Earpieces, Winks, and Lies: The Debate Refuses to Die

Winks, lies, mispronunciations, and other controversies have arisen out of the October 2 vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. The latest rumor comes from Scott Creighton asking whether Sarah Palin wore an earpiece during the debate. Is Sarah Palin so dumb that she has to have someone feed her the answers into her ear? I certainly hope not, but the same allegation was made against President Bush during a 2004 debate with John Kerry.

The evidence against Bush convinces me more than the evidence against Palin. Dave Lindorff of Salon looked into the conspiracy and had an owner of a spy technology store acknowledge that the bulge in Bush's jacket could have been a receiver. As further evidence, Lindorff relates a CNN D-Day broadcast that apparently picked up a voice reading Bush's lines to him. Perhaps the simplest explanation for Bush's debate bulge was the simplest: he was happy to see Jim Lehrer.

Since then, Purgatron posted a video from a press conference purporting to reveal an audio track fed to Bush during a press conference. Indastrol posted a similar video. I have learned my lesson about taking YouTube videos at face value. Are they hoaxes? If they are real, do they necessarily reveal Bush's incompetence?

The Palin earpiece rumors arise from the disparity between the perceived intelligence of Sarah Palin and her debate performance. Her inarticulate responses to Charles Gibson, Katie Couric, and even Sean Hannity caused conservative columnist George Will to declare Palin unqualified for the vice presidency. According to an AP poll, 54% of the voters in the poll who watched the debate felt that Biden performed better. Palin improved her image, but questions about her competency linger. Palin prepared for the debate, and I think that's sufficient explanation for her good performance at the debate. An earpiece makes a juicier story, though.

The McCain campaign posted a list of Joe Biden's 14 lies from the debate. Karl Rove presented a similar list on Fox News and Sean Hannity played a series of "Joe Biden lie clips" during Hannity & Colmes. Number 12 from the McCain campaign interests me: "12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn't see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more." Thank you for clarifying that. Unless you're the Dugger family, a tax increase on a $200,000 per year income won't take food from your children's mouths.

I have a solution for all the controversies. The two campaigns should have another vice presidential debate. The networks should push for it. The Biden-Palin debate drew more viewers than Barack Obama and John McCain. More viewers means more advertising revenue for the networks. More debates produce more controversies, which produce more internet content. If the people want it, why won't it happen?

Sources

Scott Creighton. What does Gov. Palin have in her right ear?. American Everydayman.

David Lindorff. Bush's mystery bulge. Salon.

Purgatron. Bush's earpiece mishap. YouTube.

Indastrol. Is Bush wired? YouTube.

Nico Pitney and Sam Stein. George Will: Palin Is Not Qualified. HuffingtonPost.

Erika Bolstad. Biden won debate, but Palin more likable, poll finds. Miami Herald.

Debate Facts. Joe Biden's 14 Lies. JohnMcCain.com.