Palin Debates: The Reaction
Posted on October 3, 2008 at 6:56 amI’m sure the left is tremendously disappointed that Gov. Sarah Palin didn’t crash and burn. I believe many were certain she’d do herself and McCain in last night. It didn’t happen. Didn’t even come close to happening. From my seat on the couch she won because she held her own while being toe to toe with a 36 year veteran of political bloviating of the highest order.
Sarah Palin held here own with the big boys, exceeding the expectations of many Beltway Pundits. She talked directly to the camera, by-passing the media filter that has attempted to minimize her abilities and polish. She performed the role of an average American very nicely, charming the audience with her optimistic hockey mom warmth.
Dear pundits, please quit bringing up the “likability” factor when it comes to the debate. Dick Cheney is about as cuddly as a dead giant squid so just stop it. Al Gore was so cold during his vice-presidency he could have made snow cones just by willing them to be with his mind. We won’t even get into Dan Quayle.
From Nigh Seen Creeder:
Sarah Palin just field-dressed Joe Biden like a moose. She was awesome. She connected with the people. She had fun. She was relaxed. She was awesome.
Palin’s answers are great for the base. But everytime Palin is seen arguing against income distribution and what not, Biden and Obama have effectively framed it as arguing against the middle class. And McCain and Palin seem to be suckers for it. Her principles are right without a doubt, but independents are un-idealogical by definition.
Gov. Palin’s performance renewed my confidence in her ability to be a capable running mate and potential vice-president of the United States. It was certainly more memorable and impressionable than Joe Biden’s. She talked directly to the American people and yes, she even looked at her opponent when she addressed him. I think the “maverick” line she attributes to Sen. John McCain wears thin over time and Biden eventually used it to his advantage. That would be my only criticism of her overall performance during the debate.
On grounds of merit, Biden won. But context is everything. In making up the most ground, Palin scored big. Some pundits are already saying that her foreign policy answers were scripted. That’s no shock. But she knew which ones to marshal, and that’s a departure from the interviews.
She was scary pathetic. Before I criticize her further, can anyone tell me why she pronounces “nuclear” like President Bush pronounces it? It is republican code for “I’m an idiot and so are you?”
Palin and Biden debate to a snore.
Palin as a vice presidential candidate would have me up all night laughing if it weren’t for the serious possibility that her ticket could get elected.
Sarah Palin found a way to minimize the Senator’s deeply personal reflection by pasting on that former sports anchor smile and resorting to her redundant maverick script after his emotional comments. The happy hockey mom shtick looks smug and diminutive in comparison to Biden’s passionate comments. Her response was about as genuine as false eye lashes on a pit bull.
Gov. Palin flabbergasted Joe when she corrected his mistakes on Afghanistan policy, when he claimed that the commander of the forces on the ground there said the Iraqi surge strategy wouldn’t work. It turns out she knew more about what the general said than Joe did, and he was reduced to repeating irrelevant numbers.
I know politicians are good at answering questions with a prepared answer that has nothing to do with the question, but why did she think she shouldn’t have to answer some questions put to her in the debate? If she’s as ready to serve us nationally as her supporters say she is then questions from reporters and political adversaries shouldn’t bother her in the least.
She emphasized a Ronald Reagan conservative connection with our middle class. Some Republicans seem to have forgotten that it is our government that has failed us in Iraq, Katrina, the financial and our other crises.
Will tonight’s debate change the presidential race? I don’t know. Palin may no longer be as large of an issue, which is good. Obama and McCain need to fight it out on who is more experienced and who can bring change to a declining economy and an unacceptable war in Iraq.
You will hear pundits talk about who won on “points.” This is because all those journalists went to some Ivy League school where they had to take a debate class which was scored on whether you answered every point your opponent made. But this is a public political debate. It’s the political equivalent of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” The points don’t matter.
There is no question in my mind that Sarah Palin won this debate. She looked a little nervous at the very beginning, but it only took her a few minutes to get comfortable.
Bob:
There’s nothing to really say about the debate that everybody else hasn’t said. I’m just grateful that Biden didn’t beat up on Sarah Palin. In front of her family and children, that would have been awful.
Palin was VERY well coached. Also, props to her for memorizing her talking points. Beyond that, nothing substantive, though she will continue to thrill what remains of the Republican base.
Governor Palin was damn good. There may be some debate among those who want to debate such things about who scored a higher point tally, but only those hopelessly rooting against Gov. Palin could say that she didn’t hold her own against a Senator with over thirty years experience after this night’s performance.
Having watched Palin’s acceptance speech, and now her performance in this debate, I’m tempted to say she’s channeling Ronald Reagan. In truth, I hope that in the next presidential debate, John McCain is channeling Sarah Palin.
Regardless, this debate probably moved the needle a point or two in favor of McCain, but not enough to change the basic dynamics of the election which show Obama ahead by 5 or 6 on aggregate.
As for why there weren’t any embarrassing moments for Palin tonight, I think TPM has it right: No follow-up questions. Not only were there not any follow ups (which is where Palin generally tripped up with Gibson and Couric); Ifill didn’t even really push Palin to stay on topic at all. I think Publius may be on to something when he suggests that the right-wing got into Ifill’s head with the conflict of interest stuff.
Sarah is no Dan Quayle. And she is no Tina Fey cartoon. And she is no drooling moron.
Democrats set the debate up better than we ever could have. If you accuse someone of being a drooling boob, you darn well better make sure they are one. Palin showed up and made all those who ridiculed her look like idiots.
If there is any doubt remaining that she is the female George W. Bush, that should have erased it. Also, she said “There you go again” towards the end. Who told her that was a good idea?
Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.
Who won? Oh, that depends so much on the rubric you use to determine a debate winner. The Governor is still a Rorschach test. Few that hated her before have changed their minds. It’s all in the undecideds; strategically, that’s really the only demographic either campaign should care about now. Just like with the first post-debate polls, the results are all over the place.
SEE ALSO:
The Full Debate Video
Vandy students watch the debate
Snap polls
Factchecking the debate
Newsbusters
Comments
6 Responses to “Palin Debates: The Reaction”
The worst part of the evening is the post debate attempt of journalists and analysts to tell America what we think and how we will vote.
So basically, everybody is more convinced now of what they were already convinced of before. I’d prefer to hear from somebody who’s not totally in the tank already.
I agree with you Ron. It’s downright iritatting! I have a mind, and I don’t need a reporter or journalist telling me how I feel. I can certainly interpret the information on my own.
What do you want to know KJ? I like Joe Biden, but am afraid of some of the naive proposals of Obama. I think he really believes in what he is saying, but doesn’t realize that things don’t quite work that way. You can’t sit down and have reasonable discussions with irrational people. It just doesn’t work. On the other hand, while SP may lack some experience, I still think she probably identifies more closely with the middle class, and that’s a strength McCain lacks. In all honesty, I think that Biden and McCain are probably a lot alike, and if the party lines weren’t so definative, they might actually be closer than people realize. Both have lifelong service to this country and are experienced and well versed. The problem I see is that McCain and Biden have the experience requirement to lead this country in a time of crisis and only one of them is running for president
“As for why there weren’t any embarrassing moments for Palin tonight, I think TPM has it right: No follow-up questions.”
Spot on.
I don’t care about McCain’s experience when it leads to wrong-headed and failed policy stances on Iraq, the economy, the environment, health care and other issues. And his easily-angered temperment is just what we don’t need right now at home and abroad.
I’m sick to death of this election, we’re cooked either way, and I’d vote for an illegal alien at this point just to get it over with! You betcha!