I have no idea what polls will say about this debate, but for what it's worth, here are my thoughts.
(1) Joe Biden sounded like a senator used to talking and sounding erudite. He flashes lots of numbers and can accentuate his speaking to make a point. His main purposes seemed to be to try to make McCain seem like he's not a maverick, and that he's connected at the hip to George Bush and Dick Cheney.
(2) Sarah Palin sounded like Sarah Palin talking to average Americans in their homes and focusing on the future and what McCain-Palin priorities would be. She also faced an issue Joe Biden did not. Her treatment in the mainstream media and performance in a couple of interviews created questions about her ability and knowledge. After the debate I flipped through the major network and "cable" news channels, and pretty much universally I heard nothing but praise for how she did tonight, and I agree. She didn't answer every point brought up...but that's what good debaters do.
I heard one commentator (on NBC but mainly employed by NPR) say that she brings a folksy element that she compared to Truman or Andrew Jackson. I had that same thought during the debate, and I thought of that same element with Abraham Lincoln (who was the ultimate master of this, I believe). I get the feeling that she had to have made a stronger natural connection with most Americans watching than Biden.
Peggy Noonan on NBC said Palin "killed it" and I have to think that's about right. Again, Biden did fine. But most people watching had to have had their eyes more on her than on him. And she was very good.
2 comments:
"Killed it" I think is vastly overstating what was simply a decent performance. Biden's performance was also good, but I don't think his goal was to kill her, either. That would leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. I don't think her folksiness was necessarily comforting, and although she held up fine, and made better use of the camera than Biden, there are still a lot of questions about her ability to bear up when not holding prepared material in her hands.
I think it depends on how you look at it. If you were calculating debate points, etc. did she "kill it" vs. Biden...no. She did fine in that respect...they both did fine. But compared to him did she "kill it" in terms of effective communication with viewers? I suspect so. I think that's what Noonan was seeing.
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