A picture is worth a thousand words, particularly in this case. Below is a word cloud of Palin’s answers in the Vice Presidential debate with Joe Biden. Words that were said more frequently are larger, also, relative to others, also. Very interesting, don’t you think? Reminds me of the “blizzard of words” comment made by Charlie Gibson during the first Palin interviews.
Click on the image for a larger version. You can create your own word cloud at wordle.net.
You’d have to hiding out in Osama Bin Laden’s cave to miss the truly Shakespearean theatre that played across the political landscape today.
John McCain is suspending his campaign to go to Washington and confront the economic crisis he had no small role in creating. And if a bi-partisan bail out isn’t in the cards before the debate on Friday, said debate is canceled.
What?
Obama responded that now is the time the country needs to hear from our leaders, and in so many words, prove that they can talk and chew gum at the same time.
John… really?
Why suspend the campaign when your second can step in and fill the gap, just like she would if something happened to you in office. Don’t you have confidence in her abilities, John?
McCain’s camp has now suggested postponing the debate to October 2, sidelining the VP debate scheduled for the same evening to some undetermined date in the future.
Yes. Really.
Here’s my advice for Obama. Don’t fall for it. Go to Mississippi. Set up another podium or leave an empty chair for McCain. Scrap the debate format and do a town hall instead. Take questions from the crowd. Both friendly and hostile. Hold the town hall meeting McCain always wanted, but with him MIA.
Then cut back to McCain napping or getting his face made over by a $5000 makeup artist from American Idol. Or if McCain is nowhere to be found, perhaps shots of Palin at a local church leveling charges of witchcraft at those who would question her foreign policy experience.
Shakespeare would be proud.
Unfortunately I’m not a full time blogger, at least not yet, and sometimes can’t turn on a dime as quickly as I would like. But last night when I watched Bill O’Reilly grill and berate Obama like a child, rarely allowing him to even complete a sentence, I knew that this “special” treatment was reserved especially for Obama, and him alone. I wondered aloud if O’Reilly treated other political luminaries — and I say with as much sarcasm as I can muster — like Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and even McCain, with the same lack of respect that they themselves, and not their office, deserve.
The answer of course, is an emphatic NO, as covered on Crooks & Liars this morning. After watching the clip again, I’m not sure what good will come of this. And there’s more to come next week. I think Barack handled himself as well as he possibly could, but it’s difficult against an individual who makes his entire living shouting over and belittling people. Check out the clip for yourself (for the record, I hate linking to Fox News in the clip below but it’s the only one I could find).
The following analysis by Charles Babington came across the AP wire while Obama’s speech (more from me on that tomorrow) was still in progress. Is this guy really watching the same speech? Or is this a partisan hack job courtesy of AP Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier, friend of Karl Rove and John McCain?
Barack Obama, whose campaign theme is “change we can believe in,” promised Thursday to “spell out exactly what that change would mean.”
But instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.
Of course, no candidate can outline every initiative in a 35-minute speech – especially one that also must inspire voters, acknowledge key friends, and toss in some autobiography for the newly-interested. And Obama did touch on nitty-gritty subjects, such as the capital gains tax and biofuel investments.
He said he would “find ways to safely harness nuclear power,” a somewhat more receptive phrase than he typically uses for that subject.
But most of his address echoed and amplified the theme that dominated the four-day Democratic nominating convention here: George Bush.
The final and revised story can be viewed here.
Barack’s amazing speech below… you decide.