Posts by Paul Williams
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I don't disagree with Don or Peter however, Palin has to at least meet a new and higehr threshold where she's credible in this forum and it won't be as simple as it was in the one-on-one, edited interviews.
She'll have less control over the questions, less time to contemplate answers and is far more vulnerable to inconsistency and contradiction. A debate's more dynamic, and although she'll be rehersed, I don't expect her to manage it for the full duration.
Kind of like most teams playing the All Blacks; they might have energy and a game plan, but eventually talent and experience overwhelms.
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Look for yet another "Palin" bounce which, one hopes, will happen far enough away from the election not to matter.
I'd be satisfied if this is the best they achieve, but I'm optimistically hoping that she is revealed for what she is; a hopeless candidate entirely out of her depth. I'm not a born again or evangelical Christian, but don't they want someone who's competent as well as familiar with scripture (or do they really believe Jaysus will guide her...)
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I do, though, think that TV3 and TVNZ should both call their bluff and say "thanks, but no thanks - there will be no debate then"
Wishy-washy me sees both sides of this. I think a couple of head-to-head's between the old party leaders is needed; they're going to win or lose Treasury benches afterall, not the minors. But then the minors will be king-makers so there needs to be a forum for them all. I say this, however, as a supporter of Labour, I might not see it that way otherwise...
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@Cindy, thanks for this link - I need to read Dowd more often, she's smart and a great writer. I loved this line about W's (and McCain's )screw-ups on the bail-out deal:
It was quite a memorable moment in history for the M.B.A. president and the nominee of the party of business. Who would have dreamed that when socialism finally came to the U.S.A. it would be brought not by Bolsheviks in blue jeans but Wall Street bankers in Gucci loafers?
@Jolisa; the odd thing was that he did have many moments of simple clarity and I liked the fact that his comments on the economy were sprinkled with regular examples but on foreign policy, he got lost.
<wank> It's was like being witness to total scientific incommensurability; McCain as the Newtonian reacting with equal and opposite force "giddy-up, lets invade Iran" and Obama pushing String Theory to explain how the lack of affordable health care was somehow related to Georgia's membership of NATO... (perhaps I've pushed the metaphor__too far__)<wank>
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@Kyle, "post turtle"; genius. Cheers.
@RB
Something happened there, and we might find ourselves talking about it as a campaign turning point.
Perhaps and the link to Fallows piece makes sense; that Obama's feeling secure about his base and therefore going after as yet undecided voters. Still, I also wanted him to get tougher with McCain and was pleased on the few occassions he did (including the best few lines of the debate on McCain's errors of judgment on the WoT).
I thought Obama started stronger and looked and sounded, throughout, the better candidate. My only criticism was that, on occassion, he complicated matters unecessarily - the issues are complex, but in that format, simplicity is essential - if anything, McCain bested him by keeping things simple (if not by concious decision then by ignorance).
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Picked my team back in the 80s on the basis of their uniform and seeing them win a highlighted game on TV1's sunday football show.
Ditto (Spurs right?); plus the fact that they won the FA Cup replay in '80-something.
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Lighter stuff? Putin rears his head.
Just saw the interview to which this parody applies; I wonder if Sarah gets the joke? There's a hilarious event in Australian politics which keeps coming to mind; the 28 second long political career of Mal Meninga. Don't you wish?
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What ever happened to the lighter stuff chucked about on a Friday...?
How's this contribution. Approx 30% of Australia's top songs are by Crowded House (lead singers surely define where a band's from, not where they were formed, where the rest of the members were from, where they played most of their gigs, lived or even decided to call it quits... surely).
But, it's not without contention. Kylie's Arse has some, ermm, backers too (if that's too rude for PAS, I'm sorry... but I couldn't stop laughing).
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Paul: I'm off the view that perhaps news outlets should be doing the muckraking and tacpayer-funded researchers could... well, perhaps be doing a damn sight more to increase the quality of policy and debate in Parliament. Crazy notion, I know...
I joined the LRU within months of the National/NZF Coalition Craig, do you think you'd've done much "policy" with the distractions of; Tuku's undies, Laws' sacking, Neil Kirton's war with English, Robyn whatsherface finishing school in Vienna, Gilbert Myles tape recording by Deb Morris (ahh can't be mean to her, she was decent and clearly in the wrong party)... do you want more memories?
It was one silly stuff up after another... boom-times for an Opposition Research Unit.
Still, I did work on a silly-named bill to bring back bulk-funding for schools... and an alternative to the Steel's VSM bill... during which I had a fair bit to do with the late Brian Donnelly, about whom I've already made clear my admiration.
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Scholarships aren't a problem they're a part of the solution. We need more of them, or address the reason for the need by having Universal allowances and nil fees.
Wow, that sounds strangely familiar... not being rude Shep, just having a flashback!