Who won the VP Debate?

[DukeNukeEm]

Where They Knowledgeable?

 

Palin done not knowed what she talks for.

 

[DukeNukeEm]

Well, Palin lost the debate, but anybody who didn't think that was going to happen is either crazy or not paying any attention. However, everybody knew she didn't need to win to have it be a success for her. Her favorabilities will go up a little bit, more people will think she's more prepared than they did after the Couric and Gibson shipwrecks. This is still a debate though, and the effect it can have on the polls and general election is negligble.

 

Again, nobody f***ed up bad enough for this to be a dagger and nobody did so exceedingly well that it will turn out to be a game-changer either way. The race didn't change at all tonight, and even though Republicans are absolutely getting murdered right now, that's a win for McCain/Palin. This debate had the chance of effectively sinking their chances, the fact that they came out alive to fight another day should be cause enough to sleep easy.

[Rex Kickass]

I think Palin was actually winning the debate until Biden cried.

 

And yeah, he choked back tears and they were genuine when he talked about his wife and kids.

[farmteam]

I don't know if Palin was strong in the beginning, as some have said. Not only did she not answer questions, she did it blatantly, and kept switching for energy. At one point early in the debate, I can't remember the exact words, she said something to the effect she would talk about what she would talk about, regardless of the question.

[StrangeSox]

A majority of Palin's responses were heavily coached/ scripted. That's probably why half of her answers weren't even close to the question topics.

 

She was also very, very nervous when it started. Her voice was shaky and she was rushing her words. When they cut to the 3/4 behind shot, you could see her hands shaking on the podium. She did eventually settle down, though.

Edited October 3, 2008 by StrangeSox

[BigSqwert]

Biden missed a golden opportunity. For all the "You guys keep looking at the past" comments that Palin kept throwing at him he could have just threw it back at her regarding her energy plan conversation. All she kept bringing up was drilling for fossil fuels.

[RockRaines]

Im sorry for the Palin fans on here, but she really does sound retarded at times. That "hockey mom" routine is pretty terrible.

 

I thought Biden-though shaky at times, was at least the agressor most of the time, and knew when to hammer points and be very concise.

Edited October 3, 2008 by RockRaines

[lostfan]

6 people voted for Palin - I'd like to know why, honestly. Besides exceeding expectations, avoiding falling on her face, and generally redeeming herself, I can't think of any reason why that's a win. I won't give her bonus points for meeting lowered expectations though.

[StrangeSox]

6 people voted for Palin - I'd like to know why, honestly. Besides exceeding expectations, avoiding falling on her face, and generally redeeming herself, I can't think of any reason why that's a win. I won't give her bonus points for meeting lowered expectations though.

 

The Couric interview set her expectations slightly above "drooling on herself when asked a difficult question."

[lostfan]

The Couric interview set her expectations slightly above "drooling on herself when asked a difficult question."

Seriously... I mean I know this sounds like an exaggeration, and it is, but not by much.

 

CNN's poll says 84% of people thought she exceeded expectations... that tells you how low they were.

[NorthSideSox72]

Seriously... I mean I know this sounds like an exaggeration, and it is, but not by much.

 

CNN's poll says 84% of people thought she exceeded expectations... that tells you how low they were.

I agree, Palin won the 'vs expectations' game here. But I'm also pretty sure that anyone on this board could have beaten those expectations.

 

[DrunkBomber]

I personally dont think Palin won the debate. However, I dont think Obama won his debate either, but since he was only supposed to hold his own pretty much everyone on here called it a win for him. Going by those standards you could say Palin won too because Bidens performance didnt wow anybody similar to how McCains didnt.

 

What bothered me about Palin last night is she never called out Biden on his BS. He was at the point where he was making things up to prove points and she didnt know the facts to question it. Like when they talked about cutting funds for troops and Biden said McCain voted the same way Obama did, which isnt true.

 

I wish the debate was less about defending the Presidential candidates voting history and more about what they bring to the table. I think everyone who cares about politics enough to watch the debate probably had a pretty close idea of what each candidate was going to say on their answers just because we have heard all the arguments a million times.

[lostfan]

I agree, Palin won the 'vs expectations' game here. But I'm also pretty sure that anyone on this board could have beaten those expectations.

If the question was "who beat the spread" as opposed to who actually won, then yeah, Palin won by a lot. But objectively speaking, I think Biden won hands down, and I can't think of a single reason why I should believe otherwise. Biden was pretty boring, but nagivated the waters pretty easily - Palin just talked in circles so she didn't have to stray from her comfort zones, winked, and said "maverick" a lot.

[NorthSideSox72]

I personally dont think Palin won the debate. However, I dont think Obama won his debate either, but since he was only supposed to hold his own pretty much everyone on here called it a win for him. Going by those standards you could say Palin won too because Bidens performance didnt wow anybody similar to how McCains didnt.

 

What bothered me about Palin last night is she never called out Biden on his BS. He was at the point where he was making things up to prove points and she didnt know the facts to question it. Like when they talked about cutting funds for troops and Biden said McCain voted the same way Obama did, which isnt true.

 

I wish the debate was less about defending the Presidential candidates voting history and more about what they bring to the table. I think everyone who cares about politics enough to watch the debate probably had a pretty close idea of what each candidate was going to say on their answers just because we have heard all the arguments a million times.

I heartily agree with most of your post. I don't think Biden was B.S.'ing any more than Palin though.

 

I think the key thing to look at is, how did the undecideds and independents see it. I have yet to see that poll. But that's all that matters, really.

 

[lostfan]

I personally dont think Palin won the debate. However, I dont think Obama won his debate either, but since he was only supposed to hold his own pretty much everyone on here called it a win for him. Going by those standards you could say Palin won too because Bidens performance didnt wow anybody similar to how McCains didnt.

 

What bothered me about Palin last night is she never called out Biden on his BS. He was at the point where he was making things up to prove points and she didnt know the facts to question it. Like when they talked about cutting funds for troops and Biden said McCain voted the same way Obama did, which isnt true.

 

I wish the debate was less about defending the Presidential candidates voting history and more about what they bring to the table. I think everyone who cares about politics enough to watch the debate probably had a pretty close idea of what each candidate was going to say on their answers just because we have heard all the arguments a million times.

I thought most people on here said the Obama-McCain debate was a draw. Obama to Palin isn't really comparable because his knowledge is much deeper than hers, "experience" aside, and it wasn't that "held his own" (read: managed to not be a flaming moron) so much as he stayed with McCain stride for stride on McCain's strong points for the most part. Obama and McCain were equal in that debate, it wasn't about expectations, so it was a draw. Just my opinion, and I thought that was the majority opinion here too.

 

What Biden said about the Senate voting wasn't BS, he was making a point. He was saying that if you want to accuse Obama of "voting against funding the troops" (the fact that this keeps getting brought up by the McCain camp is an insult to my intelligence, btw), then if you use that same standard, McCain did the same thing, for a different reason. The BS about dissecting people's voting records is f***ing retarded, IMO. People do it all the time. They make a bill, part 1 says "we will provide funding to kindergartners" and part 2 says "also there will be mandatory castrations for all black people." So when somebody votes against it, their opponent comes out and says "see they hate kindergartners WTF!"

[Texsox]

The issue with this is neither person is on the ticket for any quality that really comes through in the debates. Biden is there to look experienced and old. Palin is there to attract independents looking to break a barrier and show a youthful face on the ticket. Let's have a fashion show instead. Or better yet, let's eliminate the ceremonial VP position and actually give them something useful to do, anything.

[StrangeSox]

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/fa...lin_debate.html

[NorthSideSox72]

Another part of the CBS poll I reference earlier said that 18% of those polled say they will now vote for Obama, 10% for McCain, and 71% were unsure. (there is a missing 1% in there in the decimals)

 

So, I agree with you.

OK, I didn't notice the details of this earlier. So among undecideds, 18% broke for Obama, 10% for McCain.

 

That said, here is my scorecard on the debate:

 

Performance vs Expectations: Palin wins

 

Overall Performance: Biden wins

 

Material effect on election: small win for Obama

 

[Rex Kickass]

Palin won in that she didn't appear like an idiot on screen. She was creaming Biden in the first half hour, because she was perky and cute. Biden looked a little shaky at first, and not telegenic. As the evening progressed, I think Palin got old because she didn't actually answer anything, and felt like she was reading from a script.

 

Biden won in that he didn't look patronizing and he didn't say anything ridiculously stupid on stage either. He has a good command of the issues and I think really connected when he talked about his family's challenges. I didn't know he hung out at Home Depot though, that was interesting.

 

In the end, they both kinda won. Which means McCain lost. Because every opportunity that slips by to have Obama derailed make it less likely that he can catch up.

[DrunkBomber]

I heartily agree with most of your post. I don't think Biden was B.S.'ing any more than Palin though.

 

I think the key thing to look at is, how did the undecideds and independents see it. I have yet to see that poll. But that's all that matters, really.

Im not really talking about Biden BSing any more or less than Palin, I just thought it was good that he would call her out on it more effectively and she really didnt discredit anything he said. I think Biden had a pretty good strategy and that it worked for him. The more I hear of Palin the less confidence I have in her but ultimately I can hope the McCain platform of reform is true because thats really high on my priority list for candidates. Basically, neither debate thus far has made me question what "party" I follow because none of the four candidates has done or said anything that I find completely believable in its ability to make my life better.

 

After this financial crisis, Im beginning to think Ron Paul is my candidate because there is nothing "conservative" going on in Washington and W has tore apart the foundation of the entire political view.

[DrunkBomber]

I thought most people on here said the Obama-McCain debate was a draw. Obama to Palin isn't really comparable because his knowledge is much deeper than hers, "experience" aside, and it wasn't that "held his own" (read: managed to not be a flaming moron) so much as he stayed with McCain stride for stride on McCain's strong points for the most part. Obama and McCain were equal in that debate, it wasn't about expectations, so it was a draw. Just my opinion, and I thought that was the majority opinion here too.

 

What Biden said about the Senate voting wasn't BS, he was making a point. He was saying that if you want to accuse Obama of "voting against funding the troops" (the fact that this keeps getting brought up by the McCain camp is an insult to my intelligence, btw), then if you use that same standard, McCain did the same thing, for a different reason. The BS about dissecting people's voting records is f***ing retarded, IMO. People do it all the time. They make a bill, part 1 says "we will provide funding to kindergartners" and part 2 says "also there will be mandatory castrations for all black people." So when somebody votes against it, their opponent comes out and says "see they hate kindergartners WTF!"

I guess I just personally thought McCain did better than Obama because I agree with more of his ideas than Obamas and he didnt do anything to make me even consider voting for him, which goes both ways I realize. These debates all hinge on personal expectations people set and if each candidate exceeds them or not. For the most part I can honestly say, each has done a little better than I thought they would but none have done enough to drastically change my opinion. Its easy for me to say already being aligned with a party, I guess its how the independents view them. (AHB's polls from CNN dont count)

[lostfan]

I guess I just personally thought McCain did better than Obama because I agree with more of his ideas than Obamas and he didnt do anything to make me even consider voting for him, which goes both ways I realize. These debates all hinge on personal expectations people set and if each candidate exceeds them or not. For the most part I can honestly say, each has done a little better than I thought they would but none have done enough to drastically change my opinion. Its easy for me to say already being aligned with a party, I guess its how the independents view them. (AHB's polls from CNN dont count)

If someone is a Republican, and aligns themselves with the views the candidate states in the debate, it's really no surprise they'd think that candidate won, and I would wonder why they would think anything else.

[BigSqwert]

This was a very succinct answer from Palin regarding Iran obtaining nukes:

Uh, nukuler weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people and too many parts of our planet so those dangerous regimes again cannot be allowed to acquire nukuler weapons, period.

[Texsox]

BTW, when McCain picked Palin, they had to know she would lose in the debate. I can not believe they thought she could even hold her own.

[DBAHO]

Biden was pretty damn solid I thought. He made a couple of slip ups (300 million instead of 300 billion), but the women seemed to love him and he did what he needed to do. I gave him a 7.5/10.

 

Palin on the other hand, was just cringe-worthy I thought. She started out alright, but;

 

1 - How many times did she have to look down at her notes. Just didn't seem prepared for some of the questions I thought.

2 - Yes, you can pronounce the Iranian president's name. Good for you. Doesn't mean you have to say it 5 or 6 times in 2 mins.

3 - Some of her folksy one - liners, just doesn't really seem the forum for it.

 

So I give her a 5.5/10. She may have regained some footing in her own party, but it wouldn't surprise me if Obama/Biden break out to a double digit lead in some of the polls pretty soon.