My Prediction
I predict that tonight’s “debate” between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden will be surprisingly boring, incredibly anti-climactic, and way less entertaining than anyone who’s been looking forward to it has been looking forward to.
Now, setting aside the philosophical question of whether one can expect to be surprised—because after all, if you expect it, are you surprised?—I still contend that the fireworks many of us have been hoping for won’t transpire; the whole affair will be duller than a high school graduation exercise (except Buffy’s graduation) and will do little to change anyone’s mind about how they’ll be voting in the Presidential election next month.
I hope I’m wrong, though.
I hope it’s like a heavyweight fight—a good one, like between Ali and Foreman, not something out of Mike Tyson’s later oeuvre—with both candidates landing shots right and left and the moderator having to ask everyone in the audience to stop cheering and booing so the event can continue.
Biden’s probably in a “no-win” situation, though. If he presses too hard, he comes off as a bully and a know-it-all; if he plays too nice, he comes off as, at best, kinda wimpy, at worst, a sexist who doesn’t treat a female candidate as a worthy foe.
Palin, I predict, will be at her snarky best, tossing Biden’s words back in his face and—even though some of them, like the quote about taxes being patriotic seems, in my estimation, a perfectly reasonable claim—scoring points and “energizing the base” with the usual out-of-context references to positions taken in the past.
My hope is to go to a bar with some friends and drink beer and try to get tipsy enough to find the whole spectacle entertaining; one thing I have learned over the years is that the proper application of alcoholic beverages can go a long way towards making even the predictable and boring kinda fun.
Have a shot and re-read this.
Now, setting aside the philosophical question of whether one can expect to be surprised—because after all, if you expect it, are you surprised?—I still contend that the fireworks many of us have been hoping for won’t transpire; the whole affair will be duller than a high school graduation exercise (except Buffy’s graduation) and will do little to change anyone’s mind about how they’ll be voting in the Presidential election next month.
I hope I’m wrong, though.
I hope it’s like a heavyweight fight—a good one, like between Ali and Foreman, not something out of Mike Tyson’s later oeuvre—with both candidates landing shots right and left and the moderator having to ask everyone in the audience to stop cheering and booing so the event can continue.
Biden’s probably in a “no-win” situation, though. If he presses too hard, he comes off as a bully and a know-it-all; if he plays too nice, he comes off as, at best, kinda wimpy, at worst, a sexist who doesn’t treat a female candidate as a worthy foe.
Palin, I predict, will be at her snarky best, tossing Biden’s words back in his face and—even though some of them, like the quote about taxes being patriotic seems, in my estimation, a perfectly reasonable claim—scoring points and “energizing the base” with the usual out-of-context references to positions taken in the past.
My hope is to go to a bar with some friends and drink beer and try to get tipsy enough to find the whole spectacle entertaining; one thing I have learned over the years is that the proper application of alcoholic beverages can go a long way towards making even the predictable and boring kinda fun.
Have a shot and re-read this.
posted by Professor Dave at 3:20 PM
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