Interesting how partisanship determines ones's view of the debate.
I do not favor either side, will probably write-in Ron Paul so watching the debate for me was a more or less clinical exercise.
In thought both did very well. Palin was a bit evasive in her responses, esp. when questioned about regulation of Wall St. on which the GOP is seriously in trouble due to current conditions. Her answers also lacked the depth of Biden's. But she came across as passionate, if a bit contrived. Nonetheless, because she was expected to not do very well, her performance exceeded expectations.
Biden came across as being substantially more knowledgeable than Palin but cooler, less passionate. He did a good job of calling Palin on her more egregious misrepresentations of which there were many - fact-checking her claims will result in some damage to her in the post-debate analysis. However, he clearly was outshone by Palin's direct approach to the people, her appeal to the vast majority via her "I am one of you" arguments. Still, Biden came across as a good, honorable man which by all accounts he mostly is.
On substance, I thought Biden killed her. On form and on emotional arguments, Palin did very well. Low expectations helped her a lot. A draw, probably, with Biden probably a bit better, IMO. |
