Jed can't cross post this thanks to his new HuffPo job, but I can. He's compiled a video of Sarah Palin debating, and, well, it's not what you think.
Sarah Palin knows how to debate in a soundbite-friendly format.
Below the fold is the video. Be sure to DIGG it up.
Watch Palin's debate in Alaska. As you can tell, she doesn't back down from her broad talking points, but delivers them smoothly and with seeming conviction.
As Jed puts it:
Because the format allows for very little give-and-take between Palin and Joe Biden, her "values"-oriented debating style stands a good chance of succeeding. The central feature of her debate style is that rather than getting bogged down in facts and specifics, she instead says what she is for and what she is against using terms like "healthier," "stronger," "more prosperous," and "fairer."
Jed also quotes Andrew Halcro, who debated Palin in Alaska, who said:
I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do.
You and I know that this is exactly what Bush was able to do (in at least half of his debates). The usual "we need America to be strong to fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" language that wins over 50% of America without actually saying anything specific.
Don't forget to DIGG Jed's post HERE.