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Notes save Sarah Palin

October 2, 2008 /

Sarah Palin avoided a debate meltdown, and in that respect tonight was a positive evening for her. Biden, however, also avoided making gaffes, and he consistently made the case against John McCain.

That said, she lost the debate on points. It was obvious she was constantly referring to note cards for her talking points, and she blatantly avoided answering numerous questions. She landed some good punches, but she was unable to counter Biden’s most effective attacks against McCain, while Biden always had a response when she tried to attack Obama.

Her folksy manner seemed contrived, while Biden had the most compelling and authentic moment of the evening when he spoke about raising his two sons following the death of his wife and daughter. In that moment he took away her only potential advantage – her connection to average Americans.

Overall, this debate does not look like the game-changer that McCain needed given Obama’s current lead. Palin stopped the bleeding, but the initial polls have Biden winning the debate. She also made it clear that we shouldn’t hold our breath regarding future media interviews or news conferences for Sarah Palin.

President 2008

Silver lining

October 1, 2008 /

The Senate passed the new version of the bailout plan tonight. Many expect the House to come around on Friday.

One benefit with the new legislation involves the extension of tax credits for renewable energy.

Tech industry advocates in Washington said they were encouraged by the Senate’s addition of coveted tax incentives to the bill. Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said his organization is targeting 80 House bailout opponents who have a significant solar industry presence in their districts.

Until Tuesday, Resch said he was pessimistic about winning passage for the eight-year extension of tax credits for renewable energies. “Ironically, the failure of the bailout Monday in the House gave us a new lease on life to get this done,” he said. “This is an opportunity we can’t lose.”

He credited Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada with “playing his cards close to the vest, and playing them at the right time” to get the tax-extension measures in the bill.

Resch called the tax-credit extension, which also would allow utilities to take advantage of the credits, “a game-changer” that will dramatically boost the solar industry and help create new business models.

Reid, in a news conference, predicted the renewable energy tax credits “will create tens of thousands of jobs right away.”

Swisher, the wind energy advocate, expressd similar sentiments: “I was depressed this was not going to get done. Then our hearts soared when we learned how the Senate would do this.”

Congress, Swisher said, should encourage new renewable energy businesses. He said 41 factories making wind industry products have opened in the United States in the past 18 months.

It’s stunning that these tax credits would not have been passed this year without the failure of the bailout bill earlier this week. It’s critical that we continue to encourage the development of alternative fuels, and the impact on our economy and our national security cannot be overstated. We cannot continue sending billions of dollars overseas to Russia, Venezuela and the Middle East. Instead, we can keep the money at home, and generate thousands of green jobs.

Economy, Energy Independence, Environment, Foreign Policy, Policy

The farce continues

October 1, 2008 /

Here’s more wisdom from Sarah Palin.

It’s stunning that a candidate for high office can’t speak intelligently about the Supreme Court. In this clip, she can’t name a Supreme Court decision other than Roe v. Wade that she disagrees with.

It’s not necessary for a candidate to be able to recite the names of decisions. It is important, however, for a candidate to have a working knowledge of the issues that have faced the courts over the years. As a social conservative, she could have easily cited decisions regarding prayer in schools or affirmative action that have offended conservatives.

Instead, she rambled through a bunch of general statements that were barely more coherent than her statements regarding Russia and foreign policy.

Again, she’s not remotely qualifed for the Vice Presidency. It has nothing to do with her gender or her politics. She just can’t carry on a meaningful discussion of national issues. She has not held a single press conference, where reporters are usually much tougher than Katie Couric.

Experience and readiness are not confined to the bullet points on one’s resume. The ability to be engaged in the issues of our time is crucial. She fails this test spectacularly, and even conservatives are starting to take note.

John McCain does not have the temperment to be President, and he has selected a running mate who is not qualified to be Vice President.

Politics, President 2008

Bill Clinton campaigns for Barack Obama in Florida

October 1, 2008 /

Barack Obama has been surging in the polls, and now the Obama campaign is bringing out the big guns.

Bill Clinton campaigned today for Obama in Florida. John McCain’s lead has evaporated in Florida and Ohio, and some polls show Obama with a lead in those states. Clinton can be a huge help getting independents and Democrats to fall in line for Obama, particularly in the current economic environment.

Up to now Clinton has been a liability. He’s terrible in interviews as he can’t hide his disapointment that Obama beat Hillary for the nomination. But on the stump he’s a huge asset. He knows how to give a speech, and he knows how to frame an argument that will persuade voters. If he keeps this up and Hillary continues to hit the campaign trail, Obama should be able to close the deal.

Democrats, President 2008

Handing out goodies

October 1, 2008 /

We’re seeing some typical Washington horse-trading as lawmakers try to add enough goodies to the bailout bill to help it pass the House.

Some of these changes make sense. The Congress dropped the ball by not extending tax credits for clean energy – now these credits have been added to the bailout bill. Deposit insurance will be increased from $100,000 to $250,000, and fixes to the Alternative Minimum Tax have also been added.

Of course, this stuff will bust the budget by another $100 billion, but who’s counting at this point.

Yesterday, the SEC clarified the mark-to-market accounting rules that many have blamed for exacerbating the current crisis. It’s possible that this change will be codified in the bailout bill.

There are strong arguments on both sides of this issue. Many like Steve Forbes have argued for years that the mark-to-market rules create short-term problems as banks are forced to write down assets to fire sale levels when problems arise. This has the effect of throwing gasoline on a fire when economic problems arise. On the other hand, some write-downs are needed. Otherwise, banks can sit on depressed assets and it can take years to flush the system of bad debt. This is what happened in Japan.

It’s a complicated issue, but it appears that the latest SEC changes offer a compromise that will ease the pressure on banks while still requiring them to assess the bad debt on their books.

Economy

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