iraq and we certainly should never have gone in. However, I would take our troops out of every country and neither candidate is willing to consider that.

And of course, both candidates are trying to show how the American people are in support of their view on the war. Apparently, both candidates have a bracelet with a deceased soldier’s name on it. I don’t want to belittle the duty of our armed forces but, it was of some hilarity to see that both candidates had this same card under their sleeves and used it at the same time. Different? Looks the same to me.

All in all, the debate was a big waste of time. These candidates are not different. They are going to continue on the same course we are on now. There is no change and there is no maverick. And if you didn’t know–and a lot of people apparently do not–there are four other candidates in the running: Barr, Baldwin, McKinney, and Nader. You might want to consider a second choice because McCain and Obama is really the same choice.