Hey, I Came Here to See a Train Wreck. What happened?

I will admit that I watched the debate last night, hoping to see Palin make a fool out of herself. I mean, after watching her interviews with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, I figured it was inevitable. However, I was quite impressed with her performance. She even said many things I agree with and support whole-heartedly. If she had, let's say, 20 more years of experience and if she were running for president, I might even vote for her.

I was also quite impressed with Joe Biden. The pundits were sure we would make several gaffes. Instead, he displayed aplomb in his ability to succinctly spell out the facts and he proffered reasonbly clear interpretations of those facts. There were a few times when he started to ramble, but I think a bit of self-monitoring helped curtail any lengthy digressions. Overall, I think Palin rescued her image and Biden displayed his years of experience. Who won? I guess that is for the viewer to decide. In the end, the vice presidential debate does not carry much weight in the election. But, it was fun to watch.

There is a member in my family who has voted Republican in every single presidential race since the dawn of time (or since s/he was old enough to vote). This individual sent the following email to other family members:

You are all members of my family, and I love each of you. So far in my life I have only voted for republican candidates for president of the United States. But this year I am reconsidering. This link takes you to a short video from Barak Obama makes a lot of sense to me. It includes a link to a web site where you can get more details. I don't agree with everything Barak says, or everything he wants to do. But I disagree with fewer of Obama's thoughts than I do with McCain's. I see Obama as a thoughtful man with sound ideas (mostly). ;)

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/economyvideo