VP Debate winner?

Conventional wisdom around conservative airwaves concludes Sarah Palin was wonderful last night. The base appears mostly ecstatic over her performance. Many pundits said she spoke in language everyday folks appreciated and was definitely the winner based on likability. Most admit she appeared nervous (especially at first) and did not give the breadth and depth of answers Joe Biden did, but it does not matter because of her "wow" factor. "Say it ain't so, Joe" seems to be popular today along with "she held her own" and "she did well for only being five weeks into things."

Today's water cooler conversations with some male colleagues of mine were not as favorable to Palin. We all agree Palin is intelligent and has done a lot for Alaska. She threw in some good one liners last night but outside of energy policy, she didn't talk many details. Liberals (with big time help from the media) created a debate climate where fact spewing Biden appeared knowledgeable just by reciting endless statistics- many of which were untrue. Where Palin failed, in my view, was not being able to go two and three answers deep on a topic. On almost everything Palin threw Biden's way, he had an immediate answer back (albeit answers filled with half-truths), and then back again. After her first response, answers seemed shallow and responses sometimes convoluted.

Barring something unforeseen, this election comes down to economics. The media, as usual have shaped the debate into the haves and have-nots. In order to win, we have to speak clearly on the folly of liberal economic policies. What did I want Palin to say last night? Try these on for size.

*How can 95% of folks get a tax cut when, depending on the year cited, 30%-48% of all individual taxpayers owe no tax in a given year?

*When the bottom 50% of taxpayers' tax receipts are 2.9% of the total, how much more do you want the upper 50% to pay?

*When the top 10% pay 70% of the taxes, how is the Bush/McCain administrations giving tax cuts for the rich? The rich are the ones paying the taxes now.

*When Barack Obama says we need to build the economy from the bottom up, how does this work when the folks with money are the ones creating the jobs?

*If universal health care is so dandy, why do people from countries such as Canada still come to the US for the really serious surgeries they need performed?

*Mr. Biden, how do you explain the Democrats denial of problems with Fannie & Freddie back in 2005 when Republicans like John McCain were warning about big problems? Wouldn't this make Democrats more culpable then Republicans for at least not doing anything about this mess before it was too late?

*Please explain if tax cuts are so damaging to our economy why they generate increasing revenue every time they are enacted?

*Companies would stop trying to evade the US tax code, as you cite so often, if our tax rate wasn't the third highest in the industrialized world. Drop the tax rate and see a jobs boom.

Finally, how about a foreign policy diddy: *Mr. Biden, what is the first thing you would say to the leaders of Iran when you sat down to discuss their hatred for Israel and America?

If Palin would've challenged Mr. Biden on these topics, she would've wowed those who loved her big smile and also wowed those of us looking for a beating on substance. Instead the politics of class envy appear to doom us to at least four years of patriotic tax increases, big government spending, and a further shift towards European elitism.

How bad is the U.S. economy?

All year I've heard how bad off we are economically, but it this true? If we had a Democratic president right now, would the media be fixated on telling us everyday how terrible things are? Do they have an agenda in getting somebody else elected that is more important than facts?

I was sitting here listening to Barack Obama's "change" candidate, VP nominee Joe "I've been in Washington over 30 years" Biden prattle on for 10 minutes about everything wrong with our country. Barack Obama's been doing the same for months. From their descriptions, all but about 10% of the population is practically destitute. Sure, we've hit a rough spot, and times are difficult for folks. But, in many cases, what is the definition of "difficult" we are using?

*70% of folks own homes. Home ownership has never been greater in our nation's history. Of course, the average home size has doubled in the last 30 years.

*A generation ago, families were lucky to have one car. Now most have two, three, or four cars. And until recently, many of them were the big gas guzzling kind.

*96% of all mortgages are paid on time. Of course, the default rate more than tripled in the past several years as people took out loans for even bigger homes they couldn't afford.

*Americans gave away over $300 billion dollars in charitable contributions last year.

*In 2007, the national GDP (gross domestic product, or the value of what we produce) was almost $14 trillion dollars. That is bigger than the next four countries combined (Japan, Germany, China, UK).

I think many of us are greedy. The next "thing" is never enough. Everybody has to best their neighbors and friends. And for the past 25 years, we've been doing so. Maybe we have to make a few choices now, so we get grumpy and want the government to bail us out. You mean I can't put zero down on a house with a monthly payment that is 40% of my salary anymore? I shouldn't buy trucks & SUV's with near single digit gas mileage? I shouldn't take my kids to watch Kobe Bryant and pay $500?

This country is unbelievable in what we've achieved. Despite the network news media's daily axe grinding, we are still the envy of the world. When they need somebody to step up we do. When they need someone to buy their stuff we do. When they need someone to beat back communism and fascism we do. Let's go back to the days of Reagan and celebrate our republic's achievements. Are we perfect? Of course not. But we are the last great hope for freedom in this world and we should never forget it.