Biden vs. Palin: The reviews are in
Posted: Friday, October 03, 2008 9:30 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Joe Biden, Sarah Palin
The New York Times writes, “In the only vice-presidential debate of the campaign, at Washington University in St. Louis, Ms. Palin exceeded expectations in this highly anticipated face-off, though those expectations were low after she had stumbled in recent television interviews. She succeeded by not failing in any obvious way. She mostly reverted to and repeated talking points, like referring to Mr. McCain as a ‘maverick’ and the Republican ticket as a ‘team of mavericks,’ while not necessarily quelling doubts among voters about her depth of knowledge.”
Video: Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M. and former Gov. Jane Swift, R-Mass., talk about how Joe Biden and Sarah Palin handled themselves during the vice presidential debate.
The
AP: "…Palin's performance exceeded their generally low expectations. Whether she did well enough against Sen. Joe Biden is another matter."
Per the Washington Post’s Dan Balz, “One debate will not erase doubts that have been building about Palin's capacity to serve as vice president, but the effect of the encounter may shift the focus away from the sideshow that Palin has become and put it back on the two presidential nominees and what they would do for the country. Thursday's debate adds to the importance of the two remaining presidential debates, the first of which will be held Tuesday.”
Video: CNBC’s John Harwood tells Chris Matthews that Sarah Palin was able to prove her critics wrong with her performance but asks him, did she help John McCain?
The
Los Angeles Times: “During the 90-minute debate from the campus of Washington University, both candidates appeared at least initially to have met the goals set by the campaigns at the outset. For Palin, the newcomer to the national stage, that meant demonstrating an understanding of federal issues and an ability to think on her feet. For Biden, the six-term Delaware senator, that meant tamping down his loquaciousness and steering clear of anything remotely condescending.”
The Boston Globe: "Neither candidate committed the kind of serious error that some pundits had predicted. Biden, the veteran Delaware senator, avoided the run-on speeches and gaffes that have gotten him into trouble in the past. Palin, the Alaska governor whose inexperience and uneven performance in recent interviews led to questions about her credentials for the job, for the most part delivered clear and folksy responses on topics familiar to her."
The New York Times’ Nagourney adds, “It was not a tipping point for the embattled Republican presidential ticket, the bad night that many Republicans had feared. But neither did it constitute the turning point the McCain campaign was looking for after a stretch of several weeks in which Senator Barack Obama seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the race. Even if he no longer has to be on the defensive about Ms. Palin, Mr. McCain still faces a tough environment with barely a month until the election, as he acknowledged hours before the debate by effectively pulling his campaign out of Michigan, a Democratic state where Mr. McCain’s advisers had once been optimistic of victory.”
The Daily News' DeFrank's lead: "Sarah Palin proved she's a quick study in the black art of attack-dog politics. But her solid debate performance wasn't enough to put to rest doubts about her competence - or reverse John McCain's sagging numbers."
David Brooks, who had earlier suggested that Palin wasn’t ready for the vice presidency, was impressed. “By the end of the debate, most Republicans were not crouching behind the couch, but standing on it. The race has not been transformed, but few could have expected as vibrant and tactically clever a performance as the one Sarah Palin turned in Thursday night.”
The New York Times’ Stanley observes that both Sarah Palins -- the Saturday Night Live parody, as well as the gun-toting hockey mom -- were on display last night.
The Washington Post’s Shales says, “People who came to the debate loving Sarah Palin probably went away from it loving her as much as ever. People who came to the debate hoping to see a fiasco, to see Palin make colossal gaffes, had to have been disappointed. She may have swayed a few ‘undecideds’ her way with her mom-next-door demeanor and seemingly indomitable smile. There were mistakes here and there, but they were mostly minor -- but then, Palin's answers in the debate were more about herself than about the policies of McCain or George W. Bush or even the country's current economic crisis.”
The Boston Globe’s Canellos: The debate probably didn't help or hurt either ticket. As in the first presidential debate, a draw goes to the less experienced candidate - in this case Palin, for whom expectations were lower." More: "Those disposed to find Palin cheerful and down-to-earth probably liked what they saw, while those who find Biden to be an appealing mix of traditional Democratic values and policy expertise probably came away impressed. Likewise, those who find Biden a bit windy weren't likely to have been dissuaded. And those who think Palin sounds like the small-market TV broadcaster she once was probably still don't feel she's ready for prime time."
