VP Debate Roundup

A guest post by JS:

Let me start out by saying that Sara Palin should get a nice, big pat on the back from McCain. She did the absolute best she could do against Joe Biden last night. In fact, I think she effectively turned back the clock to her RNC speech and, for the time being, has erased her bad interview record. If the McCain camp is smart, they'll ride this out for as long as possible and keep her hidden from the media. Why was Palin so brilliant? Because she fought the battle on her turf. She answered the questions she wanted to answer and gave completely off-topic, but McCain-boosting answers to questions she didn't want to answer (she even admitted in the debate that she was doing such). And granted, even to questions she wanted to address because her answers were all pre-scripted they therefore didn't always match the exact question asked. But that didn't matter. Due to the format of the debate, she could get away with that (as opposed to Katie Couric hounding her for a straight answer). She was folksy and down-to-earth with her darn right's, ya's, and bless their hearts (to me this was a bit much, but I imagine it played well to other non-East Cost audiences and evangelical audiences. Also, am I the only one who keeps thinking of Frances McDormand in Fargo when Palin talks like that? Just checking). I think she stepped a bit over the line with the insults and digs. Maybe this is a double-standard for women, but I think she came across slightly negative, especially since Biden took it all with a smile and didn't really retaliate. She played well to her base on issues such as gay marriage, the environment, Iraq, and the evil main stream media. In short, I don't think she won over any converts, but she certainly didn't hurt McCain (which was the biggest concern) and I think she solidified her base and quieted criticism over McCain choosing her.

All that being said, I think, objectively speaking, Biden won the debate. He probably gave the best debate of his career, which in a sense is a shame considering how everyone will be talking about Palin's performance (beating expectations is easy when you set the bar so low). He was on point; he was knowledgeable; he was professorial when he needed to be and emotional when that was called for; he was graceful under attack; he didn't belittle Palin or point out some of her more obvious factual errors; he effectively attacked McCain and mostly left Palin out of it; he linked McCain to Bush's legacy and mistakes; and he clearly delineated where Obama and McCain differ. In terms of this last point, I think it's been a brilliant tactic for Obama and Biden to simply say "this is a fundamental difference." It makes people's ears perk up and it has the psychological effect of making the audience think you're talking about change and shaking things up. It also helps in this cynical age where we think all politicians are the same and we just need to choose the least worst of the bunch. I'm surprised I don't see this tactic more often.

Lastly, I think one of the main reasons McCain/Palin are suffering in the polls is that people couldn't care less about Iraq, Afghanistan, or even terrorism right now. I don't know if it was only me, but when I heard Palin blasting Biden on Iraq, I just yawned. I think everyone agrees we're on our way out over there (Bush is working on a deal with the Iraqi govt). Everyone agrees we need more troops in Afghanistan. And everyone agrees terrorism is bad and needs to be prevented if at all possible. I think Americans are sick and tired of this blame game for Iraq that goes back over 5 years and continuing to bring it up, when there are so many more pressing domestic problems, isn't going to score points and is going to make you seem out of touch.

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