Thursday, October 2

Clear Winner of Vice Presidential Debate?

The debate just ended and the spin has started. Billed as sort of a David versus Goliath match up, it was the folksy, straight-talking hockey mom versus the seasoned, smooth talking and charismatic senator.

Who won?

As expected, both sides are claiming victory. The people will weigh in over the next several days via numerous polls and we'll start to see if the electoral map budges any.

But the bigger question was not who won but did Gov. Palin do enough to shore up the Republican base and bring a new wave of enthusiasm. After a few weeks of major interview gaffes, she not only had to prove that she was not an embarrassment to the McCain ticket but someone who'd actually be an asset.

Did she accomplish that? The consensus among the pundits is that she gave a strong showing and redeemed herself on the issues.

Biden needed to demonstrate a solid command of the issues and do it without sounding condescending or making a gaffe. There was no doubt he was well-spoken and pounded home Obama's agenda.

VP debates don't historically have any bearance on the elections. Do you think this one will be a game changer?

8 comments:

Jessi said...

I think it could've been a bit of a game changer if Palin would have done poorly. I think the interviews the past few weeks have been damaging...though I'm not sure if more of that fault lies with her or the liberal filter applied to the interviews. I think Obama supporters would not have been swayed either way. Unsure republicans or undecideds might have been influenced based on Palin's performance, and I think she came through.

For myself, I like Sarah Palin a lot as a person, but have had my reservations...and was nervous to see what would happen tonight. However, I think she did great, and overall, I would call the debate a draw. Honestly, I think they both did well. They both seemed well informed, didn't treat each other ignorantly, and stood firm on their positions/points. I enjoyed watching it.

I don't think anyone can really claim a win, though.

Anonymous said...

I think it was exceedingly clear that Palin has a deft command of rhetoric and unwavering confidence in in her beliefs. As far as this relates to her status as a maverick, her inarticulate , catch-line addled blather is hardly anything new, in fact its something we've seen quite a bit of over the past eight years. Hopefully the electorate is kken enough to catch this. Of course Biden is a slick, smooth-talking political machine, his diatribe laden with double-speak, highly nuanced vaugeries and distractions. This is diplomacy in its essence. Sadly enough, after our head-in-the-sand foreign policy of the bush regime, we probably need someone like Biden to finesse our foregin relations. Biden wins, on competency alone.

Anonymous said...

This was a big deal for Sarah Palin, a chance to show the people who she really is and stands for without any media filter (conservative or liberal). It seems unanimous that she did well.

As far as Biden, I'd say he also did well, although my female roomate pointed out several times that she felt he was condescending, especially when he was repeating himself. I didn't feel that as much.

Overall, I'd have to agree that it was either a draw, or a vary narrow victory for Palin, who was overall more polished.

Anonymous said...

Biden took the job of VP candidate because he figures that Obama won't be around for the whole 4 years. This is the only way Biden could ever become President.....Biden couldn't get elected dog catcher outside of Delaware!

Laura said...

They both did well, I thought. They both made great points, were friendly enough to each other- did you see how long they stood on stage afterward talking?! Like an afternoon picnic! I guess its a tie- I'm just glad Palin didnt say anything real silly... And maybe thats why alot of people are calling it a tie- because the bar has been set low for Palin.

Anonymous said...

I think Sarah Palin did better than expected, but I still don't think it was good enough. Some people think it's wonderful how she can "relate" to everyone else, but I found it kind of annoying. When it comes to issues, she is clearly not as knowledgeable and confident on her position as Biden.

Anonymous said...

The thing I dislike most about Palin is that she boasts of how "in touch" with the middle class/working America she is, yet she maintains reputation only by reciting obvious, cliched stereotypes of middle class America. Such patronizing pandering was evident throughout the debate, as she rarely made logical points, and instead constantly attempted to tug on the heartstrings of voters. However, while I believe that Biden won the debate, Palin did do better than I expected. She maintained her composure, in spite of the fact that on certain issues she clearly had no valid counters to Biden. She never fell flat on her face, but in terms of competency, she still fell far short. Just because Biden didn't wipe the floor with her doesn't mean it was a draw. The debate was won by Biden.

Shauna said...

I thought Palin did really well. I think the only way the polls would have been truly affected would have been if one of them had made a huge gaffe - just as Jessi said. I remember John Edwards did not give a good debate against Dick Cheney and in my opinion, that hurt Kerry's campaign.

I think we have decided a new set of rules for the "validity" of Palin's vice presidential bid. Biden has made some HUGE mistakes and it seems that everybody laughs "Oh, that's just Joe." When Palin, whom I believe was poorly filtered by the main stream media, gave a couple of lousy interviews - oh, she's not qualified...all is lost...oh the tragedy.

Let's be truly honest, the main stream media and a good deal of the American public, have questioned her abilities because she is a working mom, although, Nancy Pelosi had a 10 year old at home when she became the party chairwoman for Northern California. Palin was criticized for being only a "governor" although there have been several presidents who formerly served as governors; Reagan and Carter for example.

I think she did quite well no matter where the bar was set. Just to be "tied" with Biden she was forced to work at least twice as hard.

 

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