Vice Presidential Debate
Early in the debate it felt like Palin was going to take over the debate but as it went on and she couldn't get off talking points, Biden got stronger and won but far from decisively. In fact it was probably only a minor win for Sen. Biden. Mr. Biden won if for no other reason than he gave no big gaffe nor did Palin create a game changer and when you're on the front running ticket the net result is a win. Palin failed to do enough to change the electoral map but she did stop the bleeding.
It seemed like Biden gave the strongest debate appearance out of the four in these first two debates, arguably of his career. Biden also came across as the man that has some older Democrats wishing he was the one on the top of the ticket, that the ticket was reversed.
It is clear she was coached to attack and not worry about defending which was effective. What worked best for Palin was making sure to talk to the camera almost every second she spoke. That really made it feel like she was talking to you the viewer. It seemed, unfortunately, like every time she was asked a question or found herself heading down a road where she couldn't go into detail beyond the stance of the McCain campaign she found a way to talk about energy or taxes or how Sen. Biden disagreed with Sen. Obama before he was his VP.
It is quite obvious that the Republican base loved her but it is very hard to see many Independents being swayed by her. She allowed Biden to make too good of a case that McCain is Bush III. In fact he did a better job than Obama. What was learned was that she isn't always the same woman from the Katie Couric interviews. She very well may have brought parts of the base that had been uncomfortable the past week or two back home but she had no depth on foreign policy and she dodged more questions than any of the four candidates. Biden dodged questions as well but he seemed to be more on message than on talking points.
They both exceeded expectations.
I'm sure I'll get hit for being biased but this is me giving you my honest take and I'd point out I thought the first presidential debate was a draw or a minor Obama loss.
CNN Poll has Biden with 51% did better, Palin 36%.
Biden than expected: Better 64% Worse 14% Same 20%
Palin than expected: Better 84% Worse 7% Same 8%
So the McCain camp did a brilliant job at lowering expectations and apparently everyone was assuming Biden would put his foot in his mouth.
Is Palin qualified to be president?
Before: Yes 42% No 54%
After: Yes 54% No 53%
More in touch with problems of people like you?
Biden 50% Palin 44%
And yet...who seemed more like a typical politician?
Biden 70% Palin 21%
These are numbers from only people who watched the debate and for Palin to be lower than Biden on being "in touch" absolutely means she didn't get the needed game changer.
Drudge Poll:
Palin 72% Biden 26% Neither 2%
CBS Poll:
Biden 46% Palin 21% Tie 33%
...and ties go to the front runner which is Obama-Biden.
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3 comments:
"Mr. Biden won if for no other reason than he gave no big gaffe nor did Palin create a game changer and when you're on the front running ticket the net result is a win. Palin failed to do enough to change the electoral map but she did stop the bleeding."
Palin than expected: Better 84% Worse 7% Same 8% (=77)
Is Palin qualified to be president?
Before: Yes 42% No 54%
After: Yes 54%(+12) No 53%(-11) (wait its 43%, not 53%... 54+53 is more than 100.)
thats a 23 pt swing.
that is what you call a MAJOR game changer. this is got to say is 1 of your rare 100% biased posts. its impossible to look at those dramatic numbers and conclude last night was not an unprecedented game changer. EIGHTY FOUR PERCENT felt she did better than expected. those are astronomical numbers.
As far as Sen Biden and not making a serious gaffe. how about lying that Obama didnt support meeting w/out preconditions the dictator of iran... when in that aug 2007 cnn debate. biden was standing right next to obama when he said that indeed he would meet him w/out preconditions?
Roughly 3/4 of the polls after the debate show voters feeling Biden won. Exceeding extremely low expectation as Palin did due to the masterful job of her campaign lowering them was obviously going to happen based on all of the video from her debates in Alaska. The simple fact still remains that every poll has Obama up 3-7 and Palin didn't change that. No VP candidate could change that. She did stop the bleeding and left ground for McCain to bounce off of but she didn't herself create a game changer. Even Biden beat her in "most in touch with my problems" in the majority of polls and that is because Palin failed in every fashion to seperate her campaign from Pres. Bush.
i couldnt disagree more. she has once again fundamentally altered this election. its a very rare skill in a politician. she went into the debate being mocked by the MSM as Quayle-lite and left the debate looking Reagan-esque. Frank Luntz did a focus group of undecided voters after the debate. at least 95% of the people in that focus group said palin won the debate. that she connected much better with the American people. And more important than everything else, she proved Thursday night that she belongs on the national stage. 54% of Americans believe she is now qualified to be President. That is of critical importance to the McCain campaign in these final 30+ days and will prove invaluable in a McCain administration starting next January.
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