Well that was a nice piece of political tv I thought. The senator from Delaware and the governor from Alaska looking pressed and neat and prepared to say whatever was necessary to keep the faithful faithful and hopefully lure in a straggler or two - as long as the script allowed it. Here's my take.
Their Style: Both candidates played it as safe as possible with their appearance, except for Joe's suit. That was a mistake. The shiny little stripes made him look sorta like a used car salesman. Even though that's his style, a dark-blue solid would've been great. The tie was perfect though. It worked well with his hair. Sarah was looking nice in her dark suit. Not sure about the red heels though. I understand the importance of height and stature in situations like this. But the back-shots didn't work in her favor. She still came across as much smaller than the senator. All-in-all, I think they both looked very nice and presented themselves really well.
Their rhetoric: My favorite line of the night was the first thing we heard from either of the candidates, although I don't think we were supposed to hear it. Governor Palin's mic was on as they walked onto the stage. "Hey, can I call you Joe?" How cool! Lots of words from both candidates. Lots of accusations. Lots of down talk. Lots of bragging. Lots and lots of words. He said, he said, she said, he said. But what he meant was... Neither candidate really messed up, even though Sarah did mix up a couple of names and facts. Joe got tongue-tied a time or two and looked a little trepiditious about swinging at a woman. It's never nice to hit a woman, even when she dares you to.
The issues: No surprises. Governor Palin is a Republican and a conservative. She said what conservative Republicans should say when they're running for office. Low corporate taxes, strong national defense, personal responsibility and drill baby drill (for American oil). Where she went off the GOP reservation; leave the gays alone and reign in the Wall Street big boys. Senator Biden did a great job being a Democrat. Helping the little guy, public health care, talking before shooting and taking on big business. Where he kicked the donkey; giving the oil companies permission to drill on their own property and supporting clean coal technology. I'm not sure if he ran that by his boss' peeps.
The candidates: Biden came armed with facts and experience and know-how. Palin was prepared to be charming and firm and knowledgeable about McCain's history as a maverick within his own political party. Leading up to the event, the fears of some and the hopes of others were that she would talk a lot and say nothing and that he would get angry and wonder off on a tangent. Although he did squint and sneer a bit, the senator held his own well. He knew his stuff, and John McCain's. He didn't strike me though as someone who is as deeply in love with Barack Obama as the rest of his party is. The governor performed very well. She talked soccer and winked and came prepared to play against the other team and the referee - darn it. She was winning the personal connection contest until he referred to the pain of losing his wife and his daughter and almost losing his sons in a tragic traffic accident in 1972. His emotion seemed very honest.
Gwen Ifill: There was lots of speculation about her ability fairly moderate the debate. She's writing a book about Senator Obama that is supposed to be very pro Barack. The talkers on the radio and television were going on and on about it. The loud conservative ones were convinced she'd be one sided and unfair to the governor. I think she proved them wrong.
Who won? If you were a Palinite before the show you're probably even more of one now. I Biden was your man when you turned on the TV I doubt if he isn't now. FOX said Sarah cleaned Joe's clock. CNN didn't think so. Personally, as entertaining as it was, I don't know much more now than I did at 9:00 last night. I think both of them are prepared to be number two.
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