On Thursday night we’ll get to see Joe Biden and Sarah Palin debate each other.
This reminds me that one of my favorite national debates ever was the VP debate in 1992.
It was a clash between two iconic politicians: the up-and-coming Al Gore and the embarrassing incumbent VP, Dan Quayle. How could you not watch? Quayle was scrappy and aggressive, tearing into Bill Clinton at every opportunity, while Gore was relentlessly on message, barely concealing his contempt for his former congressional colleague. In the middle was James Stockdale, Ross Perot’s bizarre running mate, interrupting the brawl with odd moments of unintentional humor.
As Maureen Dowd wrote, “With an evidently overcaffeinated Mr. Quayle bouncing from rant to rant to his right and with Mr. Gore relentlessly reeling off speech-chunks to his left, Mr. Stockdale appeared in something of the role of a bewildered grandfather who has wandered down to the rec room in search of his slippers to find himself in the middle of an impassioned teen-age debate on the merits of Ice-T.”
Elizabeth Kolbert: “[F]or those who like to watch politics in its purest form — as a kind of psychological gang warfare — the Vice Presidential debate was one of the best shows the campaign has offered so far.”
Here are the opening statements of all three candidates:
Here’s one of my favorite moments, because it illustrates the tenor of the whole evening:
Here’s the moment where Stockdale says his hearing aid wasn’t turned on:
And here’s another short clip: “pull a Bill Clinton”:
I always felt sorry for Stockdale. He was drawn into it by Perot and went along in an effort to do the right thing and help the country. Not that I was voting for them, but he was a genuine American hero (a Medal of Honor winner!), and the silliness of our political process made him look like a fool. He may not have belonged in the presidential race, but he didn’t deserve that level of disrespect.
I can’t wait for tomorrow. I am on pins and needles! Will it be hilarious? Painful? Infuriating? Boring? Or…will she come out swinging and hit a home run? (I concede the last possibility is…faint.) I have popcorn and a variety of beverages on hand, depending on what the mood requires, from Jack Daniel’s to champagne.
Two questions I want asked of Governor Palin:
1) In the past week, have you been able to locate any instances of John McCain supporting more regulation of the financial sector?
2) Since you are an avid reader, I’m curious to have your take on Seymour Hersh.