In this, my first post after the vice presidential debate, I want to express my initial reactions to the debate (although I have taken a little while to think about what I saw and was said).
I think that the debate was in one word "entertaining." Watching Ms. Palin skillfully (or maybe not so) side step questions throughout the first half of the debate was probably the best example of this.
I think if we look further we can say that each of the candidates had a different objective when they entered Washington University, and each succeeded:
For Ms. Palin it was simple, get America back behind her like they were after the convention. She will never be the skilled speaker or intellectual thinker that Mr. Biden is, but will be able to "rally the troops" around her and the Republican party.
For Mr. Biden, his objective was to show that he "knows what he's talking about" and to not attack Ms. Palin too badly because that would turn Americans off (because we love to show sympathy for Sarah Palin). Mr. Biden was able to show his experience and knowledge by answering most of the questions head on and looking straight into the camera while spitting out statistic after statistic.
All in all I think the debate was both "entertaining" and surprisingly low key.
I look forward to sharing lengthy conversation with all of you about this.
4 comments:
One style comment and one substance one. Style first: give us a paragraph break inbetween paragraphs -- will make the blog easier to read, and prettier, too! On to substance: you've offered one version of the conventional wisdom. Can you push the analysis further? Connect it to readings, polling, data, etc.? Comment on how that conventional wisdom has come to be?
Did Joe Biden really come across as intellectual?
Or, rather, if Joe Biden came across as intellectual then...
I think next to Sarah Palin he did, which was a must for him. He needed to show not only that he is more experienced then Ms. Palin, but that he is smarter and more well rounded.
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