No Matter How Much Lipstick You Put on Pit Bull, Or Even If She Has Been Taught to Wink, She is Still Not Ready to Be a Heartbeat Away!

"Can I call you, Joe?" Sarah Palin asked in the pre-debate greeting to Senator Biden. Sounded like more of the same of her folksy demeanor, right? Well, it was just to set up her pre-canned quip, "Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again."

When you watch her antics again, you can see that the "folksy" stuff is not a sign of authenticity, but of a carefully conceived disguise. All of her winks and smiles, dropping her G's on words, and using the punchy phrases like "darn right","you betcha", and "doggone" were pre-planned, designed to present a false image of her. In contrast, Joe Biden, showing some grace and dignity, came to answer the questions for Americans to hear the facts, and it showed.

When she tried to remember her talking points, Palin made some big factual errors. But since the McCain-Palin campaign has often defied the facts, because they do not matter to them, she might have been recalling the talking points accurately. The campaign may have called upon her to lie for them again. And if she did not remember her talking point, she just changed the subject. Unbelievably, she said she wasn't going to answer some of moderator Gwen Ifill's questions but then at the end took credit for taking tough questions.

Palin played fast and loose with the facts, and often used a half-truth to add up to a big lie. Case in point:

PALIN: Said of Democratic presidential candidate Obama: "94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction."

THE FACTS: The dubious count includes repetitive votes as well as votes to cut taxes for the middle class while raising them on the rich. An analysis by factcheck.org found that 23 of the votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all, seven were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, 11 would have increased taxes on only those making more than $1 million a year.

Of course, the right wing propagandists went through the roof on the broadcasting major's television performance. Typical was the National Review's Rich Lowry, who wrote: "I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it!"

How sickening! The truth is, Palin has proved she cannot take follow-up questions,flubbing questions in media interviews. Her solution in the debate: not answering them at all.

Palin demonstrated a knack for answering the question she wanted to answer—not the one that was asked. At one point, Ifill asked Palin to respond to a comment by Sen. Biden on health care. “I would like to respond about the tax increases,” Palin pivoted and proceeded to accuse Obama of raising taxes the aforementioned 94 times, which is FALSE! A minute later, Ifill prompted Palin to respond about McCain’s record of deregulation.

Again, Palin resisted: “I'm still on the tax thing because I want to correct you on that again.” Biden looked exasperated, prompting Palin to say, “I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also.” In other words, rules be damned. (Like the laws she ignores in Alaska).

In other words, as columnist Christopher Beam pointed out for Slate magazine, she was saying "screw your questions, I’ve memorized a message and gosh darn it, I’m going to get it across." She even managed to steer Ifill at one point: “Can we talk about Afghanistan real quick?” “Certainly,” said Ifill.

She had talking points but few responses to Biden’s rebuttals. One notable exception was the time she corrected Biden on “McClellan’s” argument that counterinsurgency could work in Afghanistan as it has worked in Iraq. Biden conceded the point but didn’t mention that his name is actually Gen. McKiernan. McClellan served under Lincoln.

It was a strategy to avoid follow-ups, in a debate format that favored that, and she was able to come across both forceful and "charming" to the Republican base. All style, but little substance.

Of course, the more I see her I see an Alaskan Stepford wife, a Republican fembot programmed to be that smiling pit bull with lipstick that she is.

In her closing statement, Palin said she liked the debate because “I like to answer these questions without the filter of the mainstream media.” Christopher Beam got it right when he wrote, "If by 'filter' she means Couric-style follow-ups, requests for clarification, and other obstacles to the subjects she came to talk about, she’s right. This debate was a great medium for her."

No matter how much lipstick you put on that pit bull, she is not ready to be Vice-President, a heartbeat away from the presidency. She continues to showcase the poor judgment of John McCain.