As Chuck Todd just said on NBC, no car wreck. Governor Sarah Palin seemed to be very well prepared. Senator Joe Biden was also reading off talking points, but at key times seemed to be talking from his thoughts. My initial thoughts are that Biden by the slimest of margins. Maybe as slim as 2000.
Palin was reserved and sounded like she was reading. Too much unfortunately. Positively, she was not uninformed. She got the name of the commander in Iraq wrong. We can't fault her for that, if we didn't hold it against George W Bush. Her true to her roots method, with "Say it ain't so Joe", "Darn", "Mainstreeters", and "Heck" thrown about made her seem very much an everyday person.
There was no question that Biden knows his stuff. He was reserved as he needed to, not to overwhelm or attack Palin. However, he pulled out the guns when they were necessary. He referenced Dick Cheney; pointed out problems with the McCain health plan. He hammered the Iraq War. But what I think got everyone was when he responded to Palin's talk of working mother. He spoke of the accident that took his first wife and daughter that also critcally injured his sons. He nearly cried on stage. It gave him the emotional spin that people may not have seen before.
Both sides won key points. But since these are the running mates, this is not going to change votes in any significant fashion. As the first and last VP debate of this election season, this is all we're going to see of Palin unless the McCain camp lets her loose with the media. Unlikely to happen. Biden is going to continuing working with Obama and being the attack dog the Democrats need.
Pretty spot on assessment!
I think it was a virtual tie, with both candidates speaking to their bases...polls over the next week will tell us if uncommitted voters were swayed.
Standout moments (good and bad):
--Palin refusing to answer questions, and simply talking about what she wanted. People can take that two ways -- "maverick" or "weasely"... We'll see.
--Biden talking about the accident. Almost heartwrenching.
--Palin saying the VP powers need to be EXPANDED (over and above Cheney). Yikes!
I'm curious if this performance by Palin will stop (or at least stall) McCain's recent slide.
Yeah, I found the VP powers thing very disturbing. The one question she dodged, I'm not sure what happened. Ifil asked her if she supported gay couple civil rights. Palin answered "You asked Senator Biden if he supported gay marriage. My answer is the same as his". Either she was lost and not sure what Ifil asked, or wouldn't answer that question.
I thought Palin spoke well, but she rarely answered the question at hand, which I found really irritating. She clearly had some pre-formulated statements that she was going to work in regardless of the actual questions. Biden's answers were more direct and sensible to me. I thought he was the clear winner, but it was a little closer than I thought it would be.