It really should surprise no one that Republican Sarah Palin surpassed expectations in her vice presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden last night.
After all, her poor performances in recent interviews had influential members of her own party calling on her to withdraw from the ticket – not only to spare herself further embarrassment but also for the sake of the country.
Therefore, just showing up on the stage with Biden was a profile in courage for Palin.
That said, given that sadistic pundits probably induced most of you to tune in to see more of a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch than a serious debate, I shall spare you any pedantic analysis of their exchanges.
Instead, I shall suffice to note that only a rabid Democratic partisan can deny that Palin acquitted herself well. Because, far from sounding like a ditsy moose-hunting Alaskan, she articulated her party’s talking points every bit as effectively as the senatorial Biden articulated those of his party, which compels me to say, quite frankly, I told you so:
She is a remarkably articulate and compelling politician who I suspect will prove a surprisingly worthy adversary in debates with Barack Obama’s purportedly more-qualified VP running mate, Joe Biden. And this will be especially evident in exchanges on one of the most pressing issues in this year’s presidential campaign, namely, energy independence – on which she is extraordinarily well-versed.
[John McCain’s VP running mate: Sarah Palin, The iPINIONS Journal, August 30, 2008]
As for who won, I believe Biden won on substance, whereas Palin won on style – notwithstanding her seemingly contrived folksiness.
But … it’s important to separate Palin’s ability to perform in a debate from her qualifications to serve as VP. Because where Biden demonstrated a comprehensive and contextual understanding of every issue, Palin merely showed that she is capable of delivering her well-rehearsed lines without looking like a deer (or is that a moose?) caught in the headlights. Never mind that her answers often bore no relation to the questions moderator Gwen Ifill asked.
Moreover, just as it did not take long for probing interviews to destroy Republican attempts to herald Palin as a latter-day Joan of Arc after her Obamaesque convention speech, I predict that it will not take long for similar interviews to render her performance in last night’s debate utterly meaningless.
Alas, I remain convinced that she does not have the education, grasp of issues beyond Alaska’s borders or the self-confidence to serve as vice president. More to the point, as a die-hard Barack Obama supporter, I am encouraged that Biden did exactly what he needed to do to help Obama become the next president of the United States.
Enough said.
Now let’s get back to the really important debate on whether the pending bailout legislation in the US Congress will save the US and world economies.
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