Upon my perusing of blogs this morning, I found something that makes me alter my opinion on who won last night’s debate as it sounds as if Gov. Palin might be taking a visit to the woodshed with Grandpa Simpson McCain.
During last night’s debate, Sen. Biden was hammering away at Palin, and in turn McCain, about a sizable loophole in the federal bankruptcy law (the loophole would allow someone – for our examples let’s say John McCain – to protect any houses OTHER than their primary residence. Meaning McCain’s second through seventh homes are protected if he were to declare bankruptcy… but his primary residence wouldn’t be. Sen. Obama wants to close that loophole, McCain, obviously, does not) and suggested that McCain-Palin opposed closing this loophole…
Palin, not being able to go off cards or think quickly on her feet, started talking about energy (her supposed area of expertise – which is laughable) before moderator Gwen Ifill pressed her on the question as to whether or not she was opposed to the plan. Palin denied she was, saying, “No, that is not so.”
At the time I thought to myself, ‘Uh-oh... methinks the McCain campaign might have a problem with that.’
They did… aaand they are.
According to ABC News' Political Radar blog, the McCain campaign has already begun backtracking on her statement and has confirmed that Palin misstated McCain’s position while trying to spin Palin’s to suit them, even though it’s un-spinnable (it’s a word if I use it) in that capacity.
The McCain camp wasn’t the only group that noticed the flub, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) released a statement last night in which they welcomed, with tongue firmly in cheek, her endorsement of the bill;
"About 20 minutes into tonight's debate, Governor Sarah Palin demonstrated bipartisan appeal in endorsing Senator Biden's call for bankruptcy protections for primary residences. When Senator Biden called for bankruptcy shelter and suggested that Governor Palin likely opposed those protections, Gwen Ifill asked, "Governor Palin, is that so?" The Governor responded, "That is not so."
Both Senators Biden and Obama have supported the "Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act", which would close the loophole in current federal bankruptcy law that prevents primary residences from have their mortgages restructured by federal bankruptcy judges. Currently, second homes, seventh homes, and yachts are eligible for such restructuring, but not primary residences that are being lost at a record pace in the current foreclosure crisis.
ACORN welcomes Governor Palin's endorsement of this important provision, and hopes that this high-profile endorsement will encourage Senator McCain to change his mind and support this necessary change to assist America's struggling homeowners.
And it was ACORN’s Charles Jackson, speaking directly to ABC, that wins the smackdown of the night award when he said; “Sarah was just being Sarah. […] It's clear from the transcript that she supported the provision that Senator Biden brought up. We'll see if McCain's handlers will allow her to continue to hold that position tomorrow.” BAM! That one’s gotta hoit…
Now it will take Obama-Biden surrogates to keep this in the current press cycle as it’s what has provoked me to alter my stance on her performance last night.
Going directly against the position of your running mate is a sign of not being prepared and/or not being knowledgeable about your campaign’s positions, and because of that, I think Palin lost the debate last night, and now the Democrats need to take full advantage.
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