Various Thoughts on the Veep Debate

Even though I am several days late here, I just had to make some comments on the hugely anticipated vice presidential debate. It was an interesting affair, to say the least, and I have a lot of thoughts on it.

--When it was done, I did not care what the instant polls said, or what my friends felt. There is no doubt in my mind Joe Biden was better. It was not even close. If I had to give the candidates grades based on their performances, I would give Biden an A- and Sarah Palin a D+. Of course, because Palin is on a separate grading curve because of media "expectations", she gets a B- from everyone. That's a sham. She was an embarrassment. Sure enough, the instant polls confirmed this view.

--Last month, we expressed concern that the debate was a lose-lose for Democrats. Granted, that was at the height of Palinapoloza, but we had fears for the Democrats given Biden's penchant for gaffes. In the end, these fears were totally unwarranted because Biden was so prepared. He was sharp, concise, at times biting, and fully lucid and cogent in discussing complex issues. More importantly, he did not aim any fire at Palin, choosing to both defend Barack Obama and attack John McCain at all times. I was extremely impressed. Not as a Democrat, but simply as a political watcher who has followed Biden and his many miscues over the years.

--Palin said nothing. She was blatantly uttering slogans the entire night. Her canned folksy behavior might have been cute for a minute, but it wore thin quick. It was a pathetic performance.

--Forget all of this "exceeding expectations" nonsense: Palin was absolutely awful, and it completely obvious. I had an argument with a friend following the debate. He felt Palin "won" and that because she exceeded expectations, she would bask in a positive media glow. Call me biased, but I felt throughout the debate that except for the most fervent Palin Kool-Aid drinkers, people would be totally turned off by her idiotic "doggone it's" and her bizarre winks at the camera. I did not feel that would connect with anyone, and I think the fact that her low numbers have not moved since Thursday confirms this.

--If you're in school, and you are hit with a pop quiz that you are totally unprepared for, unless you are a genius, you are screwed. If you don't know calculus, you can't fake your way through an exam. You just can't. Conversely, if you know a subject cold, it shows very easily. You don't have to flub or implement bells and whistles; all you have to do is talk from the brain. We saw all of this Thursday: Biden knew what he was talking about, whereas Palin knew nothing. Unless you are Rich Lowry, this was clear. It is hard to screw up 30+ years of experience, and it is even harder to fudge when you are clueless.

--I actually think that while Palin was able to spit out complete sentences and half-thoughts -- a big accomplishment for her given her Couric performance -- that her stunt-filled thoughts will actually work towards reinforcing most peoples' negatives views of the Alaska governor. This does not include the GOP base, but rather moderates, independents, and even undecided. I believe that her performance was so pitiful, and her stunts so blatantly made to cover up her inaduequacies, that it in the end her numbers will not move in the next week, and may continue to spiral down.

--Despite its high ratings, this debate won't matter in the scheme of things. We have already seen the trend lines in the tracking polls barely move, and certainly not in McCain's direction. If Palin energized the nation towards McCain, that ain't clear. Again, the base was probably drolling over Palin -- figuratively, and literally, if Lowry's embarrassing post-debate column says anything -- but that was it. And you know what, Team Obama will take that, because right now they're sitting on a solid lead.