The debate was Sarah Palin's to lose. Coming in to the one and only debate between the two major party candidates for the Vice Presidency, the Governor of Alaska was seemingly put under the national microscope. For the past several weeks, self-avowed "hockey mom" Sarah Palin had taken quite a few checks into boards, and many doubted that she had what it took to stay on the ice for this big-time hockey match. With her appearances limited since the Republican party convention a month ago, many Americans have come to recognize her as a punch-line thanks to the parody performances by Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey. Palin has been savaged by the mainstream media, and looked vulnerable following a much-publicized interview with Katie Couric of CBS News. Now, one cannot fault Ms. Couric for asking the tough questions, and pressing on in the wake of vague answers. That is what a good political correspondent should do. It is just a shame that Senators Biden and Obama weren't subjected to the same scrutiny.
Delaware Senator Joe Biden is by trade an attorney, and a seasoned politician, having served in the U.S. Senate since January 1973, back when Nixon was in the White House. Biden first rose to prominence in the national political arena when he announced his first bid for the Presidency in 1984, and has sought the Democrat party nomination several times since. He is a seasoned veteran of appearances and debates, and this venue was right up his alley. The knock on Biden is that he has a case of 'foot-in-mouth' disease, meaning that he is prone to making ridiculous utterances. His main challenge for this debate was to play to his strong suit, bloody up the GOP platform (and McCain in particular), to exploit any gaps that Sarah Palin might open up, and of course to not make any obvious gaffes.
Senator Biden succeeded, for the most part. He came off as being affable, and competent. He hit his marks in "tying" McCain to George W. Bush, and was generally "lawyerly." Biden did not make any major "sound-bite" blunders. His use of numbers and statistics came off as a little dry, and had the desired effect of driving home his points. Several times, he referenced his own and DNC-sponsored websites. This was a very effective tactic, as his opponent had no real way of fact-checking his numbers on the spot. In the aftermath, however, analysts have found major flaws in Biden's information -- but in the venue of the debate, the sizzle mattered more than the substance.
Some controversy surrounded the selection of PBS correspondent Gwen Ifill to be the moderator of the debate at Washington University in St. Louis. Ms. Ifill has a vested interest in the outcome of the Presidential campaign, as she is in the process of completing a book about race and politics in America during the "age of Obama." It was very refreshing, however, to observe that Ms. Ifill did a commendable job moderating the debate. Outside of allowing Senator Biden to have "the last word" on a few occasions more than Governor Palin, there was no real sense that she was favoring either side or pressing any particular agenda. In all, Gwen Ifill upheld the highest standards of professionalism and standards, and should be commended for her efforts.
But the real surprise of the debate came from "Sarah Barracuda." At the very outset, she radiated a warmth and likability -- when meeting Biden the Governor of Alaska was most courteous: "Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?" This seemed to disarm the Senator from Delaware. Palin seemed to gain in confidence as the night moved on, and she very effectively laid out the laid out the big themes of the McCain campaign - government reform, lower taxes, strong defense. Although at times it seemed like she was a little too well-rehearsed: "Say it ain't so, Joe. There you go again, pointing backwards again," she said toward the end of the debate. "Now, doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future." She very deftly balanced the polish with some down-home folksiness, accentuated with knowing winks. It was easy to tell that she got under Biden's skin on several occasions, masterfully bringing up Senator Biden's own negative comments about Barack Obama's policies. She took a "Biden plus" (his long tenure in Congress) and turned it around by highlighting that she is "Washington outsider" and that this is the sort of change America is craving. Biden tried on occasion to reference small-town folks in Scranton and Home Depot stores, but Palin outclassed him there, when she invited anyone who wants to get a barometer on the economy to "go to a kids' soccer game on Saturday and turn to any parent there on the sideline."
Governor Palin had a few miscues, she referred to General David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, as "McClellan." Another time, she referred to Biden as "O'Biden." Senator Biden's mistakes were just as big -- he was wrong about the Vice President and the Constitution, for example. According to Article I, sec. 3, clause 4 of the Constitution (where the office of the Vice President is mentioned ifor the first time):
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.The Vice President does indeed have a legislative role, and the VP doesn't just preside over the Senate in case of a tie. The VP only votes in case of a tie, but voting isn't the same as presiding. This flub is something of an eyebrow-raiser, considering Biden's strong suit was supposed to be his knowledge and experience, and the fact that he teaches Constitutional Law at Widener University School of Law!
One of the more surprising moments of the evening came when moderator Ifill questioned both candidates about gay rights, civil unions, and gay marriage. Biden began with the expected party line, and Palin followed in with similar sentiments (contracts, visitation rights in event of illness, etc.) and when it got to gay marriage, she very effectively boxed Biden (and Obama) in when Biden was pretty much forced to concede that the Democrat platform on these issues is essentially the same as that of the Republicans!
All in all, this debate was a bigger win for Palin. Biden did a very good job, and I would give him a solid "B" for his efforts. This was a much bigger test for the Governor of Alaska -- to throw it back to a hockey metaphor, it was a "must-win" game to stay in the playoff hunt for her. Despite the minor flubs, she had a solid "A" last night.
p.s. -- My "wish" question
Much has been made of the "3 a.m. phone-call" question, and the issue of the age and health of John McCain. The cynic in me wants to believe that the moderator didn't broach this subject, as it is just as devastating to the Obama-Biden camp. Biden, after all, is in his late 60's and has already suffered two brain aneurysms. Where John McCain's mother is 96 and still spry, Obama's mother passed away when she was 52, and Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. died at the age of 46.
But, what if the question to Sarah Palin was "What if you had to assume the Presidency if President John McCain were to experience an early, unexpected demise?" I would love to hear Sarah Barracuda say: “I certainly don’t expect that, nor does John McCain's mother. But in such an untimely event, there is no worry there, my friends. The first phone call would be to Defense Secretary Petraeus. The second phone call would be to Secretary of State Liebermann. The third phone call would be to Homeland Security Secretary Giuliani, and the next would be to Secretary of the Treasury Romney.”
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