Ransom Riggs
Ghosts of VP Debates Past
by Ransom Riggs - October 2, 2008 - 10:17 AM

As the nation gets ready to hunker down in front of their TV sets tonight and watch the hotly anticipated Palin-Biden debate, I thought it was only appropriate to revisit a few notable moments from VP debates past. We may not remember all of their names (who was Dukakis’ running mate again?), but their words — a few of them, at least — still ring in the halls of history.

Dukakis questions Quayle’s readiness

OK, it’s a presidential debate, not a VP debate, but the question sounds awfully familiar, as does its wording — phrases like “a heartbeat away from the presidency” and “downright scary” have a pretty healthy shelf-life, it seems. (One interesting feature of last week’s prez debate: Obama never asked this question.)

1984: Bush-Ferraro debate

Undoubtedly, this is a debate that’s been watched and re-watched over the past few weeks by both campaigns, Biden certainly hoping to avoid an applause-getting tongue-lashing like the one Ferraro gives Bush at the end of this clip (for deigning to “teach her about foreign policy” — sound familiar?)

1988: Senator, You’re no Jack Kennedy

One of the most famous put-downs in a vice-presidential debate — heck, in a debate period — was in the 1988 Bentsen-Quayle matchup. After the moderators questioned Quayle several times about his readiness and the wisdom of Bush I choosing him, he came out with this:

1992: Stockdale’s Unfortunate Trail-off

Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot’s running mate, was one of the most decorated officers in the history of the US Navy. He was a war hero, and had been brutally tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for seven years. But he was almost totally unprepared for the VP debate, and his poor performance in it cemented an image of him as a doddering old man. In a 1993 standup routine, Dennis Miller defends him vehemently:

Now I know (Stockdale’s name has) become a buzzword in this culture for doddering old man, but let’s look at the record, folks. The guy was the first guy in and the last guy out of Vietnam, a war that many Americans, including our present President, did not want to dirty their hands with. The reason he had to turn his hearing aid on at that debate is because those animals knocked his eardrums out when he wouldn’t spill his guts. He teaches philosophy at Stanford University, he’s a brilliant, sensitive, courageous man. And yet he committed the one unpardonable sin in our culture: he was bad on television.

Just how bad was he? This is the clip that’s since become legendary:

I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling that after tonight, there’ll be a few more clips to add to this hall of fame.

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Comments (7)

  1. “I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling that after tonight, there’ll be a few more clips to add to this hall of fame.”

    I hope you are right, but I doubt it. The word is Biden will sit on the lead and not risk looking like he is ‘attacking’ a woman. Palin will do better than she did in the CBS interview, but I doubt she will be brilliant. My bet is this is forgotten in a week.

    posted by Witty Nickname on 10-2-2008 at 11:14 am

  2. Not a big deal, but it’s Bentsen, not Benson…

    posted by Kristin on 10-2-2008 at 12:58 pm

  3. I’ll be watching tonight. I’ve never seen a Saturday Night Live dress rehearsal before. :-)

    posted by Sheldon Siegel on 10-2-2008 at 12:58 pm

  4. I am willing to go out on a limb and make a prediction right now.

    Palin will come out smelling like a rose. She will spout off empty buzzwords and convey ABSOLUTELY no substance. But she will look poised and be charming. In other words, her portion of the debate will be strikingly similar to the Q & A sessions of the Miss America pageant. Any of the media pundits and politicos who actually listen to the content of the debate will declare her to be bereft of any content, but there will be a lot of discussion about how Palin surprised everyone by being comfortable and confident.

    And let’s face it, for most of the American public, the presidential campaign is just a glorified popularity contest.

    posted by Vitajex on 10-2-2008 at 3:37 pm

  5. Oh please. Sarah Palin is bright, savvy and generally quick on her feet (when not handled by the campaign). I’m a little sick of people putting her down. You don’t have to agree with her positions, but don’t act as if she doesn’t have the sense to form opinions/take positions. She has already proven herself.

    posted by Karen on 10-2-2008 at 7:06 pm

  6. Actually, I think she might have problems forming opinions if she reads EVERY publication put in front of her.

    How has she proven herself? She’s governor of a state that has fewer people than Austin, TX. By that mentality, Rudy Giuliani is more than 10 times more qualified than Sarah Palin. (8.2 M to 680,000)
    Also, Alaska is a unique state in that there is no income tax, due to the huge revenues from oil drilling.
    The proposed government bailout program is more than 15 times the gross state product of Alaska.
    It’s like saying the manager of your local Burger King is qualified to be CEO of the company.

    posted by Vitajex on 10-2-2008 at 9:05 pm

  7. Oh, by the way, those huge revenues from oil drilling? That’s coming from the pockets of those in ‘the lower 48′.

    posted by Vitajex on 10-2-2008 at 9:06 pm

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