Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart And The Theme Song From Maverick, The Television Show

Chart courtesy of ph33r and loathing.A couple of more commentaries on last night's debate, first this editorial from the New York Times, money quote:

Ms. Palin’s primary tactic was simply to repeat the same thing over and over: John McCain is a maverick. So is she. To stay on that course, she had to indulge in some wildly circular logic: America does not want another Washington insider. They want Mr. McCain (who has been in Congress for nearly 26 years). Ms. Palin condemned Wall Street greed and said she and Mr. McCain would “demand” strict oversight. In virtually the next breath, she said government should “get out of the way” of American business.

In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin’s candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment.

And finally, this money quote from David Brooks' op-ed piece from the same place:

Just as the midcentury psychologist Abraham Maslow predicted, Republicans watching the debate had a hierarchy of needs. First, they had a need for survival. Was this woman capable of completing an extemporaneous paragraph — a collection of sentences with subjects, verbs, objects and, if possible, an actual meaning?

By the end of her opening answers, it was clear she would meet the test.

There you have it, she is qualified to be president, she can speak on complete sentences. Oh my. (I wonder if Brooks' piece might be satirical?)

ATTENTION TEACHERS:Save your breath. All this talk about representation, increased salaries, better health benefits, better retirement, elimination of the Social Security Setback, reduced class sizes, etcetera, etcetera, will immediately cease. You will get your reward in heaven.

God bless all the teachers, God bless each and every one of you! I am so happy that Sarah Palin blesses us with her thought that we will get our "reward in heaven".

Gosh, she's so folksy and cute!

Doggone it, don't you just love it when she gets perky!

So cuddly and such a maverick!

Btw, does she really think of herself as a cow? An unbranded cow? That's what a maverick is, an unbranded cow that is motherless, yep, a motherless calf. A bleating motherless calf who lost her teat.

What?

Oh, you think she means that she is a lone dissenter, a rebel, a non-conformist, someone who doesn't follow the crowd.

Oh, that kind of maverick.

Ok, then, Hey! how about a big shout out to all of my fellow 6th grade teachers who taught at Nixa Middle School in the early 1990s. And to my former student Matthew Patterson--who always turned his homework in on time!

Hey, and a big shout out to 3rd grader Austin and 5th grader Trey who watched the debate last night. Trey, the 5th grader, (He's the guy who invented "Alaskan Airspace") said to me, "She isn't answering the questions." The boys will get an extra bowl of Ramon Noodles this afternoon and a dollar for being able to speak in complete sentences and to carry a thought beyond talking points.

Oh, and a big shout out to all the bloggers who showed up last night at the Patton Alley Pub. Kudos to Fat Jack for showing leadership and responsibility by encouraging us all to get together. Yeah, FJ, fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you.

Kudos go to Dr. A. Cline of Rhetorica for continuing to be the go-to person with ethical blogging questions. A Cline has a new blog called Carbon Trace, it's about bicycles. A Cline rides a bicycle, he don't roller skate nor drive no car.

And a special shout out goes to The Libertarian Guy, The Complaint Department Manager who know how to decorate a car and liven up a discussion!

And Kudos and a shout out go to the guy who I think was the Voice of Truth, but he says he isn't, and, of course, our friend, that soccer guy who is amazed that people like Jeff Gordon pray that they win or score more goals than the other team. (Like maybe God isn't going to hear the prayers of the other guys?).

And another special shoutout goes to the bloggerwho bought me a cola last night on the drive-by. He could have been the life of the party if he had stayed. Gosh, You all are special and Dang it, I like each and every one of you!

And then there is this:

OK, now Palin is just getting annoying.

"There you go again, Joe?"

Shout out to teachers in her family and some middle school class?

Ya, ya, ya, ya....it sounds like a scene from Fargo. No offense to Midwesterners, but she is overdoing it a bit, ya think? (You betcha.)

I felt like I was watching the sports segment on the evening news, not a vice presidential debate. Shout outs. Dang. Her answers to the questions she decided to answer and her answers in her own debate (who was the moderator?) I thought they were a little too folksy, a little too perky, a little too cute and a lot too superficial.