What If It Was Palin That Teared Up?

An Emotional Joe Biden Opens Up to Brody File about Family Tragedy

November 28, 2007

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/276788.aspx

At this point, Biden looked down and paused for 15 seconds to collect
himself. “Excuse me,” he said, wiping his eyes. The crowd applauded.

http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/25/joe-mot... ( http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/25/joe-mot... )

I have seen live footage of more recent events but could spend hours looking for links.

I don't mean to seem heartless, the guy has every right to tear up when speaking about his family. I just think he should let others tell his story then it wouldn't seem like he is using his family's tragedy to suck people in.

I love Hillary and I think Sarah is a good replacement in the most important ways. Once Palin breaks the glass ceiling as VP, I think it will be easier for Hillary to become President. For one thing, it will show a lot of men that mysogny doesn't work: Hillary survived it and so will Sarah.

They have the same can-do attitude, they are practical, wonks. They have the same -- zest in campaigning and competing with the boys. They are both wonderful role models.

I don't think there should be 'test words'. To reject someone for saying 'tree' for 'three' is racist. I think people should be allowed to spend their energy learning a subject (in Palin's case energy) instead of learning some strict standard Rain in Spain Stays Mainly on the Plain. I respect Palin for keeping her priorities in order.

Our most successful recent presidents were not US Ivy League: Reagan and Clinton.

As for sentence structure, the way a speech is transcribed can make it sound more or less grammatical. Palin's family were teachers; I've never heard her say anything like Michelle Obama's "There ain't no white folks in Iowa."

I'd much rather focus on issues than over whether one or the other candidate cries or not.  I am not sure if the tears on Senator Biden's part were calculated or not, because from personal experience I have to say that some losses are just so difficult that no matter how much time has passed, those feelings of loss are still there and probably always will be.

 However, given that, I believe that it's important that we focus on issues, seriously focus on them, not on the way some candidate pronounces words or mispronounces them, not on whether someone could have an emotional moment or not.. but on how this election is going to impact the American people.

I think that there is much to recommend Governor Palin in what she has done in Alaska.  I believe that that same spirit that has brought reform there will also bring reform to Washington.  And don't we need that?  Aren't you tired of your representatives ignoring you and sitting up there and getting rich?  I was not for this bail out package; though I suppose something had to be done.  Sadly, I still think there is way too much corruption in Washington.. we private citizens need to send someone there who will make some REAL CHANGES, not just talk about the change we need.  I am tired of someone else deciding what I need.  I know what I need.  I need to be able to afford to fill up my car with gas.  I need to be able to afford to buy groceries for my family.  I need to be able to go to the doctor and have regular health care maintenance.  I need to be able to fill my prescriptions and pay my bills.

Why are all the politicians becoming rich while we are the ones trying to figure out how to do all those things?

Isn't it time for somebody to shake up those Washington politicians and remind them that they are supposed to be representing US?

I have more faith in someone who has a record I can check, rather than someone like Senator Obama who has only spent perhaps 143 days in the Senate since being elected the very Junior Senator from Illinois.  I wish he had a record more substantial that perhaps the Guiness Book of World Records for the most "present" votes in his State Senate as well.

I'm going to pin my hopes on someone who has a proven record of reaching across the aisle and trying to work for the people, Senator McCain and Governor Palin. 

LeeAnn

I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is onl

A great point, Kim. Human is human, and no matter your political views a little bit of empathy goes a long way toward finding common ground.

I agree with NC Mom. Women are their own worst enemies. I think the treatment of all the campaigning women has been terrible. If she cries, she'll get slammed for it. If she doesn't, people want more emotion. And the claim that "she is George W. Bush"? Obviously, someone hasn't done their research except for listening to the liberal media. I read the book by Kaylene Johnson about her and her life up to her inauguration as Governor of Alaska. It's an inspiring story for any woman to read, regardless of party affiliation. Unlike Bush, she wasn't born into politics or money, but worked hard for everything she got and got there by thinking about the people and without taking money from private corporations and even citizens (she felt they were better off keeping their money and all she really needed was their vote anyway).

I'm voting Republican, but I've done my research on all of the candidates to make an informed decision. How many people can say they've actually sought out information other than what is being spoon fed by the media?

I mean no disrespect, but find it incredulous how Palin is being treated in this election. I'm most surprised of her treatment by other women.  Although I was never a Hillary fan, I was thrilled that there was a woman on the ticket, finally, even if it wasn't a woman who represented my values. Women are breaking glass ceilings in this election and regardless of party, we should at least respect that.

Link Text ( http://www.blackbeltmama.com )Black Belt Mama

Some pretty ugly words.  Where is the reason?  Interesting handle, "Observer." ( http://www.storyrhyme.com/jcsblog )

team of professional stylists ( http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/09/sarah_palin... ) that's cost them big bucks to make Palin look stylish. I don't hold that against her. Seems to me that's just good sense. But if we want to argue authenticity from the perspective teeth whiteners and hair plugs, is she really "just folks" in expensive suits and touched by professional stylist?

I don't care that she's had a makeover. It's her record and words that concern me.

And so, her being remade by a stylist is not what makes me think she's glib and insincere. It's Palin's possibly narcissistic promotion of own mythology,
pandering to the American cult of personality while this nation faces crises.

In this election, we've heard far more about Sarah's special needs child from Sarah herself than we've heard Biden talk about the loss of his first wife and waiting by his sons' bedside. Perhaps that's why Palin forgot that she wasn't the only parent on the debate stage.

I understand why Biden said what he said and choked up and know why it struck both men and women as sincere, some of whom will still vote for McCain.

In contrast, Sarah pushes her motherhood and the challenges of her special needs child often and after while it doesn't sound like she's being a mother who's "just folks" as much as it sounds like she's a political player going for the heartstrings story.

Palin needs to quit reciting her press clips and talk about the issues as an educated contender who could be in line for the presidency one day. Heaven help us.

(edited code 10/6)

Nordette ( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette ) is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link ( http://bigsole.blogspot.com ).

( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette )

Well, for one thing, in the diner in NH HIllary was caught off guard by a question about "How do you get up in the morning, who does your hair?" She was touched that the qustionier showed personal concern. Hillary's emotion was certainly spontaneous. Adn I haven't seen any reports of Hillary doing the same thing in other situations.

 Biden himself brought up the subject of his family and led into the story. And he has been accused of doing the same thing in many speeches. (Haven't seen any proof of that yet.) Didn't even the cameraman seem to predict where he was going, and go into a closeup at the right moment -- on live coverage.

 If Biden really has done this repeatedly, then even if teh reaction is sincere, he wold know by now that telling that story DOES make him tear -- so if he didn't want to tear, he wouldn't tell the story.

That's a pretty serious charge against Biden. If it's true, there should be videos showing many clips of him tearing in different speeches. Where are they?

I admit it looked phoney to me, the way he set it up, and it having nothing to do with the subject at hand. At least Sarah wasn't fazed  or thrown off stride. Iifc she didn't try to top it, she just ignored it and stayed on topic.

Joe Biden experienced a horrific loss. Do you have to like him or his politics to be able to accept that maybe it still upsets him at times?

KimBlogHer Contributing Editor ( http://blogher.org/blog/kim-pearson )|Professor Kim ( http://professorkim.blogspot.com/ )|

If it was palin, CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS & all supporters of Obama will call her weak like they've done to Hillary (NH). The media has double standard in treating this 4 candidates; they've lost their credibility, zero on ethics. lets face it, MSM is carrying Obama's water bottle since the start of primary, campaigning for him out in the open. lets cut too many fancy words, its plain and simple filth; MSM take 90% of the filth.

The toker and the boozer running for the Dems, heck, you can't go wrong on that; sure formula for taking down this country faster than you can say to your wife, "honey I shrunk the kids."

I do not see Biden as authentic, therefore his tears did not seem genuine.  It seemed too rehearsed..it did not seem to come naturally.  With his hair plugs and teeth whiteners he just did not give me the impression that his tears were real...just used to get symapthy from the female voters.  By some of the comments here I see that it has worked to some degree...Sad!!

I agree. Sarah Palin would be perceived as weak if she had teared up, and that isn't fair. But, what concerns me is that after Joe Biden teared up, she just went on as if he had just said something about the weather. She didn't even acknowledge his obvious sincere pain. AT ALL. If she had just even given him a sympathetic or empathetic look, I would have felt that she was being respectful of his horrific experiences. But she just went on to not answering the next question. There's such a thing as being too unemotional.

Well, no one can take it away from Palin that she will be in the history books!!  I think women in general should be proud that there were 2 women this year that made stepping stones for all of us - not just a party - but for women.  Be kind and try to be more objective.  I watched the debate 3 times - I didn't have to go to a newspaper to know the results.  I've been around for a long time - facts are facts!! 

Hey, I bet money before the debate the Joe would cry.  He's so predictable.  I'm just not sure if he was tearing up about his family or because it had been a few hours since his last shot of booze and he had withdrawals.  Ah well, another thing we'll never know about Bo n` Joe.

Well, I remember when the media AND women tore Hillary up when she had a bad moment - that was NOT pretty what everyone said.

As for Biden, he may never totally be over what happened to him and his son and wife.  I feel sorry for him there.

Over all though, I think Palin did well standing up against a man with alot of experience at debates.  Palin is only the 2nd woman in history to be on a Presidential ticket.  What does that say about our government?  Biased in my opinion.  Women are so harsh against other women!

Great post! I don't understand whats going on with women? Some of the things Sarah gets  grievances about just don't make sense.

You know if it was the first time I had seen Joe tear up I would have been touched, but in the last month Joe has teared up at least three times. Frankly I'm tired of it. It seem as if Joe is pandering with the tears and it turns me off big time.

Completely agree with you here.

It's teh same old tired double-standard.

Mainstream media is telling us how to think, and they were relentless in their sexist brutality against Senator Clinton. Now theyre doing the same with Governor Palin. They don't argue about these candidates' political positions, instead they guage there attacks on them as women by how it makes their private part feel.

This has got to stop. We're being lead by neaderthals.

 What I saw was a women who was clearly inept at answering substantively the hard questions, but whom the male media pundits did not criticize post debate for that total ineptitude.

Had Hilary put on such a performance she would have been cremated by the media, and though Hilary was never my candidate I wondered at this fact post debate.

After reading Lowry's paragrah in the National Review I kind of got it, though it disgusted me in a way.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDYzMGFiN... ( http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDYzMGFiN... )

So, I wonder at the question like the one asked in the original post, and I wonder why so very few are discussing the sexism which actually allowed her to get a pass on such an abysmal performance.

cooper

Wouldn't people have soundly criticized him if he had called Her "Sarah" and been coy and flippant? I was not impressed with her cutesy delivery and lack of seriousness about the actual questions that were being asked.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen ( http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com )

Do women realize that women are the ones that are not allowing women to succeed - the petty little comments does not help any womans cause regardless if she is running for President, VP, Senate, House of Rep --

If you look at all the States where BO is winning - he is way ahead of McCain with WOMEN - McCain is ahead with Men - and the women have the voting advantage -

Who cares about she pronounces nuclear - let me hear some of you pronounce Louisville for me - do you say Louieville, do you say, Louis ville - you pronounce from the section of this country where you are raised - whats the deal - is this all that anyone can find wrong with a person??

Look at the issues before you attack - and I personally do not care for either Obama or McCain - like Biden and Palin better - just saying that we women have better start shaping up and quit blaming the men for our problems - when we are our own worse enemies.

Even though that it touched me that he did choke up - he is human - he is a parent - the same as me - the media would have destroyed Palin like they did Clinton when she teared up - its so sad that the media has determined everything for us now - they attack Palin for padding her bra in a beauty contest many years ago - they attack her for her child cheating on a test in school - they do not go after Biden on the incident about the shots like they did Clinton - its a biased and paid for group of old boys that have the intention of not only telling us there are weapons of mass destruction, but who our next President should be and we will like it. NOT.

"Do you people even realize the pack of lies you have been handed by the democrats?"

Lies beginning with teh bogus primaries...

Lies by the DNC/RBC

Lies by the corrupt overtaking of the caucuses

Lies and thuggish threats to delegates at the DNC National Convention in Denver. ( I was there!)

Lies regarding Obma's record and positions.

This lifelong Democrat, and we're talking decades here, will not, can not reward the undermining of the democratic voting process by supporting the selectee of the DNC.

As far as the current candidate, I'll take a "pass", just as the CA elgation did with my primary vote. 

..but I believe if Palin had spoken about some aspect of parenting her children or some family tragedy and she teared up it would have been okay just like it was okay and touched our hearts when Biden did it. Tears in public are fine, even for women. I have to disagree with alot of you others though. The public was hard on Hillary and for the most part rejected her humaness if you will, because of why and when she shed those tears. Hillary spoke of campaign difficulties and weariness when she cried. America doesn't want to see someone who steps up and goes to battle crying about how hard it is. Do that in private please. (And that is not my personal opinion, I was okay with the tears). Hillary has projected herself as tough and a "anything a man can do I can do better" type of woman for years. And we all 'know' those women do not cry or sweat or slip or stumble or do anything real people do. They are too tough and so strong ! She set herself up for that slap unfortunately. If Hillary had shed those very same tears for love of life or family or concern for her child or children in general she would have touched our hearts too and been given a pass.

Because this is just one of many posts about this campaign, including the debates. Look around, and I'm pretty hopeful you'll find conversations about aspects of the race that are more up your alley. But certainly the perception of gender behavior has been pretty fascinating to dissect all year too!

Thanks :)

Elisa Camahort Page
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

There is clearly a significant philosophical difference between the two candidates on taxing and spending. Independent analyses show that McCain would raise less money in taxes than Obama, but he would also spend less. According to the independent Tax Policy Center ( http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411749_... ), neither candidate does anything significant to curb the projected increase in the size of the national debt by trillions of dollars over the next decade.

The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calculates that Obama has promised a total of $990 billion in new spending over his first four-year term. At the same time, he has also proposed spending cuts that amount to around $989 billion, so the net cost roughly balances out. The debt will continue to increase, more or less in line with current projections, based on keeping most of the Bush tax cuts.

 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008...

Temi

I don't care who tears up. I don't think it is worth it to sit around wondering what wouldhave happened if Palin teared up. I think watching the debate for content,and seeing who answered the questions well enough to be our next VP, a stones throw away from the presidency ,is what is important.

 We had to bail out wall street, and the congress knows it, maybe the
public really doesn't get it but it had to be done, and the fact that
McCain suspended his campaign , politicizing the process may have been
a factor in the politicizing which took place - causing the vote to
fail and causing millions of people on the verge of retirement to lose
billions from their retirement fund- money that is unrecoverable due to
their age.

As you can clearly see after adding bribes to constituencies
thus bolstering their chances for reelection the bill has passed.
Congress has to make hard choices for the good of their constituents -
they didn't do it here.

  It doesn't bother me when people do not like a certain aspect of a
candidates plan but for the life of me I wish they would actually find out what the plan is and compared it to the plan of the other
candidate.

 The spending plans are fact checked at the bottom of this paragraph in a  link, in
more depth than one usually sees, and there will be more fact checking
on this over the next couple of weeks by the author of this article.

This frantic stuff I see written, by people who are in a panic  drives me nuts, when
reading some real analysis on the subjects would in most cases stop not
only the untruths and gross exaggerations that seem to abound, but would
also at least theoretically stop some of this ridiculous histrionics I
see.

 It's called context, it's called a balance sheet, and it is nowhere
close to what the propaganda machine is popping out. It may, as a
matter of fact, be an absolute no increase. This depends on the
methodology used.

 Is it too much to ask that people at least look at the data and become
familiar with methodologies used in analyzing this data?

 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/

cooper

Why does someone running for 2nd in line to the highest office in the country get a break, when I don't really get one (that I know of) if a random job interview?

I hear you striving for balance here and I love that - have to say, it's rare.  But whereas you may hear her speaking to you as an American, I hear her speaking to me (or in my general direction) as someone who doesn't know enough about the stuff I need her to know about to be second in line to the presidency.

And relative to your concerns about Obama's plans to tax, all I can say is that I firmly believe that McCain would do no better, and perhaps even worse. A few hundred dollars thrown at me as Bush has done a couple of times has done nothing for me...it's so much bigger than that. 

Laurie 

LaurieWrites ( http://lauriewrites.typepad.com )

Do you people even realize the pack of lies you have been handed by the democrats? Obama is proposing one trillion dollars in increases in govt. spending. We are bailing out Wall Street by the tune of 700million which we do not have!!! We are borrowing this money from banks to give to other banks who may or may not pay us back. WTF are we going to come up with one trillion dollars for extra spending when we don't even have 700 million. Wake up do you guys have a pulse. Obama fully intends to tax not only those who make 250,000 or more but those who earn way less than this. This is not fair. Many of us are paying out of pocket tuition for children with special needs to the tune of 200,000 and we have depleted our 401k's. Forget about taking a nose dive-we have no 401k to nosedive with. Ladies, you really all have to start analyzing the facts. The fact is we are all going to pay unmercifully for Obama and Biden's increases. Say Hello To Poverty, Say Hello MY Baby!!

I did an audition once to read for radio (and I passed it although I was scared to death) but one of the words was "nuclear." Down here people often mispronounce the word "three" as "tree," a throwback to African dialect. The word "three" was also on the test.

While we may excuse people who don't hear well and so mispronounce words sometimes and while we may agree certain dialects and accents add flavor, the consistent mispronunciation of words by an individual with good hearing or one who claims to be educated is a sign of poor reading skills and weak literacy. In fact, the test of knowing a word is that you know its meaning, can use it in a sentence, can spell it, and yes, can pronounce it correctly.

Despite an attempt by one commenter to equate stuttering with consistent mispronunciation, stuttering is not a sign of lack of comprehension or poor literacy. Obama has an occasional stutter and is a very literate person.

I'm not surprised Palin has this problem with words. From what I've heard she's not big on reading, and that brings me to Suzanne's point. I too am weary of Bushisms and the years of living ignorantly (dangerous manglings of the English language.) I am well past weary of people equating being well-educated with being elitist. That's bullsh*t. No wonder our education system is in trouble. A major American party in this country is promoting an idea that being well-educated is a bad thing, but that's to be expected, I suppose, when we consider where education lands in its representatives' budgets.

What happened to striving for excellence?

Furthermore, speaking in dialect or with an accent does not relieve a public official from the obligation to make sense. A major duty of a public official is to communicate well with the public. Sometimes Palin sounds like she can't string together a coherent sentence.

I could go into how one's performance language should surpass one's informal language and that in a debate we should see performance language, but that's another post.

So, what can I say? Her ascendancy shows that anyone can rise to power in this country with a certain type of suburban packaging. Anyone.

(edited for some typos on 10/5, and I probably did not catch them all)

Nordette ( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette ) is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link ( http://bigsole.blogspot.com ).

( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette )

The whole point is that Palin is so similar to George W. Bush that she even misprounces nuclear the same way he does. The woman is George W. Bush - no more, no less.

Suzanne Reisman ( http://www.blogher.com/member/suzanne-reisman ), Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender ( http://blogher.org/topic/feminism-gender )
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants ( http://cussandotherrants.com/ )

For me its gonna.  I swear it makes me cringe.  I tell my kids PRONOUCE your words.  They are at the point that they say things and look over to see how I am reacting.  They often crack up laughing.  It may seem nit picky but we all have our pet peeves

Michelle

I blog at http://www.mommycan.blogspot.com/

I felt for Joe Biden when he choked up, perhaps because I remember reading about him and his family right after he was elected, then reading about the horrific accident that killed his wife and daughter just a few weeks later. In my mind, I can still see the big smiling family picture. If I remember correctly, he was only 29. So I have no trouble believing that his feelings were genuine last night. And if Gov. Palin had gone through a similar tragedy of suddenly losing a spouse and one child, and almost losing the remaining children, then having to parent them alone for years while you shouldered the most demanding job you've had up to that point, I would not hold it against her if the memory brought her to the brink of tears. It would strike me as completely reasonable.

For the record, I wasn't among those who thought Hillary was faking her tears, either, although it wouldn't have mattered to me whether she was or not. 

As to the question of whether there is a double standard for women in politics, of course there is.

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor ( http://blogher.org/blog/kim-pearson ) ( http://professorkim.blogspot.com/ )

The bar was set pretty low, so she exceeded the expectations of most.  I thought she did okay, but she stuck to her script.  And to NCMommy, I don't mean any disrespect, but I think she's gotten many breaks from her supporters.  

I think Joe Biden did a much better job of laying out the case for his ticket.  I thought he was especially effective when speaking about the costly war in Iraq and explaining where our military efforts really need to be (not there). He also showed a firm grasp of the role of the VP and underscored the fact that his years of experience in the Senate will serve him well (as well as his ability to work with those on the other side of the aisle).

The down home act didn't cut it with me and my (and others) aversion to the way she says (nu-ku-lar) is probably due to the fact that that's the way GW has been saying it for eight years.

I'm a mom, but I'm not a hockey mom, so that doesn't play with me.  I don't relate.  And I don't want to be lumped in with Joe Six Pack nor do I want him (or her) running my country.  

http://www.storyrhyme.com/jcsblog

But what exactly does Palin say??? She has got to be one of the greatest 'talking heads' ever produced. Lots and lots of patriotic rhetoric, but don't ask her to spell out any answers to the actually questions...sorry I can't help it, I agree with Nordette..."Glib" is the absolute defining term  for Sarah Palin, and sorry again... I just don't like her, because; As a woman, as a mom (with major kid challenges of my own!) as a  worker outside my home, as someone who has 'sat around the kitchen table' to discuss finacial matters, as a career person, and as someone who has made many personal sacrifices of myself and my time, I feel no way to relate to Sarah Palin at all. To me, everything she says seems rehearsed and artificial. Had she cried, she probably would have gotten the 'girls can't cry' drill, but let's face it folks, it's SOOOO not her style now, is it?

Palin may look different, but the differences are only skin deep, so to speak.

I don't know of many women who could support another woman who wants to make it illegal for a 15 year old raped by her father to abort a pregnancy from the event. Can you imagine the trauma this would do to that child? 

As for the debate, I heard talking points, and she didn't freeze, I'll grant her that. But reading the transcript of the debate, she didn't say anything other than talking points. Half the time, she didn't even answer the debate questions. 

Luckily, since I read the transcript and didn't watch the debate, I missed all the knowing winks, which would have irritated the heck out of me.

Actually, Obama's tax plan will impact on those making less than 250,000 a year. Obama is urging additional tax credits for middle income Americans, which means if you make less than 250,000 you should be paying less in taxes.

The only way your taxes will be increased under Obama is if you make more than 250K.  If you do then yes you will get a tax increase if not then you will not.  I do not know where you fall in that line.  He has a good table on his website with the actual dollar figures.  You can also check a couple of posts on Blogher as I and a few others posted his tax and education plans.

As for women being so hard on Palin I think it is because we want the best out there representing us.  I just don't think she is the best we have to offer.  Truth is she carries a big weight as the first woman on the republican ticket and she is just not doing a good job of it.  I am mad becuse I sooo wanted her to be good even though I would nver have voted for her.  I would have cheered hard and loud (maybe not too loud) for her though.  She just makes me sad becuse I hold my daughter to the same standards as my sons and she is not being held to the same standards as a guy.  If that were a man stumbling and fumbling last night Joe Biden would have wiped the stage with him instead he smiled and said nothing becuse its not nice to fight a girl.

Michelle

I blog at http://www.mommycan.blogspot.com/

Women are critical of Sarah Palin because so much is at stake.

And possibly because she was sold to us as a replacement for Hillary, which she clearly is not. In doing so, McCain played women for stupid, and we do not want her up there proving his point.

NCMommy - from everything I've read Obama's tax proposals will not affect you unless your family makes over $250,000 a year.

 -Lisse

@ Home in the World ( http://homeintheworld.typepad.com/ )

Simply because we've had a President who has mispronounced it for so long.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain ( http://queenofspainblog.com/ )

Is Palin ever going to get a break?  Give her credit for doing a great job.  What I hear is "She did better, BUT...." and sadly, women are judging her the hardest. They both did a great job reaching out to the people, but it seems Biden is the only one getting the great reviews.  Look, I hear how people are fed up with the politicians in Washington and how we want change, but we have a here a candidate that IS DIFFERENT.  She spoke to me as an American not a politician, but yet, what I'm hearing is "She's doesn't know enough about politics to be Vice President".What I still don't understand is how is voting for one side over the other going to effect my family?  If Obama is elected, how is his increase tax going to affect my family's budget? We're probably doing better than the average American, but we're not rich. We're not suffering, but we don't live in luxury either.  We work hard, we SAVE and we don't live beyond our means. I'm afraid that with Obama's tax increase, my family will no longer have enough extra to save for our rainy day.Now, I don't want America to be ruled another 4 years like the way the Bush administration has and the democrats are saying that McCain IS Bush and they blame him for the corruption in Washington,  but is it fair to blame McCain for Bush's incompetency just because McCain is a republican?  Now I consider myself more republican, but I still voted democrat in the last 2 terms. 

About seeing him wait with his kids for a camera crew.

I just love great Dads. Sigh.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain ( http://queenofspainblog.com/ )

The response was appropriate and I think we could try to predict a Palin show of emotion, but who knows.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain ( http://queenofspainblog.com/ )

to be critical of palin for how she pronounces nuclear or this or that is a little much.

if
you listen to obama without his trusty teleprompter, he stutters at
times. if you listened to biden last night, he had trouble a couple of
times spitting out words.

all candidates make gaffes, miscues,
etc. and sometimes just because they don't sound like you or me,
doesn't mean they are wrong. 

Given that she's running on her relatability to the average person, I think that she would get "a pass" (as if anyone needs permission to have human emotions) if she teared up. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think her supporters like her for being "a real woman" that they see themselves in or what they wish they could be. Plus, the media is on her case for her lack of knowledge on the issues, and they acknowledge that she's running as your next door neighbor. Your next door neighbor likely isn't qualified to be VPOTUS whether he or she cries or not.

As for me, I think she'd soften me up a little by showing some real emotions as opposed to glib winks, folksy comments, and little jokes. She's George W. Bush right down to how she mispronounces "nuclear."

Suzanne Reisman ( http://www.blogher.com/member/suzanne-reisman ), Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender ( http://blogher.org/topic/feminism-gender )
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants ( http://cussandotherrants.com/ )

haveing been there with the possibility of losing my sister I know those tears.  It is something you can't explain I can tell someone all the details of her illness and stay in the hospital one day and be just fine but there are times when it just swells up in you to even think of what 'could have been'  I have many siblings but for me there are days when I wake and just have to hear her voice to be sure she is actually OK and I did not dream that she survived.  It is very hard to explain but you have so many fears wraped up in them that you try to keep hidden because they are fine.  Your fears never have anywhere to go so you bury them and every once in a while they surface when you least expect it.

As for Hillary I never thought those tears were manufactured because she just does not seem like that type of woman. She evoked her girl power in the sense of I am just as good and just as strong as any guy.  She to me would be the woman who enters the seals program and cut every strand of her hair off without flinching.  I don't think she would ask for special treatment of any kind in any situatuion.  But Palin not so much.

Michelle

I blog at http://www.mommycan.blogspot.com/

When he teared up, I teared up.  Especially as he spoke of decisions we have to make sitting around the kitchen table...MRI vs. another semester vs. nothing.  This (I believe) was after the initial tearing and you know that he had to make some tough decisions around his family's misfortune.  I teared up because it directly mirrored our situation.

I felt more in touch with him for it.  Sometimes men tearing up show that they are more human and 'touchable' and I think it needed to happen and I also believe that he didn't do any damage with it; and it was completely sincere.

After, I found myself asking the same question...what if she did that?  The reality is that she would have looked weak...unfortunately.  Women should be able to show the same emotion in the same situation, but everyone is looking for that, ready to say a woman can't do the job because of emotionality.  That's a shame. 

~Mia.

My blog is General Hysteria ( http://www.generalhysteria.blogspot.com/ )~