"Wins the date", obviously there's a contest, to have a winner.

"Her responses, after awhile, seemed to be more acceptable to a beauty contest than a vice-presidential debate." There it is, it's a beauty contest, but without Sarah, it would have been just a popularity contest, no?

So what's the gripe, that Sarah is better looking than Obama, or is it that Obama is such a pretty talker that none of his followers thought he could be beaten, and Sarah has changed the ground rules from oratoric excellance to ordinariness.

She's as shallow as he is, she does have experience in leadership where he's a great talker who's done nothing, except talk (why is that familiar). I'm personally worried whichever way the US election goes to be honest. It just grates me that so many folks forgive in Obama/Biden what they cannot in McCain or really, it's just Sarah isn't it?

I hope the US doesn't return to isolation if McCain gets in and doesn't go completely week kneed and ineffective if Obama gets in, we need a strong USA in the world. A world without them is really worrying.

It's not all about Sarah but most of it is.

Here's the background on Obama:

http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/2008presidentialrace/p/bobama.htm

Here's the background on Sarah:

*wink*

Ah the latte sippers are in a flap , arnt they .

Doggone it .

...but from November 5 they'll be drinking chardonnay...

bennie, thanks for posting this website: http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/2008presidentialrace/p/bobama.htm

It provides a comprehensive, non-biased look of Barack Hussain Obama - who he is and what he has accomplished. I am 100% for Obama and I am amazed at the enthusiasm of many Americans who are excited by Sarah Palin. She is a beauty and that wink is powerful but I wonder how a "Palin" would play in Aussie politics?

We have had our Palin. Her name was Pauline and her policies were objectionable but for a while she looked like capturing the underclasses, so she was savagely done over in a combined hatchet job by both major political parties. All credit to her for attempting a second coming, but by then her day was done. An object lesson to anyone who thinks politics in Australia is about representing one's constituents -- no matter how thick they are -- rather than toeing a party line.

Unfortunately the level of scrutiny of leader candidates has now reached the point where only two types can succeed: bland and unobjectionable populists like Rudd, and those in the Howard/Bush mould who are prepared to lie like troopers for the sake of power. If we can shed our obsession with domestic morality and lay on some proper rewards for our leaders then we might start to see a bit of integrity and enthusiasm again.

I got the impression from our last decade of "leadership" that the puppet strings were almost showing. Could Jonny and George *really* be actually leading things?
The skills to survive a political party are clearly not the skills that a country needs to actually lead it. Look at the polularist posturing of our new government and out new opposition: very little evidence of traditional party philosophy anywhere to be seen, and the morals of a cornered rat seem pretty good by comparison. (At least there is some *integrity* in a scared rat.)
We won't see integrity until we see more transparency in the workings of government, and a return to sacking when MPs mislead the country: No more "I was misinformed" excuse!
As for Palin: even the US electorate must see the strings now!