Many commentators are disappointed that tonight’s debate is so tightly structured that only 90 responses are allowed. The thinking is that if the rules were more lax, Palin would have more rope to hang herself with.
All Biden has to do is make her squirm in the first 90 seconds.
He needn’t try to make her look stupid; the entire nation knows that by now and her debate coaches will have given her Supreme Court decisions to talk about and foreign diplomacy journals to quote from, so Biden shouldn’t waste time pointing out the obvious.
What he should do is expose her as a liar and a hypocrite. Here’s the perfect way to do it. If he properly frames his questions around God and Christianity, he will have Palin stammering and stuttering and blushing in front of millions of viewers.
Some sure-fire examples of questions that rattle Palin and expose her as hypocrite to the entire country:
1) “Governor Palin, I’ve heard you say you were against the ‘bridge to nowhere’ but I’ve also seen some evidence that suggests you were actually for it. As God is your witness and with the country watching on TV, can you look into the camera and tell us once and for all whether you ever, in any way shape or form, directly or indirectly, supported the bridge to nowhere?”
It’s the perfect question because Palin is doomed no matter how she answers. If she continues to lie and say ‘no’, the Democrats can use that clip on a split screen with the evidence proving that Palin was for the bridge to nowhere in TV spots from now to the election.
And if she sort of says yes, or attempts to qualify her answer in any way, she has instantly shattered her “reformer” image, because she uses that line at every single one of her stump speeches. Palin’s attempted answer would be an instant YouTube hit.
- “Governor Palin, you say in your campaign speeches that you’re a reformer who has fought against special interests. Again, with God as your witness and will the entire nation watching at home, can you look me in eye and tell me you’ve never hired lobbyists?”
Palin is trapped no matter how she attempts to answer this zinger. If she says, “well, yes I have…” and then yammers on to something else, she is exposed as a complete and utter fraud, because her façade as a reformer is instantly blown to smithereens.
And if she says no, she never has, Biden can look to the camera and say “there you have it folks. She is willing to lie to God and all of America. We’ll have an ad up tomorrow proving she has in fact hired lobbyists and worked with special interests.”
If Biden is smart, he’ll use Palin’s religious beliefs against her, cornering her in such a way that she loses big time no matter how she vainly tries to explain herself. She'll be completely flummoxed and all of America will see the real Sarah Palin.
(via Amani at abcparty.org)