By Ann

October 9, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this

If Sarah Palin had made just one of the wildly inaccurate statements smugly uttered by Sen. Joe Biden in last week’s vice presidential debate, there would have been 3-inch headlines in newspapers across America. (I can almost hear Katie Couric asking me, “Which newspapers?”) These weren’t insignificant errors, such as when Biden said, “Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie’s restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me where I spend a lot of time, and you ask anybody in there whether or not the economic and foreign policy of this administration has made them better off in the last eight years.” It turns out that Katie’s restaurant, where Biden gets his feel for the average American, closed 20 years ago. The only evidence that he spends any time in Home Depot is that it appears that a pipe wrench fell on his head one too many times. Palin would surely have been forced to withdraw from the ticket had she said something like that, but most of Biden’s errors were not trifling mistakes like these. They were lengthy Lyndon LaRouche-like disquisitions that were pure fantasy from beginning to end. For example, Biden said about Hezbollah: “When we kicked — along with France — we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon.” Hezbollah was never kicked out of Lebanon. He continued: “I said and Barack said, ‘Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don’t, Hezbollah will control it.’” This is madness — Lebanon is not a NATO country, nor had any NATO country been attacked by Lebanon. Somebody please tell me that Biden wasn’t picked for the Democrat ticket based on his knowledge of foreign policy. Biden also stoutly denied that Obama ever said he would sit down with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Liberals find it hilarious that McCain can’t use a computer keyboard on account of his war injuries, but Biden is apparently unaware of the Internet, because there are clips all over the Internet of Obama saying exactly that during the CNN/YouTube debate last year. Biden might have remembered that debate since: (1) He was there, and (2) he later attacked Obama’s answer, telling the National Press Club in August 2007: “Would I make a blanket commitment to meet unconditionally with the leaders of each of those countries within the first year I was elected president? Absolutely, positively, no.” And that’s still not all! Obama’s own Web site says: “Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.” Somebody please tell me that Biden wasn’t picked for the Democrat ticket based on his ability to remember well-known facts. Biden also gave a long speech at the debate on vice president Dick Cheney’s “dangerous” belief that “he’s part of the legislative branch.” The great constitutional scholar Biden cited Article I of the Constitution as proof that Cheney “works in the executive branch” and has “no authority relative to the Congress.” Biden huffily added: “He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.” Palin would have had to deny that Alaska is a state in the union in order to say something comparably stupid. Article II, not I, describes the executive branch. Someone tell Biden, who is supposed to be a lawyer. Apart from getting the Articles of the Constitution mixed up, what on earth does Biden mean when he says that the vice president “has no authority relative to Congress,” apart from breaking ties? The Constitution makes him president of the senate every day of the week. I realize that Biden may not be able to count to two, but Article I says the vice president is president of one of the two houses of Congress — the one Biden is in, for crying out loud — which is what you might call “authority relative to Congress.” Somebody please tell me that Biden wasn’t picked for the Democrat ticket based on his knowledge of the Constitution. In one especially hallucinatory answer, Biden authoritatively stated: “With Afghanistan, facts matter, Gwen. … We spend more money in three weeks on combat in Iraq than we spent on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan building that country.” According to the Congressional Research Service, since 9/11, we’ve spent $172 billion in Afghanistan and $653 billion in Iraq. The most money spent in Iraq came in 2008, when we have been spending less than $3 billion a week. So by Biden’s calculations, we’ve spent only about $9 billion “on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan building that country.” There isn’t even a “9” in $172 billion. Somebody please tell me that Biden wasn’t picked for the Democrat ticket based on his knowledge of math. In the same answer, Biden went on to claim that “John McCain voted against a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty that every Republican has supported.” The last nuclear test ban treaty the Senate voted on was the one Clinton signed in the ’90s. As The New York Times editorialized on the Senate vote a few years later: “Last week, Senate Republicans thundered ‘no’ to the nuclear test ban treaty, handing the White House its biggest defeat since health care in 1994.” Forty-nine Republicans voted against the treaty; only four liberal Republicans voted for it. That’s the treaty Biden says “every Republican has supported.” Somebody please tell me that Biden wasn’t picked for the Democrat ticket based on his ability to function as vice president.

By Apple Annie

October 8, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

Rusty is right about the headline. Why say “blow” when you can say “spend” which is a much less loaded word. Did you use “blow” because the DDN didn’t get as many ad dollars as TV did?

By KT

October 8, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

For crying out loud, if you are grown up enough to post here at least learn how to do it right. You hit the “Post Your Comment” button once and then you patiently wait for your comment to be delivered. It’s bad enough that your comments sound and look ignorant, then you post the same thing three times and prove it. I thought there was a moderator on these blogs. Why would you allow the same comments over and over? Wake up and do your job.

By keeping it real

October 8, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this

S, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but YOU ARE A COMPLETE IDIOT!! There are WAY too many spelling/grammatical errors for me to even point out…but Palin is a senator?? McCain’s wife “waited on him when he was a POW”??? “Yeah, Honey, can you get me a cool glass of water? I’m about to be beaten almost to death by the Vietnamese and it is just so hot in this concrete cell!” ROFLMAO!!

By Faith

October 8, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this

Again as Obama stated in last night “Town Hall” they are rich they aren’t the ones doing the same with less. The rich are rich and wastful and the middleclass are equal with the poor. AMERICA THE LAND OF TWO LEVELS.

By Faith

October 8, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

Again as Obama stated in last night “Town Hall” they are rich they aren’t the ones doing the same with less. The rich are rich and wastful and the middleclass are equal with the poor. AMERICA THE LAND OF TWO LEVELS.

By Faith

October 8, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

Again as Obama stated in last night “Town Hall” they are rich they aren’t the ones doing the same with less. The rich are rich and wastful and the middleclass are equal with the poor. AMERICA THE LAND OF TWO LEVELS.

By keeping it real

October 8, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

How many computers could have been purchased for our local public schools with $3.9 million? How many hungry/homeless/less fortunate people in our community could have been fed? I know you can feed a village in Africa for like 23 cents a day, so the answer is A LOT!! Way too much money is spent on stupid stuff— Take your campaign ads (both positive and negative) and shove them up your F%%^^%G A%^. Thank you.

By S

October 8, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this

Do you think negative ads are effective? I do not think they are effective. It makes the other party look awful. It trully Amazes me how Mcain Palin can be so conserned about the character of Obama and like to throw up his pastor along with people who where in his life as a 5 year old child. Who is he (Mccain) to question the character of anyone, Didn’t he have an affair on his previous wife (whom of which waited on him when he was a POW) with his present wife? But I guess since he was a POW we can excuse that. How about Palins Daughter being 17 and pregnant? I guess because her mothers a senetor its ok for her to focus on being promiscuous verses focusing on her education. When minorites do things like this its labled as stereotypical of “those people” but Palins daughter… she just made a mistake and now that we see she endures the same things that we do as parents we should empathies with her and view her more as one of “us”. I’m sorry I don’t and won’t. “These people” (Mccain/Palin) need to start looking at their own dirty laundry and stop making exceptions. They need to Focus more on a solution to the problems that we as a country have created. Right now we are the bullies on the play ground to the rest of the world. I could care less about winning a war where lives and money is being lost!!!! Come on people you need to get your head’s out of your butts and look at the Big picture here.

By Rusty

October 8, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this

Wow what a terrible headline, this story isn’t biased at all. Great job DDN!

By S

October 8, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this

Do you think negative ads are effective? I do not think they are effective. It makes the other party look awful. It trully Amazes me how Mcain Palin can be so conserned about the character of Obama and like to throw up his pastor along with people who where in his life as a 5 year old child. Who is he (Mccain) to question the character of anyone, Didn’t he have an affair on his previous wife (whom of which waited on him when he was a POW) with his present wife? But I guess since he was a POW we can excuse that. How about Palins Daughter being 17 and pregnant? I guess because her mothers a senetor its ok for her to focus on being promiscuous verses focusing on her education. When minorites do things like this its labled as stereotypical of “those people” but Palins daughter… she just made a mistake and now that we see she endures the same things that we do as parents we should empathies with her and view her more as one of “us”. I’m sorry I don’t and won’t. “These people” (Mccain/Palin) need to start looking at their own dirty laundry and stop making exceptions. They need to Focus more on a solution to the problems that we as a country have created. Right now we are the bullies on the play ground to the rest of the world. I could care less about winning a war where lives and money is being lost!!!! Come on people you need to get your head’s out of your butts and look at the Big picture here.

By S

October 8, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this

Do you think negative ads are effective? I do not think they are effective. It makes the other party look awful. It trully Amazes me how Mcain Palin can be so conserned about the character of Obama and like to throw up his pastor along with people who where in his life as a 5 year old child. Who is he (Mccain) to question the character of anyone, Didn’t he have an affair on his previous wife (whom of which waited on him when he was a POW) with his present wife? But I guess since he was a POW we can excuse that. How about Palins Daughter being 17 and pregnant? I guess because her mothers a senetor its ok for her to focus on being promiscuous verses focusing on her education. When minorites do things like this its labled as stereotypical of “those people” but Palins daughter… she just made a mistake and now that we see she endures the same things that we do as parents we should empathies with her and view her more as one of “us”. I’m sorry I don’t and won’t. “These people” (Mccain/Palin) need to start looking at their own dirty laundry and stop making exceptions. They need to Focus more on a solution to the problems that we as a country have created. Right now we are the bullies on the play ground to the rest of the world. I could care less about winning a war where lives and money is being lost!!!! Come on people you need to get your head’s out of your butts and look at the Big picture here.

By April

October 8, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this

How much better that money could have been spent elsewhere. Ads don’t change my opinion. For the most part they are smear.

By MC

October 8, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this

I think it is a horrible waste of money/time and misuse of funds and should be better controlled. The negativity needs to stop; declare what YOU stand for, leave the other guy/gal out of it and let the people vote. This is money that could be used by schools, the elderly, the poor, etc. Boy, it sure goes to show where our nations priorities are. These folks who claim to want to be our leaders should be ashamed of themselves. I don’t want to vote for either one of them. What a sucky election year…

By BlueState

October 8, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this

They’re not “blowing” money. Rewrite your headline. They’re spending it — possibly not very effectively — but these are conscious decisions. They’re not shopping for strappy sandles.

By Jim

October 8, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this

No, I don’t think negative ads are effective, at least in this election year. My opinion is that people would like to hear well-reasoned plans for how to address our problems with the economy, housing, the war and health care, among others. I view negative ads as a sure sign of ignorance — or cynical and reckless disregard — of these issues.