Is a title without a body really a title? Ponder that.
That's a violation of municipal code 305.2(b), heebie. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ticket you for 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies.
Why does it always have to be about what you want, Heebie?
pre-debate comment. I met this older guy on the T today who was a wingnut from Virginia with his younger business associate. He was kind of goofy, and was being gallant about protecting a college age student with her model.
Her friend was talking about h how polite Canadians would be if they bumped into you, and I asked where?
"Edmonton, Alberta," said the friend. I said, "because I'd be surprised if that were the case in Toronto. Toronto used to be like that, but not now. Ottowa maybe."
"No," said the friend, "Toronto's more like Boston."
Older dude says, "I like Ottowa better. Quebec city is cool."
Me: "I don't know Quebec city, but I like Montreal."
Friend, "Vancouver's pretty cool."
Older dude: "They have good apples, but the people there are flaky."
Me: "I don't really like west coast apples. California ones aren't great. NY state ones are delicious."
Older dude: "Have you never had a Virginia apple..."
Me: "I probably have. I lived in DC for a year and a half."
Older Dude: "My sympathies."
Me: "Oh, I liked it."
Older Dude: "DC used to be all right, back when Wilbur Mills was running around with Fanne Fox. See, you've got to know your history. You've got to know which politicians were running around with which strippers."
Blah, blah
I mentioned something about a Boston lawyer I knew who was active on the committee that got Reagan to run in 76 and 80 and was offered the job of solicitor general, though I didn't mention the last part.
Young associate (who's 28 but looks 19): "I gather, you're politically involved."
Me: "Well somewhat, but I'm a Democrat now."
Young Associate: "So, you're voting for Obama. WHY?"
Girl with model and her friend both say, "You do realize that this is Boston."
Older Dude: "Oh Obama is all namby pamby, change, change."
Two other bystanders start laughing.
Me: "I don't really expect a lot of change. I'm just against McCain."
BLAH BLAH.
Me: "Well, I'm kind of converned about foreign policy, and I think that McCain would be more likely to go to war with Iran.
Older Dude (who had previously explained that he worked in financial services) says, "I used to work in defense-related industries [names various companies], and we have to bomb Iran."
Then they came to their stop.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to ticket you for 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies.
I'm betting you won't show up to the kitchen to contest it.
Why does it always have to be about what you want, Heebie?
It's one of my favorite private interest groups to pander to.
I'm extremely lazy and hate television. So can someone tell me when the debate starts? In 10 minutes, or 1:10?
Her friend was talking about h how polite Canadians would be if they bumped into you, and I asked where?
Definitely true of Ottawa: if you bump into someone, that person will say "Oh, sorry." Also true of Toronto, more or less. I really notice it now, with my point of comparison being NYC.
However, New Yorkers, while not exactly polite, are not at all the hostile and indifferent beings that they are often made out to be. I've witnesses scenes on the subway where someone is lost, and all kinds of people chime in with advice, and if anything, there's an excess of assistance.
8: The explanation I've heard is that New Yorkers spend so much time in close proximity to strangers that their conventions have evolved to suit, and they don't waste time with lots of formalities because the amount appropriate in a small town would be exhausting in NYC. Similarly, they have a lower tolerance for breaking norms and will be more vocal about chiding offenders.
That's 8:00 central, you coastal elitist.
8: I didn't find people in Toronto as polite as I expected them to be. J's family seemed to think that Toronto was more polite when it was a smaller place and Montreal was where you went to have fun, but now that Toronto is more cosmopolitan, it's less scrupulously polite.
English people always say sorry -even in London, middle-class people do. In Toronto I was stomped on by a couple of people, and nobody other than me said "Sorry."
Chicago's the politest city I've ever visited in the States, and Istanbul's easily the friendliest city in the world.
12: Not an uncommon development cross-culturally.
Me: "I don't really like west coast apples. California ones aren't great."
After saying this, you whipped out your crack pipe, right?
13: Central time is the bestest time.
20: One might consider that someone living on, say, the east coast might not have access to the full goodness of west coast apples, and vice versa.
Ain't no apple like a west coast apple, 'cause a west coast apple don't stop.
I'll never be able to enjoy the strawberries in the mid-Atlantic now that I've had ones from the pacific southwest. It's a sad state of affairs, but there it is.
My son travelling through Chicgo said that both black and white people were friendly, but white people warned him about black people. Much less standoffish than coastal cities, though.
Motown apples back again. Doing a little east coast swing. Green to red, what's going down? Not too hard, not too soft.
Which Biden will show up, Good Joe or Gaffe Joe?
http://www.236.com/news/2008/09/24/if_they_imd_good_joe_biden_and_1_9110.php
20: One might consider that someone living on, say, the east coast might not have access to the full goodness of west coast apples, and vice versa.
That's why I snipped the part praising New York apples. I have no experience with them and didn't want to suggest that one would have to be the proverbial smoker of crack to find them fabulously great.
Are there really proverbs about smoking crack?
"Crackwhore at night, sailor's delight".
Food in the PNW is basically great. Sorry to ruin your local strawberries for you, parsi. Washington apples are every bit as good as New York apples; my opinion on this has nothing to do with the fact that my wife's cousin's family are organic apple tycoons up there.
I recommended a particular variety of apple to oudemia a while ago, but it has been overtaken in my affections by Ashmead's Kernel. Yum yum.
32: I know it is. You just don't want to become overly enamored of a region's food, such that that of another region becomes unpalatable. That's .. a little self-defeating.
Does anyone have a URL for watching this train wreck online?
So, this is going to be a cringe-fest, isn't it? What with Palin relying on broad generalities when she can't come up with detail, and Biden trying to rein himself in so he doesn't commit another of his trademark gaffes...
Okay, here we go.
"Can I call you Joe?" ought to defuse the first name scandal.
Worst economic policies we've ever had? Is that true? A lot of bad stuff happened in the nineteenth century.
OK, here we go. Palin's first pivot from "what do you think about the bailout" to "soccer moms on the economy!"
The barometer is going to be resounding.
McCain brought people together to help deal with the crisis? Did he really?
Obsessive politics aside? Sweet. Thanks John McCain!
the fundamental is the workforce!
Joe Sixpack, hockey moms, never again. Trifecta!
What the hell is a "team of mavericks"? That sounds like a problem teamwork-wise.
Personal responsibility will save us all!
I don't know how long I can take this, but just to start: why is she not quite making eye contact with the camera? It's freaking me out. It's like I'm looking at her through a 1-way mirror, and so she's looking towards me, but not at me. Freaky.
I'm kind of let down she didn't blame the CRA. Wimp.
Drinking on "darn right" is going to be bad idea, isn't it?
Boy, we've really got some dog whistles here.
"darn right!"
OK, that did it. I can't possibly stand it.
41: Yeah, being crucified on a cross of gold must have sucked.
Come on, Biden, hit the McCain tax on health care from employers issue.
Her hair bang that keeps moving every time she blinks is distracting.
66 was only so egregiously pwned because I first turned off the TV and went across the hall to where the computer is.
I might not answer the questions you're asking, but it's because I'm a mavrick! Just like John McCain!
Wow.
She just declared, "I'm not going to answer the questions, I'm going to say whatever I want."
The cost of pwning people is not sitting in front of the TV.
Biden's eyes look weird. Like he got a crooked face lift or something.
Joe Biden's smile kind of creeps me out.
Boy, she sure does have a heckuva sparkly flag pin, darn right.
I've no fucking idea why I stayed up to watch this totally irrelevant sideshow in an election I can't even vote in, but I just wanted to mention that West Coast crack is much better than East Coast crack, although neither of them can hold a candle to the really wonderful artisanal meth labs around Austin.
Patriotic is saying, government, you're the problem. Sweet. Super-patriotic is what, blowing up federal buildings?
Erase those artificial lines between states! They're so ugly when you're flying over the borders.
Yay! Biden is doing what I asked in #68.
Yes! I was hoping he'd mention the $12K figure.
I'm really enjoying getting my debate coverage from you people.
The funny thing is that, with anyone but Palin, I might suspect that I'd be missing content and/or context. Instead, I'm pretty sure comments like 71 and 83 are verbatim.
Bridge to Nowhere got a titter out of the audience.
Argh! Gwen just asked Jim's horrible little"What won't you be able to afford,given the financial crisis" question. Break free from the Texan homunculus, Gwen!
Biden's on his best behavior. I'm not sure if I like that. C'mon Joe, check that hockey mom against the boards!
Oh really...she told them...."nooo..uh...noo.."
that's tough.
93- Good response to doge it, though- "We won't be able to give corporations the tax cuts John McCain wants to give."
Bless their hearts? Jesus fucking Christ.
"... in my own area of expertise, and that's energy".
Biden's wiping the stage with her. Go, Joe.
Wow, tie her to the bankruptcy bill! Cool!
I know I'm in a minority here (a minority of one, probably), but: I don't think she's stupid.
"I won't go back on my promises, because I haven't promised anything, biyotch!"
See, the part of the exchange that I found remarkable was that he was vocally advocating for a war with Iran.
We need to be appreciative of John McCain?
"Rear that head of abuse"?
Gah, fuck me.
I have no idea who's winning. Most people don't care whether Palin answers the actual question as long as she remains coposed and cute.
Am I the only one who thinks Palin is the female form of GWB?
"rear that head of abuse"! She has a thing about rearing heads, doesn't she?
"On main st, affecting wall st."
Hold it- take that last one, reverse it, put it back.
putting politics aside, even putting the campaign aside...
Awesome. Remind me of another McCain fuck-up!
"Rear that head of abuse!"
Ouch. It hurts to hear her stammer out these muddled metaphors.
She doesn't seem dumb to me, just really small-towny. (I lived a long time in a small town, I would know.) And she sounds like she's from Wisconsin.
106:Who said stupid? But she sounds nervous and underprepared. Biden's clear and coherent.
god, they're really both of them much worse than their respective President candidates aren't they?
By the way, *watch the crawler*. If your channel doesn't have the worm, switch to one which does. So far, Biden is winning this one on the crawler; I have not seen the "notch of death" (the sudden drop as soon as someone starts talking) yet like I did with McCain, but Biden regularly gets both lines up into the top quartile and Palin hardly ever does.
Joe Biden was weak when the bankruptcy stuff came up. Chapter 7 and 13...it's complicated. Well, it's in no small part his fault.
Am I the only one who thinks Palin is the female form of GWB?
No.
That last answer was her first real descent into word salad. Let's see if we get more!
Joe just needs to run out the clock. He just needs to not lose, not draw attention away from Obama. He's doiing fine.
111: Yeah, nothing yet colorful to anyone except for maybe bloggers.
I heard she was the expert on this!!
"I'm not one to attribute every activity of man to the changes in the climate" -- what? The causality of that is all back-asswards.
This is boring. I want blood on the floor.
by the way, this financial crisis has now ticked approximately three days into being actually irritating. I can stand doing 18 hour days for an indefinite period, and have in the past, but not when every single minute of those days is so bloody emotionally intense. I suspect that serious mistakes are being made all over the market from simple fatigue and tetchiness.
117: Yeah, she's small-towny. Not cosmopolitan, not well-educated. But she's not at all stupid. And no way is Biden wiping the stage. He seems tense, impatient.
So the new climate-change-denial line is: "humans are only partly to blame!"
"I'm not one to argue that every action of man is due to climate change." Heh.
She just said "I'm not one to attribute every activity of man to the change in the climate" again. She must have memorized the line and gotten it wrong to have made the same blunder exactly the same like that twice.
"Other countries that don't care about the climate as much as we do." OK, not false, but there are other countries that care a lot more as well.
She's losing it- she had packaged answers for the first half hour, but now she's rambling in her talking points.
Who has the instant reaction crawler? I've checked a bunch...
On dsquared's advice, I switched over to CNN. Apparently, uncommitted male voters in Ohio don't believe climate change is man-made.
What's this crawler thing dsquared is talking about?
138: Site is clogging up.
I think Joe is doing better about wonkish stuff than Obama was, but he's not as compelling a speaker.
"Drill baby drill"?! I think Palin is trying to do a Greatest Hits medley.
I want to see that global warming answer of Palin's side by side with what she told Couric. I think it was verbatim.
I don't want to be distracted from mocking moose-massacre Barbie, but 129 is right on the money.
And no way is Biden wiping the stage.
Totally disagree.
And if we rape the continental shelf, they'll have to pay for their own rape kit!
129: According to my theory of finance, your job is to leap on the people making mistakes and tear them to pieces.
"The chant is: 'drill, baby, drill!'", she says proudly. Wow.
"Clean, green natural gas"? The hell?
Who is she talking to?
I didn't say that. Can't she turn and talk to Biden. It's creepy.
129: Shall we try and get an argument going for you? Nothing like it for releasing pent up irritation.
By the way, Budweiser sucks, because it's inauthentic.
oooh interesting. big, noticeable notch up in Biden's CNN crawler as the camera cut to a shot that included Palin smirking. Do you know what, I don't think people like that woman as much as she thinks people do?
I am so upset I want to bake challah again so that I can punch down dough.
I fucking don't want to hear more about Alaska! Answer the fucking question! On the other hand, fail spectacularly so that you don't benefit from the soft bigotry of low expectations.
The little dance when she said "drill baby drill" and the eye-pop when she said "clean GREEN natural gas" were creepy.
Yay, no hesitation on the gay-marriage question. Nice and forceful, Joe.
Hm, Palin really is equivocating on gay rights issues. Sign of the times!
Isn't "granting same-sex benefits to couples" kind of a weird phrasing? What kind of benefits can my wife and I expect?
149: fuck off, I'm currently sitting on a nice little profit, which might or might not be wiped out overnight, depending on a set of complicated negotiations which I have no insight into, no analytic edge on, and certainly should not have put any money into, long or short, except I was tired and tetchy and suddenly got a rush of testosterone.
Oh, damn. "Do not support gay marriage". There goes the forthrightness points, Joe.
160: Birth control no longer necessary?
Ramble ramble ramble ramble ramble...
crawler sez nobody gives a fuck about Iraq.
157: Yeah, except for his subsequent declaration of non-support for gay marriage. Damn it, Joe.
Palin's not doing all that bad. Better than I had expected.
129 is true. Sorry, dsquared. I hope it gets better for ya soon, but people really do keep wanting explanations of why that latest explosion happened.
I've been impressed with Biden thus far. He doesn't claim her technically true points are lies, he puts them into context quickly to show their irrelevance, then moves quickly to his own points. And he's remaining really nicely focused, which is coming across especially strongly given the contrast with Palin's blatant answers to the questions she wanted instead of the questions she's asked.
I'm just encouraged that the CNN ticker shows the independent voters are also getting fed up with her constant dodging.
White flag of surrender? I guess she didn't have a canned answer ready so she said the first thing that popped in her head.
ooh! worm says that undecided Ohio women are really rather keen on getting TFO of Iraq.
Palin got Biden on gay marriage. If the Democrats actually supported gay marriage, that wouldn't have been a gotcha, of course.
What is this crawler?
130: I agree with Mary Catherine. Palin is hanging tough with Biden (so far), which is a win for her.
ugh 169.
Only if we came in expecting absolute abject failure on every single point, every single question.
I think Biden was trying make everyone happy by implying "I support gay marriage, I just don't insist that religious people call it 'marriage'" to supporters of gay marriage, and "I do not support gay marriage" to those who oppose it. I doubt anyone was satisfied with that answer, though.
We'll leave Iraq when our commanders on the ground tell us we can. Nice maintaining the principle of civilian control of the military, Palin.
I love the dials on CNN! Women love this right now! So do men!
That Biden bit on McCain and history was cutting. Nice job, Joe.
that flat line on the crawler is the sound of nobody giving a fuck about Iraq, btw. Sorry and all that but they don't.
That Biden bit on McCain and history was cutting. Nice job, Joe.
Props to the leader of Al-Quaeda in Iraq!
NOTCH OF DEATH! Notch of death just spotted as Palin started talking about Al Qaeda! that's the second sign of a dead candidature (the first sign is Yglesias saying "well, I thought that was probably a draw").
Turning off. If there's anything significant, it'll be a 10-second-max gaffe, and the rest is too anodyne to watch.
My own opinion is that nuclear Iran and unstable Pakistan are each more serious threat than the other. I also think that the very serious question of a second Holocaust should be discussed calmly and rationally, without soundbites, sloganeering and gotchas.
Oh what an ally we have in Israel.
"Henry Kissinger shared with me his passion... for diplomacy!"
IEM prices are nothing to flat btw; they moved c2pp during the Obama/McCain debate, but with DEM_WTA already at 70.5%, I don't think it really had any higher to go.
"Yer friends and your allies ready to back-ye-up there!"
"Kissenger just shared with me his passion for diplomacy and that's what John McCain and I would engage in."
Glad to know (a) that Kissenger is a sharing kind of guy and (b) that McCain's not categorically ruling out diplomacy.
190: Yep. I'd love more direct discussion between the two candidates.
That Biden bit on McCain and history was cutting. Nice job, Joe.
Israel a "peace-seeking nation"? Hrmmm....
"avoid another holocaust." Get Lieberman up there stat.
I got freaked out for a second that you guys had commented on things before they were said, but then I remembered that I had paused the TV for a bit.
(Pac NW apples are fucking fabulous. Ain't none better.)
I tuned in when they were talking about gay marriage, and I'm sorry to say that Palin actually seems coherent. Did I miss anything really hilarious on her part?
I had a good conversation with a war criminal! (And you know what he told me? Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Whatever that means.)
The smile has slowly been vanishing from her face.
Oh, don't refer to yourself in the third person, Joe.
(Pac NW apples are fucking fabulous. Ain't none better.)
I tuned in when they were talking about gay marriage, and I'm sorry to say that Palin actually seems coherent. Did I miss anything really hilarious on her part?
(Pac NW apples are fucking fabulous. Ain't none better.)
I tuned in when they were talking about gay marriage, and I'm sorry to say that Palin actually seems coherent. Did I miss anything really hilarious on her part?
"I would not have joined this ticket were I not absolutely sure that Barack Obama shared my passion." Gee, Joe, maybe you should reconsider that stance on gay marriage?
Goddamit. I thought that one good thing about this election, no matter the result, was that I would not longer have to listen the someone in the executive branch saying "nukular."
I wish Ifill would ask Palin about the seven-headed dragon rising from the sea.
I agree with 197...Palin loves to use the second person, but then address to the camera. Maybe the mod could step in, like in the presidential debate.
Biden crawling badly (arguably a NoD there), Palin crawling well on MidEast - who'd have thought that Likud-nutterism was so popular with undecideds in Ohio?
I'm pleased to see that Ohio doesn't seem to give a crap about Israel, either.
Every damn answer- "No, we are right, but let me talk about this other topic instead."
Palin's audience is not us.
Yep. Which is why I suspect she's doing rather well. The dramatically lowered expectations going into the debate can only help her.
We can't play the "blame game" with the Bush administration? Watch me.
"Shared with me his passion"? Who's that a dogwhistle to?
There have been huge blenders in the war? Oh, blunders. She almost picked up a large segment of the white vote.
That was the equivalent of the "you were wrong" moment.
211, 212: dsquared and I read the crawler differently.
"Nukular weapons would be the be-all and end-all of too many people in too many parts of our planet"? What does that mean?
Nucular weapons are the be all end all of too many people on the planet? Whuhuh?
Biden's hammering his points home very well. It's too bad Palin's somehow learned how to string together a half-coherent thought in the last 48 hours. Do you think maybe she's on something?
smirk/notch combination observed again - people really don't like Palin when she does that smile ...
IEM still flat. this debate has achieved nothing.
I'd say that Palin has learned her lessons well and performed adequately.
Per what Dsquared said above, while Palin is an archetypal honky, as am I, a lot of Americans, and even a lot of honkies, don't like archetypal honkies. She might get on peoples' nerves.
Nucular *wince* nucular *wince* nucular.....it's overwhelming.
Did not buy enough beer....
225: Palin does well if she doesn't have to face a followup.
"No one has been a better friend of Israel than Joe Biden."
Good line. He should've followed up on it.
"That night Israel broke up with his girlfriend and drank that entire fifth of rum at the party, who took his keys and helped clean up the bathroom after he puked? Joe Biden."
"When Israel needed a job back in high school so he could afford his car insurance, who asked his manager at the Gap and put in a good word to get the guy hired for the summer? Joe Biden."
"When Israel went after that really cute girl who went to CalTech at the party last week, who bought three rounds of drinks for her two friends and kept them playing pool for two hours? Joe Biden."
I gotta say, based on the crawler, ladies love Joe Biden.
I'm afraid D2's right that this debate isn't doing a goddamn thing one way or the other. Not even ay hilarious lines from Palin. Poop.
I am delighted that this debate isn't going to do a goddam thing.
I don't think Palin sounds particularly coherent. Her gay marriage answer was rambling.
229's right. Basically she's being asked to talk about what the McCain administration would do, which she's drilled; she isn't being asked to actually explain anything or to show nuance, really. And with no followups, she can't be pressed for specifics.
When do you have a stomach for genocide?
229: Exactly. It's kind of painful how obviously her answers are canned, given that she never actually answers the question precisely or provides a reply to the previous statement. She instead says something that flows well and addresses a tangential point that would definitely come up in the debate. The CNN ticker really seems to suggest that the "average" independents are on to her, since her answers are barely moving it into the positive anymore.
Well, she is rambling, but she's not rambling in an especially hilarious way. She sounds vague, but not blithering.
"Oh, it's so obvious that I'm a Washington outsider." With that aw shucks accent. Puke.
People are so close minded about genocide and holocausts. It makes rational discussion impossible.
Also taxes.
he's sighing. i'm having gore flashbackx.
She watched those debates *giggle big eyes giggle* tee hee...
It makes me sick.
That "aw shucks" tone tanks the crawler.
Shit, her point about divestment is not bad.
245: I was pleased to see the CNN ticker dive when she did that.
The nuclear option is on the table in Darfur!
247: I don't think Palin's garner that much sympathy.
Biden's (asinine) Darfur plan scores well! chiz chiz. Palin tries to do the "maverick! washington outsider!" thing, plus a retread of "for it before you were against it" (hey, who was number 1 in 2004?), and notches herself up another Notch Of Doom. She's fucked it. This was her chance and she's screwed it.
Bosniaks, actually. Bosnian Muslims.
(Lurking geographer)
247: I don't think Palin's garnering that much sympathy.
She sounds fine. And Her People are eating this up.
What is this notch of doom you speak of? Sounds like it might be part of the upcoming Palin porno.
She is so not up to playing the meta card.
She's not failing spectacularly enough. I am worried again.
(Lurking geographer)
I love this blog.
The nuclear option is on the table in Darfur!
255 to 246. The numbers keep changing.
Her People are eating this up.
Her People aren't enough to win the election. And VP debates don't matter anyhow.
Biden's hammering his points home very well. It's too bad Palin's somehow learned how to string together a half-coherent thought in the last 48 hours. Do you think maybe she's on something?
She's not bad, for what she's doing. She has a bit of smirking going on during Biden's responses, which probably plays well with viewers.
I've been unable to stand it after an hour, and it strikes me that anyone who watches the entire thing might begin to notice that Palin seems to be exhausting her repertoire.
I've wished a couple of times that Biden would come out and say in his response to Palin: Well, we know that the fact-checkers will be telling the American people tomorrow whether that's the truth.
She's not failing as spectacularly as I want either, but the CNN ticker *does* go up every time Biden speaks, and it stays flat for Palin. I'd love it to nosedive for her, though.
256 - Yeah, and it's offensive as hell.
I think that one reason why Palin isn't winning is that the media establishment is deserting McCain.
The conspiracy theory explanation is almost always the best one. My explanation is that the malefactors have squeezed every bit of juice out of the Republicans and wants to switch to the Democrats.
We're both mavericks *haha* how could we agree?
"Wasilla Main Street"? Groan.
I'm having serious fears that if McCain wins, he'll die in office of old age, and we'll be stuck with Palin. I'm also (at this moment) afraid that Obama will be assasinated, and we'll be stuck with Biden. Vastly preferable to a president Palin, but sad nonetheless.
John McCain single-handedly won Viet Nam.
glad to see someone's talking about the working class
257: She does not sound fine. She like if I rehearsed 16 major paragraphs in Farsi to the point where I could spit them out in my sleep. And Her People are 20-30% of the population. If the ticket can't grab independents or the few competence conservatives out there (Hi TLL!), they're fucked.
To my great joy, the phrase "We're a team of Mavericks!" caused a sudden drop in the tracker. Whoo independent voters!
Bosniaks, actually. Bosnian Muslims.
Hey, thanks!
There's nothing average about an average Main Street family in Wasilla. Alaska is not average. It's not a "microcosm" for the United States as Palin is so fond of saying. It operates under extremely unique circumstances, and she needs to stop pretending otherwise.
Sadly, I think people eat that stuff up.
There you go again! Ha, that's a clever line!
Why did Biden pass up the opportunity to point out that the Dem ticket is not proposing to raise taxes?
"Doggone it?" I refuse to believe that's a natural part of her idiolect.
Besides Holocausts, genocide, and taxes, we need to take a new look at bureaucracy. Can there be such a thing as too much bureaucracy? I say NO!!
OK, I went back to the TV.
That education response made me want to chew my own leg off.
She has a bit of smirking going on during Biden's responses, which probably plays well with viewers
watch the GD crawler!!!!!!!!! we don't have to speculate about this!!!! it doesn't!!!!!!!
The "Notch of Doom", by the way, is a phrase coined in Australian elections where the crawler was first used - refers to the big sudden step down when a politician starts talking, which alerts you to the fact "People fundamentally don't like this person".
also, it's been mentioned before, but by definition, you can't have a team of mavericks.
I thought for a minute she was running for school board.
mrh, you're welcome! I love this blog too, LB.
Nice that she wants to fund education more. With what?
279: Yeah... that sort of cracked me up. So much for dog whistles.
280: Her speech is normal and correct for us ueber-honkies. But as I said, I think that the Rs are far overestimating the national love for ueber-honkies.
Was her answer on education half way decent? It may not accurately reflect McCain's policy, but it didn't sound dreadful.
I have yet to hear her giggle. Seriously, has anyone actually heard that? Maybe I should check my audio.
She was expected to fail spectacularly, but instead she's doing quite well. Better than Biden, in that her focus is sharper (more canned? yes, of course).
Not that the VP debate really matters, after all.
"John McCain has already tapped me."
278: That was covered thoroughly earlier; maybe he didn't want to be too repetitive?
It's so cute that she thought Ifil was asking her to explain what the VP does, rather than what she will do as vp.
Nice Cheney's "fourth branch" question from Ifill. I don't think Palin understood, although there wasn't anything good for her to say if she did.
"Her reward is in Heaven. Sadly, she's probably going to Hell."
She has what I always thought was a MN accent.
it's been mentioned before, but by definition, you can't have a team of mavericks.
But John McCain is the original maverick.
"Dick Cheney has been the most dangerous vice-president in American history." BAM: crawler maxes out.
Better than Biden, in that her focus is sharper
Are you running the debate through google translate or something, MC?
She's shared passion with Kissinger and she's been tapped by McCain. That's sort of slutty in such a short period.
/sexism
298: Woohoo! I'm too cheap for cable, so I have no crawler.
She's a complete joke. Stop the pearl clutching, folks, she's not doing her ticket any good.
295: Yeah, MN or WI. I head that she's not an Alaska native.
Good job by Joe Biden on Cheney. Palin goofed on that.
I cannot believe that anyone gives a fuck about the role of the Vice President, so this segment is trading on pure like and dislike. On any objective reading of the crawler, they are both more or less equally liked, but Biden is slightly more popular due to the halo effect of being on a more popular ticket. Nonevent. why am I still watching the fucker. Oh yeah, because I can't sleep for worrying, that's why.
Did Ifil just ask, "What's your greatest weakness?"
Biden better say, "If anything, I love this country too much."
People from Minnesota move to Alaska because the winters are less harsh there. True fact.
Can't Ifill chime in and say "Answer the fucking question"? This question was about greatest weaknesses.
305: Considered drinking heavily? It's a timehonored method of dealing with vocational stress.
303 - Born in Idaho, but family moved to AK when she was an infant.
289: Aside from being completely content-free, it was fine.
It's a B-grade job interview question, and it's getting answers that reflect that.
306: That's my answer for the job-interview version of that question.
Having a dead spouse seems to be a plus.
297: No, we biked so we could get home fast. I used the stopwatch on my iphone and it took us one minute and three seconds. Uphill. I about had a heart attack.
Dear god, if maverick is a drinking word there are going to be some visits to the ER tonigh.
She fails to grasp the semantics of "attribute." She has used it backwards twice! You attribute result "X" to reasons "Y", not reasons "Y" to result "X".
She is awful. Ramble, stutter, mush.
283: watch the GD crawler!!!!!!!!! we don't have to speculate about this!!!! it doesn't!!!!!!!
Doesn't play well with viewers, that is.
Sorry, dsquared. Wasn't watching the crawler, obviously.
Palin is obviously doing well relative to the Couric interview, in that she is in most cases saying things which superficially sound like answers and aren't obvious nonsense.
Biden is clearly also doing that, and doing a better job of responding to both the initial question and to Palin's attacks on him.
Does it count when Biden says it? I sure hope not.
She fails to grasp the semantics of "attribute."
That's it, this election is over. No one's going to vote for the Republicans now!
322: Yeah, I was pleased to hear that. Finally!
I don't compromise, I work together to force people to do what I want.
"No, Gwen, I've never changed my mind on anything."
@323...yeah it's not a big deal, but I just think it's bizarre.
She has what I always thought was a MN accent.
Parts of MN, parts of Canadia, and apparently parts of Alaska. I guess there's some kind of family resemblance between how people talk in boring cold places. Probably because of all the inbreeding.
326: Biden's answer was kind of lame.
In fact, too often you're the problem so, government, lessen the tax burden and on our families and get out of the way and let the private sector and our families grow and thrive and prosper.
This was not awkward....about three weeks ago.
Didn't she say that her family is diverse once already? Her tape is starting to loop.
It's actually interesting to listen to this on the radio; Palin is much more annoying. "At the end of the day, as long as everyone is working together for the greater good, it will all be okay."
329: Lame questions get lame answers.
She's probably holding the core, but McCain can't win with the core. All the contested states right now are Bush states. Unless there's a break, McCain can't win, even in a squeaker.
Even though the Armageddonists and snake handlers came back on board, the fact that in order to ingratiate himself with them McCain had to finger Palin (I mean tap Palin) meant that he couldn't choose someone who would have helped him with some more centrist gorup. And that may have decided the election.
Alas, my bet is that my PUMA sister is creaming her jeans right now. If she isn't, though, McCain is doomed.
"Gee whiz, Mr. Biden, it's a real honor just to be on stage with you!"
331: Exactly. The debate should go on another half hour, and she'd loop and loop and loop. Hard not to notice, really.
335 continued: Little Miss Wasilia's sure stepped up in the world, hasn't she?
Joe Biden puts the "fun" in fundamental change.
331: It's been looping for a little bit now.
When B wants to be properly banged she comes to boring old Minnesota. Just sayin'.
338: Yeah, I'm sorry to say she did. I heart her normally. Maybe her ankle is paining her.
Joe has that maudlin touch when he gets down to regular-people anecdotes. Is it true he never takes a drink? Colour me sceptical.
341: I'll have you know, John, that my son is reading this thread over my shoulder.
DEM_WTA and REP_WTA barely moved. What a waste of time.
Okay, classist asshole momenet: every time her family goes on stage, with one of her older daughters carrying the baby, it just looks so LDS-compound-being-raided to me.
The MSNBC guy who imitates Eric Sevareid is praising Palin for not making any gross errors. But he is also noting that Palin evaded the questions.
I hate Jeff Greenfield even if he agrees with me.
It's been looping for a little bit now.
Yes, but you want it to be really obvious to Joe Six-Pack, who's been getting up and down to get a snack and/or take a piss every 15 minutes.
Joe wasn't watching this stupid thing anyway.
this may not mean a lot to you fuckers, but it means all the world to a guy like me hahahahha. goodnight.
Matthews is ripping her up and down.
There was a debate tonight?
Huh!
Creepy Joe Lieberman.
Alaska isn't "heartland". Not even "rimland". It's periphery.
Better than Biden, in that her focus is sharper
Which debate were you watching? Both of them were interminable, if you ask me, but at least Biden was focused on the message (don't. push. me. 'cause. I. am. close. to. the. edge), while Palin was all rambly and vague. Was she reciting memorized lines? Was she reading cue cards? Who the hell was she looking at?
I hate it when Matthews is on my side. What a waste of air.
The interaction between them afterwards was interesting, Biden affable and avuncular, and Palin tense. Also, Tom Brokaw is an ass.
I heard a linguist talking about the accent on NPR this evening. He claimed that it was authentically Alaskan. I've never heard an Alaskan who sounded like that, just as I've never heard anyone in the PNW sound like DeNiro's character in This Boy's Life, and that was supposed to be authentic too.
Pat Buchanan thinks she was spectacular.
Pat Buchanan just gave Palin points for complete sentences and being the most attractive debater.
Alaska is one of the weird, totally atypical states. 90% of the US is heartland, but not Alaska.
don't. push. me. 'cause. I. am. close. to. the. edge
Yes! I thought so as well; I was silently urging the man to just go for it, man, it's gotta hurt.
NPR commentator just said that Palin was "facile."
You know, I stuck through the whole debate, but I'm really impressed by you troopers that are listening to the commentary. Geez.
The CBS crawler spiked on the Iraq question. The subjects were undecided, leaning to Obama.
One undecided thought Palin won because Biden wandered, whereas Palin stuck to the question that was asked. Reported without comment.
Yes! I thought so as well; I was silently urging the man to just go for it, man, it's gotta hurt.
Biden should get her to agree to one more debate, post-election, so he can really let loose.
W00t! Parsimon's 350 is worse than my 348!
CNN tells me that everyone dialled way down on Palin's folkisms. Doggone-it.
You know, I stuck through the whole debate, but I'm really impressed by you troopers that are listening to the commentary. Geez.
I'm so committed to missing the commentary that I missed when Biden's family came onstage after Obama's convention speech. They say "God bless America," I say *click*.
TV commentary I mean. Not you people, of course.
One undecided thought Palin won because Biden wandered, whereas Palin stuck to the question that was asked. Reported without comment.
Right, that's the same as the people who want Obama to "give more specifics." Translation: I am unable to follow a complicated sentence.
Gosh darn, us heartland folk don't get no respect.
This was actually worth watching. Morning in America! The New Frontier!
FWIW, my take is that Palin exceeded the Couric-set minimum expectations, but her folksiness grated at best, none of her answers were effective as such, and I don't think she actually landed any punches. Biden exceeded expectations of gaffes and sexism/condescension, had a number of solid answers, but also failed to land any punches (maybe a couple, but I'm biased, so I'll say none).
As with the Obama-McCain debate, a draw is a loss for the losing campaign. This won't accelerate their collapse, but nor will it forestall it.
Kos gave a good review to Ifill, which means that the wingers will get her fired. Why does Kos hate Ifill?
370: Not when you talk like cartoon hicks you don't. (Btw, John, you'll have noticed that my beloved boyfriend does *not* have that Fargo twang.)
i did not like that she smiled all the time and her phrase about reward in heaven, it's so insensitive to bring one's deceased dear one into whatever public debate, to remind one's loss so directly, that's just base, her constant appeal that she's an average american with average family, all hers are teachers etc, her that wink, so obvious, shouldn't it just be understood like that, her background
if she tried to be always serious could sound more like convincing even supposed that she's learned all her lines by heart
i liked that Biden did not sound condescending to her at all
when all that mocking is made irrelevant, then people can compare their real policies
366: W00t! Parsimon's 350 is worse than my 348!
What. I was getting up and down every 15 minutes. Weren't you? (I'm lying, as it happens. But I admit I wondered why the fuck I was watching that stupid thing. Close enough.)
failed to land any punches
Come on, not even with his "none of McCain's positions on the relevant issues are actually mavericky" line? I loved that.
370: I'm from the heartland. I know the heartland. I love the heartland. And you, Governor Palin, are no heartlander.
He does it for you, B, because you're so sexy and wholesome. He probably has a dialect coach teaching him Valleyspeak so you feel comfortable.
I guess there's some kind of family resemblance between how people talk in boring cold places. Probably because of all the inbreeding.
Yeah, that's right, B. Because it's too cold to leave the igloo, of course, in search of an exogamous mate.
Actually, in terms of speech and accent, no way would Palin be mistaken for a Canuck in any part of Canada. Her vowels and intonation are too flat, and her idiom (doggoneit) too quintessentially American. In terms of her general way of being in the world, however: yeah, I guess I can picture her down at the local hockey rink.
She could easily pass for Minnesotan.
Apparently Biden did a crying thing. Wow. Feminine side. If I had had a dead kid I could have been a contender.
372: As with the Obama-McCain debate, a draw is a loss for the losing campaign. This won't accelerate their collapse, but nor will it forestall it.
What they (or she) chiefly accomplished -- to my eyes -- was a reassurance to wavering voters that she's not downright alarmingly stupid. That was probably her mandate at this point.
Remember, MC (though Canadian) comes from a very sophisticated background. She doesn't appreciate heartlanders.
Is it over? Did Biden get to say "I knew Dan Quayle. I served with Dan Quayle. Dan Quayle was a friend of mind. And you, Governor, are no Dan Quayle"?
Palin holds young Trig like he's a rag doll, then hands him off to Piper. Creepy.
In Slate Jesse Sheidlower says her accent is Wasillan. "The next town over from Wasilla, Palmer, has a large settlement of Minnesotans--who were moved there by a government relief program in the 1930s--and features of the Minnesotan dialect are thus prominent in the Mat-Su Valley area. Hence the Fargo-like elements in Palin's speech, in particular the sound of her 'O' vowel."
The CBS undecideds liked Biden a lot - 46-21 in his favor. I don't think the media has the will to overturn the insta-polls this year, but we'll see.
388 makes a lot of sense, which is good, because her accent has been driving me up the wall, and not just because I can imitate it disturbing well. Her accent doesn't sound western Canadian at all to my ears.
Because it's too cold to leave the igloo, of course, in search of an exogamous mate.
That's why shiv was on eBay!
The next town over from Wasilla, Palmer, has a large settlement of Minnesotans
A friend who lives in Palmer told me that Palin is "a redneck from Wasilla."
Come to think of it, 'shiv' sounds suspiciously like a Palin-family name, and she has a history of putting big-ticket items on eBay...
388: Yep, the Matanuska Colony.
Ah yes. Shiv and his lesser-known sister Korovo.
No love for the fact that Palin said "nucular" repeatedly.
Here in Wasilla, a town of strip-mall sprawl and eccentric backwoods dwellers,....
No...once a town becomes a town of strip-mall sprawl, it ceases to be a town of eccentric backwoods dwellers.
Love? I'd have chewed my own ear off for the repeated "nucular" if that were physically possible. Instead I just numbed the pain with Bluecoat gin.
387 makes sense. Alaska is so big and so recently (and sparsely) settled by Anglo-Americans that I would expect regional dialect variation within the state to be considerable.
348, 386: Wow. I have to say, it's just bizarre to me that an older sibling holding an infant younger sibling is now defined as creepy and LDS-compound-y and suchlike. Is this a serious position, or just a passing partisan-inspired fancy?
Most pictures of me (there aren't many) between the ages of 10 and 16, I'm probably holding a younger sibling in my arms or on my lap. Should someone have called the child protective services, or perhaps alerted the media so that Sully could demand paternity tests or something? Mind you, my background was quite sophisticated, as Emerson quite rightly notes.
What they (or she) chiefly accomplished -- to my eyes -- was a reassurance to wavering voters that she's not downright alarmingly stupid. That was probably her mandate at this point.
I could be wrong, of course, but I have the impression that her low expectations going in were so low that a halfway-competent performance isn't actually helped by them. I think at this point, all it does is remind people: oh yeah, god, she really did sound like a complete loon all last week, didn't she?
As with the Obama-McCain debate, a draw is a loss for the losing campaign.
Yeah, pretty much. Points to Palin for demonstrating to everyone that she's not a moron, merely grossly ignorant; points to Biden for not ripping her head off and trying to run for a touchdown.
get out of my secret Christmas place Sarah Palin!
The "nucular" excitement is silly. It's sort of a marker of rurality or something, but no one should care.
Talk to Languagehat, not me. He'll tear you a new one.
all it does is remind people: oh yeah, god, she really did sound like a complete loon all last week, didn't she?
Good point. Imagined conversation at the breakfast diner at 6 a.m. tomorrow: Well, she was better than she has been recently, wasn't she? Yeah, looked like she had some good coaching, got things down pat for the debate shindig. Kinda personable, I thought.
Hm.
399 may be right, and further, the next time she screws up an interview, it'll just reinforce the idea that she was relatively coherent tonight just because she was thoroughly coached.
The "nucular" excitement is silly
Candidate me would say, "The first thing I'd do is convert all the nucular weapons to nuclear weapons." I'd lose whatever election, but at least it'd get a laugh from my smug, condescending supporters.
Wow. I have to say, it's just bizarre to me that an older sibling holding an infant younger sibling is now defined as creepy and LDS-compound-y and suchlike. Is this a serious position, or just a passing partisan-inspired fancy?
There you go again, Mary Catherine - impugning my passing partisan-inspired fancy.
my smug, condescending supporters
Dude, when I run for office, I'm going to mispronunciate everything I possibly can, and you just try to say a word about it.
I don't think Palin reached out to anyone besides her base, despite her best Israel lovin, tolerance havin, mavericky efforts. But Biden succeeded in carrying forward the tough and confident thing that Obama put forward last week, which I think, as much as the economy, is responsible for his upswing in the polls.
Parsimon: Wrong for the English language. Wrong for America.
CNN poll of debate watchers puts it 51-36 in favor of Joe and against Sarah "nucular" Palin.
410: Why do you insist on viewing everything through the media filter?
409:
Caller on NPR just now: Governor Palin is, no, of course she's not going to jam her religious beliefs down anybody's throat, she didn't say the word "God" even once, she's an optimist, she's a happy person, and she's going to focus on the important things she talked about: energy, the economy, security and all of that, so anyone who says otherwise is just lying.
but by definition, you can't have a team of mavericks.
Unless you're being drawn and quartered.
I have to say, it's just bizarre to me that an older sibling holding an infant younger sibling is now defined as creepy and LDS-compound-y and suchlike.
Mandatory abortions for everybody!
AndrewJackson: Neither are worth the ammunition it'd take to abruptly put an end to their tenure in this vale of tears.
Oh, shut up, you dead mass-murdering asshole.
max
['Politics makes for strange bedfellows assholes.']
#403. Unlike, say, the Cherokee
At RedState (where happiness costs so little), Erick Erickson (Would the author of The Art Of Loving lie to you?) thought Sarah Palin was awesome:
"Sarah Palin just field dressed Joe Biden like a moose. She was awesome. She connected with the people. She had fun. She was relaxed. She was awesome."
once a town becomes a town of strip-mall sprawl, it ceases to be a town of eccentric backwoods dwellers.
Wasilla - a moveable feast. Or at least a moveable food court.
Did anyone else notice Palin's marvelous Freudian slip? "John McCain is the man to leave, uh, lead this country."
So isn't "nucular" basically a dog whistle at this point? I think conservatives do it just to piss off liberals.
415: Apparently they tore down the mall to build a Target.
The "nucular" thing was striking because sometimes she managed to say "nuclear" instead, and a couple times I'm pretty sure I heard "nuculear" with four syllables. If she'd only pronounced it "nucular" without ever attempting anything else, it probably would have meant less to me (and been less annoying). But since there was evidence they'd actually given her coaching on it, it was grating.
417: No, I think those who do it really don't realize they're doing it. They can't hear it. It's a weird phenomenon. It's not particularly conservatives, and it's not just "nucular."
I suspect that Sarah Palin wound up supporting civil unions for gay couples mostly by accident. She lost her footing around that question, and backed her way into agreeing with Biden because it sounded so reasonable. McCain doesn't support civil unions.
While the civil union thing might come back to haunt her, her most spectacular fuck-up, in my opinion, was her complete incomprehension of the question about the Constitutional role of the Vice President. She didn't even lie effectively; she just had no idea what the issues under debate were. Bad, bad show. And then Biden pointed out very succintly what was at stake, and how Palin had failed.
When she said that McCain KNOWS how to win wars, I really wanted someone in the audience to shout, "Assumes facts not in evidence." Maybe I'm too acculturated to the Mineshaft.
She'd have come off a lot worse if Ifill had pressed her on all the questions she evaded.
One woman at our debate watching party couldn't get past Palin's shoes. "Four inch red patent leather pumps are NOT vice presidential!"
When she said that McCain KNOWS how to win wars
1. get shot down
2. wait for the war to be lost
3. ?
4. profit!
new-clear
Anyway, was there a debate? I guess I could read the transcript.
424: If debates had audience members occasionally shouting "Racist." I might not have to get so drunk to do my civic duty and watch them.
I liked her clothes tonight better than whatever she was wearing at her convention speech, though.
Of course, if it were up to me, all political advertisements would be restricted to LOLcats format. "O NOES THE 3AM FONE AND OBAMA IZ SLEEPIN" etc...
Cock jokes and cries of "comity!" would have helped as well.
425: oh please. Without the heels Gore's only 5'2".
1. get shot down
2. wait for the war to be lost
3. ?
4. profit!
I think step three here is "marry money".
her complete incomprehension of the question about the Constitutional role of the Vice President. She didn't even lie effectively; she just had no idea what the issues under debate were.
Her and 92 percent of Americans.
CNN is replaying their post-debate focus group. Did I ever mention how much in love I am with Soledad O'Brien? Stiletto boots and a skirt tonight—hawt.
"Four inch red patent leather pumps are NOT vice presidential!"
Vice, perhaps. Presidential, perhaps not.
Because it's too cold to leave the igloo, of course, in search of an exogamous mate.
I was thinking more just sparse population, but okay.
it's just bizarre to me that an older sibling holding an infant younger sibling is now defined as creepy and LDS-compound-y and suchlike. Is this a serious position, or just a passing partisan-inspired fancy?
I think it's a combination of just how *many* kids there are on the stage, and the fact that it's almost always one of the older girls holding the baby. Obviously when one sees Palin on tv she's usually busy doing non-baby-holding things, but I mean, the baby *has* a father, right?
I'm more worried that the baby always seems sedated.
My theory is that the baby was coached to act as if he has Down syndrome, and he's going too far with the act, but it's too late to rein him in. WHY IS THE MEDIA NOT ASKING THESE QUESTIONS?
One woman at our debate watching party couldn't get past Palin's shoes. "Four inch red patent leather pumps are NOT vice presidential!"
Totally sexist. I failed to notice Palin's shoes, though, but I must admit that the description offered is impressive. Maybe there's one likeable thing about her.
438: Yeah, I've wondered about that too. Especially since obviously none of the people holding him actually have tits with milk supplies on offer (one hopes), which is the only method I know of reliably keeping a baby quiet.
Does Joe Biden remind anyone else of Jimmy Buffett? I'm not sure if that's exactly right, but I do know that every time I see him face straight forward, I imagine a ponytail.
Oh, 440 was me, like that needed to be said.
Wrongshore, you're insane. Also: ew.
The man from Wilmington or Margaritaville?
The only thing missing is the ponytail.
Does Joe Biden remind anyone else of Jimmy Buffett?
Not till you mentioned it, but YES. No wonder I'm meh about him.
441: Seriously. Why don't the babies cry? That's what babies do when freaked out. And how can they be not freaked out by being passed around like a collection plate under TV lights? Why hasn't there been a single burp, much less a vomit? There must be drugs involved. No baby is that cooperative.
Dude, that baby is fat, like a Maury Povich baby. Fat babies are fucking cute.
I was kind of irritated by the semi frantic pat-pat-pat thing Palin was doing while she was holding Trig. Like she was desperately trying to calm him, but he was practically asleep. Or, you know, drugged.
BREAKING DRUDGE: Obama Campaign accuses Palins of drugging Trig! More outrageous claims against Palin's family trumpeted by Obama's blogger smear artists.
Nice work gang.
Sarah Palin Debate Flowchart. Not bad.
I may be thinking of something else, but I remember reading that Down syndrome babies are very quiet.
max
['But Google isn't turning up Da. Sometimes they are very quiet.']
And go read the debate transcript if you harbor any doubts about what really went down last night—the deeply fatuous, delivered with spunk and misplaced confidence. (And yes, I realize that it is the event itself that matters.)
Down syndrome babies are really easy. They sleep all the time the first year or two.
I'm having serious fears that if McCain wins, he'll die in office of old age
On the other hand, he might follow the path of Stephen A. Douglas, Horace Greeley, and perhaps others now remembered for things other than their presidential campaigns, if they're remembered at all.
421 -- Just like Eye-rack. Badge of honor.
Parts of MN, parts of Canadia, and apparently parts of Alaska. I guess there's some kind of family resemblance between how people talk in boring cold places. Probably because of all the inbreeding.
b,
I disagree with John here, and a Professor of Linguistics with a specialty in American regional dialects on NPR yesterday agrees with me.
Palin's speech resembles a part of the MN accent, but it is not spot on. Neither was Francis McDermot's accent in Fargo, which I loved.
Nobody I know has said Palin sounds exactly like someone from where they live. Everyone seems to say it is similar to this or that, but not exactly from here.
The Professor called it a Northern accent, a NW accent, but I'm not from there, so I dunno.
Accent aside her choice of words is what I would call "small town," but again she does it way more than any of the actual small town people I know in MN.
In a way I think maybe she is pushing the choice of words and the accent itself, maybe copying Frances McDermit, to try to appear like a small-town down-home just-folks girl from the North. Kinda like Bush's fake Texas thing. Palin's dialect and accent come and go, and they are over the top much of the time. Personally I get tired of her voice fairly quickly, and then it becomes kinda grating. That might be just me. I know I have lost all tolerance for 'cartoon' speech too, I mean like the real cartoon voices in cartoons. Maybe I've ODed on them because of my kids.
And regarding boring cold places - I'd be happy to show you all the non-boring things we do up here when it gets cold. Just say the word.
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