Once again, Senator: if someone asks you if your opponent is qualified, there is only one answer.

(Hint: it ain't the one you gave last night)

OLBERMANN: One more campaign question. It pertains to not knowing someone or something. This is a question I have not really heard asked directly of anybody in a position perhaps to answer it, let alone answered.

In your opinion, is Governor Palin experienced enough and qualified enough to become president of the United States in the relatively short-term future?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I’ll let you ask Governor Palin that when I’m sure she’ll be appearing on your show.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But rather than focus on a resume, I just want to focus on where she wants to take the country. As far as I can tell, there has not been any area, economic policy or foreign policy, in which she is different from John McCain or George Bush.

In many ways, in fact, she agrees with George Bush even more than John McCain. So if John McCain agrees with Bush 90 percent of the time, maybe with her it’s 97 percent. And so my—the thrust of our argument is going to be that the McCain/Palin ticket is offering the same stuff that has resulted in the middle class struggling, not seeing their incomes go up, seeing their costs go up, falling deeper into debt, at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, unable to save or retire.

You know, those are going to be I think the issues that ultimately matter to the voters, and that’s why I’m trying to offer to them a very clear set of prescriptions, very clear ideas about what we intend to do, how we want to change the tax code, stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, give 95 percent of Americans tax relief.

Have an energy policy that is serious about climate change, is serious about weaning ourselves off of Middle Eastern oil, investing in solar and wind and biodiesel so we’ve got energy independence and creating jobs here in the United States, having a health care system that makes sure that we don’t have 47 million people without health insurance.

That message of possibility is, I think, the one that the American people are looking for.

Apparently you don't get it. He devalues himself by getting into a pissing match with a VP candidate.

His choice was a colossal failure, and he should be getting hammered for it. The first step is to say, emphatically, that she is NOT QUALIFIED to be President.

The GOP has fired the SEXISM salvo from the get-go, a cue that ANYTHING said about Caribou Barbie will be dissected and distorted for the sole purpose of bogarting the news cycles and to prevent discussion of actual issues.

Obama must and is staying on message. His surrogates and people like Olbermann and Maddow will do EXACTLY what you are clamoring for. They will make mincemeat out of her and the MSM has NO CHOICE but to pick it up.

Look at the Repug strategy: They've been called racist from the start of this campaign. Hell, they ARE racist, everybody knows it. Their response? "Fuck that, are you gonna let that uppity n****r tell you how to vote?"

And hey, they're winning.

Every time Obama shies away from attacking Palin, he makes it harder for anyone on the left to attack her. And there will come a time when he HAS TO attack her (I would argue that time is already here). If he continues to "play nice", he'll look desperate once he's forced to turn the guns on her.

Obama must not mess with his brand. You seem to imply that HE must do the dirty work, and that is just bad strategy. By engaging her, he is lowering himself to her level.

They aren't winning, and I think with that foremost in your mind you are anxious; we all are. Obama is kicking ass in the electoral vote, the metric that counts in the GE.

Some people here either don't know or have forgotten that Obama knows how to play hardball. For instance, he knocked all three challengers off the ballot in Chicago in a primary challenge. He isn't afraid to employ a swift kick to the groin.

You think he looks weak, I think he looks smart, confident, and determined. I guess we shall see which vision prevails. I am confident it will be mine. :)

On edit: Of note, it is easier to criticize Obama if one didn't support him in the primary. I did and am confident now as I have been all along that he will prevail. He beat the Clinton machine and IMO that is nothing to sneeze at. I think that explains the disparity in our points of view. Cheers.

If he hammers Palin on her lack of experience, it's just going to highlight his own inexperience. So he's in a quandary. I say ignore her.

It's not like she's avoiding attacking him on experience. It's pure Rovian tactics, and it's one of the reasons we've lost 7 of the last 10 elections.

I'm not always thrilled with his framing either but this situation is a first so it's hard to say at this point (IMO) what the best course of action is.

If you need any single explanation as to why the GOP wins Presidential elections, it's that they understand the above statement and we don't.

But the knock on him is his lack of experience. Professor, community organizer, state legislature, and 2 years in the Senate before running. I don't think that "experience" is where Obama wants to take this campaign. So he is wise to ignore Palin.

I am NOT saying he lacks the experience to be president. I'm saying that he would be wise not to put his experience up against Palin's because it will highlight his lack of executive experience.

Also, him dissing Palin makes it look like he's running against her. He needs to stick to McCain.

Got it?

8 years in the Illinois legislature? Why whittle it down like the RWers do? And why play UP Ms. Mooseburger's "executive experience" when she was only the mayor of a tiny town in Alaska and then the Alaska governor, where the total votes in the gov race was only over 200,000? That's NOT qualifying executive experience in the rest of the US.

to make sure I phrase things the way you think they should be phrased. This whole experience debate is likely a red herring anyway. I mean, who is really prepared to be president? Clinton and Carter were both governors. Governors, by definition, don't have foreign policy experience and they both did well. So who's to say what experience qualifies someone to be president?

As for your comment on population, Howard Dean was a governor from a state with about the same population as Alaska, and I don't recall anyone saying that as a negative.

But doesn't Obama actually have MORE executive experience than McCain? So why would you say his lack of executive experience is a problem versus McCain?

McCain ran a squadron like a million years ago. LOL (I'm laughing at McCain, not at you).

Neither really has any executive experience.

Biden can just answer the question with "no."

If we stick together and choose the best candidate (which we didn't) they pull a stunt like getting a hockey mom.

If by some chance we win the election, they commit fraud and still win (ie Florida).

What's the use anymore.

We can't vote them out! They just cheat to win!

We don't have any more options.

What a stupid statement.

the best candidate. Where have you been?

we need to register more voters and volunteer in our local Dem headquarters. Easy peasy. Less than 2 months left, it's now or never.

We already know Palin is over 35 and is American-born.

Rather than parroting right-wing spin (and asking questions for which there should only be one answer) Olbermann should be asking who is best qualified, or what particular qualifications are most important.

It makes him look like he's afraid to compare resumes. He should be pounding this lightweight into the ground, and he should be pounding McWorse for selecting her.

McCain failed spectacularly at his first command decision. THERE'S your framing. Why aren't the Democrats pushing it?

And Mcbush'es selection of her?

because she is running against Biden. He should run against McWar. And he handled it just right, avoiding resumes but reiterating that she represents even more of the same.

According to the actuarial tables, there's a 30% chance that Palin actually IS running for president. The Obama campaign should be hammering this point.

He CAN say that SHE is inexperienced and at the same time point out all of HIS experience, which is extensive and varied. I think he will do that but the question might be one of timing.

Just wondering, do you know how many people lived in his district when he was in the Illinois legislature? I keep meaning to look that up.

it's been weak all summer, and it's still weak now even if we'd love to use it.

Obama understands that he would come across as presumptuous if he said flat out, "She's unqualified." That's ultimately up to the voters to decide. Obama's job is to make sure people know exactly WHY he and Biden are a better choice than their opponents, and I think that's what he's trying to do.