About that VP debate...

I watched the debate last night. Unlike the last debate, which I watched at home while doing some work, I went over a coworker's place last night to watch the VP debate. and eat pizza. He and his girlfriend lean more to the left than me, so it was a diverse group.

I was hoping for an interesting debate. Biden has a reputation for saying some crazy things, and Palin has very little debate experience. So I was kind of hoping for a train wreck, which didn't happen.

Yes, Biden is probably a better debater. He did a very solid job, and got a few jabs in. Palin tended to be a little annoying when she ducked questions, and I got sick pretty quickly of hearing her talk about being a maverick and saying "John McCain". Still, she held her own, didn't say anything really stupid, and given the low expectations going in, did fine. She may not have helped the Republicans much, but she didn't damage them.

There were a few things that struck me:

- Once again, I'm sick of hearing about how evil corporate bankers forced people to buy houses they couldn't afford. Yes, banks lent irresponsibly, but it was because they misjudged risk, not because they were evil geniuses out to rip off Americans. I'll probably make a bigger post just on this subject later, but it annoys me that both sides are doing this - and I wonder how it plays to people who actually, you know, pay their bills, and are a little annoyed by deadbeats getting a break. Also, at one point Biden was talking about how he wants bankruptcy courts to not only be able to reduce mortgage interest (which is bad enough) but also mortgage principle. So people who don't pay their bills get their house cheaper, and the cost is passed on to those who do. Fan-f-ing-tastic.

- The McCain/Palin camp needs to come up with a response to the "won't meet with the president of Spain" comment from a few weeks ago. Either admit you misspoke, or justify it. But don't let Obama keep bringing it up and let it go unresponded to.

- I thought Gwen Ifill did a good job, except I wasn't a big fan of the "biggest weakness" questions - and was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who thought that. I hate those questions in job interviews, and I hate them in debate. There is no good answer that doesn't make the interviewee either come off as incompetent (if they are honest) or full of shit (if they talk up a strength as a weakness).

- McCain needs to do a good job of selling his health care and tax plans. I think the Republicans are better on both these issues - government-run healthcare scares me - but McCain needs to convince people in the middle that they are better off with them, and I don't think Palin did so far.

- It was silly of Biden to criticize Bush for not making peace in Israel. Nobody has, and it's unlikely anyone ever will. Of all the things you can fault Bush for, this is the weakest.

- Palin talking about education - grr. Why is a Republican trying to get the feds even more involved in education, which should be local?

I've probably thought of other clever stuff while I was watching the debate, but since forgot it. Maybe I shouldn't have been drinking while watching. Maybe I'll liveblog the next one.