After watching the VP debate last night, and listening to the political pundits' assessment, I was a bit surprised by what I was hearing. All the democrat vs republican criticism aside - I really don't think anyone could walk away saying that "Palin held her own." It seems to me that the political pundits are claiming a Palin victory because she exceeded everyone's expectations that she might break down, have a Katie Couric moment or wasn't devoured by Biden. While I'll admit she did better than I expected, I don't believe anyone should hang a medal around her neck.
At the outset she seemed very nervous to me. Honestly, she almost came across like a deer in the headlights. But I will confess that she found her stride and became very comfortable after a while. There were stumbling blocks along the way, but all things considered, she did ok.
Biden, however, was as I expected. Calm, cool, collected. He was the experienced politician that knew how to stump for his ticket.
I personally believe that Biden won this debate because, although Palin did show that she has some competency against an deeply experienced politician, she could not bolster her arguments with facts. She defended her stance with emotion and catch phrases taking every opportunity to remind us she was "just like us" from "up there in Alaska" and would be "tapping" just about anything that could be tapped. In other words, the Palin side of the debate was sound bites, rhetoric and appeasement.
On the other hand, Biden did present facts that demonstrate ( at least to me ) that the party represented by Palin and McCain is not the party of "Joe Six Pack." This was never more evident than near the end of the debate. A question regarding the powers of the Vice President as interpreted by Dick Cheney was presented. My intepretation of Palin's answer was that they had no problem with the abuses that Dick Cheney has been responsible over the last 8 years.
Biden, however, unmistakeably chastised the behavior of Dick Cheney.
That, to me, told me which candidates understand.
At the outset she seemed very nervous to me. Honestly, she almost came across like a deer in the headlights. But I will confess that she found her stride and became very comfortable after a while. There were stumbling blocks along the way, but all things considered, she did ok.
Biden, however, was as I expected. Calm, cool, collected. He was the experienced politician that knew how to stump for his ticket.
I personally believe that Biden won this debate because, although Palin did show that she has some competency against an deeply experienced politician, she could not bolster her arguments with facts. She defended her stance with emotion and catch phrases taking every opportunity to remind us she was "just like us" from "up there in Alaska" and would be "tapping" just about anything that could be tapped. In other words, the Palin side of the debate was sound bites, rhetoric and appeasement.
On the other hand, Biden did present facts that demonstrate ( at least to me ) that the party represented by Palin and McCain is not the party of "Joe Six Pack." This was never more evident than near the end of the debate. A question regarding the powers of the Vice President as interpreted by Dick Cheney was presented. My intepretation of Palin's answer was that they had no problem with the abuses that Dick Cheney has been responsible over the last 8 years.
Biden, however, unmistakeably chastised the behavior of Dick Cheney.
That, to me, told me which candidates understand.