Biden-Palin

Talking Points Memo lays out “Ten Questions That Palin Should Be Asked in Thursday's Debate:”

1. Yes or no: if Ted Stevens’ trial is not yet concluded, are you voting for Ted Stevens?

2. You are on record as opposing abortion even in cases of rape and incest, and as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, your town forced rape accusers to pay for the rape kits used to gather evidence in their rape cases. Do you presently agree with either of these positions, and if so, why?

3. John McCain said in October 2007 that he did not need any on the job training to serve as President, because he had not briefly been a mayor or governor. You have been a governor more briefly than Governor Romney, to whom Governor McCain was apparently referring. Do you agree that having been a governor only briefly, that you, unlike Senator McCain, would need on the job training to serve as President?

4. When you first were selected by Senator McCain, you frequently evoked Senator Clinton in your public remarks. Her positions are almost invariably far closer to Senator Obama’s than to Senator McCain’s. Why should a supporter of Senator Clinton in the Democratic primaries support you?

5. In his closing remarks last Friday, Senator McCain said that Senator Obama had neither the knowledge or experience to be President. Do you have a broader knowledge of domestic and foreign issues than Senator Obama, and are you in that sense as ready as Senator Obama to be President?

6. When you discussed soldiers in Iraq being on a mission from God, what did you mean, and do you believe that America’s fight against radical Moslem terrorists is a Christian fight or a holy war in any sense?

7. Having said before your nomination that you would cooperate with the Troopergate investigation into your firing of Walt Monegan, the head of the Alaska State Troopers, run by a committee of ten Republicans and four Democrats, why are you not willing to cooperate, why are you causing state employees to refuse to cooperate with the probe?

8. As governor, you addressed the convention of the Alaska Independence Party, which favors secession, and the founder of which vilified this country and its flag. Particularly in light of your ticket’s motto, Country First, how do you defend speaking in a friendly manner to this secessionist party?

9. This nation stands on the brink of huge economic problems. What makes you expert in economics to a degree sufficient to be the chief steward of the American economy, and does your personal vision for economic policy differ from that carried forward by George W. Bush?

10. John McCain suggested that you know more about energy than anyone in America. What do you know about the viability of alternative forms of energy, such as solar and wind, and what proportion of our national use of energy would solar and wind comprise by the end of a second McCain term?