Friday, October 3, 2008

The Vice Presidential Debate

There was more interest in last night's debate than there was in the earlier presidential debate. Excitement was in the air. Everyone wanted to see who would fall on their face. Would Biden be the famous gaffe machine? Would Palin be able to connect two simple sentences together? It was like going to the circus to see if the tightrope walker would fall.

What did we actually see? None of the above. Joe Biden demonstrated his knowledge of the subject matter, wtithout sounding arrogant, demeaning, or cocky. He talked tough about issues, attacking John McCain's policies without attacking Governor Palin or appearing condescending.

Sarah Palin was able to retrieve her earlier confidence. No one was ready to put her into the category of Lincoln or FDR, but she did not embarrass herself. She may have not really answered many of the questions as she kept reverting to discussions of energy as her comfort zone. She did, however, maintain her dignity, and made some good points. She had a few one line zingers, but she also exhibited some sensitivity, and humanity especially on the issue of same sex couples. Biden and Palin both appeared warm and friendly toward each other, which was refreshing.

These results were predictable, given the format of the debate, and the amount of time they had to prepare. There were a limited number of questions which could pretty much be anticipated. There were no trick questions. So, unfortunately for those who were hoping for a disaster, both candidates showed up in St. Louis well prepared.

So what was the meaning of this debate? It did stop the bleeding for John McCain, but I don't believe it did anything to reverse course. The economic crisis is too much with us. Giant challenges await the next President and a decent debate performance is not going to change the equation going forward. Palin's performance should energize her base once again, but I don't believe it will move independents into McCain's column. It will be up to John McCain to win this election, not Sarah Palin. He has two more debates in which to make his case.

What does he need to to do? We are hearing strong advice to go negative and return to issues such as Jeremiah Wright and others.I think that would be a mistake. If you watched the annoying line running across the bottom of the screen as the debate was proceeding, at least on CNN, the line always trended down when any candidate was criticizing the other. At this point people are not interested in negativity. They know neither candidate is a saint. They want someone who can lead, and tell them how they are going to fix our many problems. Obama has risen over the past few weeks on the strength of his steady hand and unflappable nature. He appears to have a plan and knows what he wants to do. By contrast, John McCain has seemed erratic, jumping from one position to another, and lacking a coherent plan. He has his work cut out for him, and his unpredictable bold moves do not appear to be the answer. In the remainder of the campaign John McCain needs to show the American people why they should trust him to lead our country at such a perilous time. Telling us why Barack Obama is not that man just will not do.

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