WASHINGTON: The first-and-only US vice presidential debate Thursday night in St. Louis, Missouri, between Republican nominee Gov. Sarah Palin and Democrat pick Sen. Joe Biden may have been the most intensely followed fight since the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” between boxers Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. But unlike that historic match, neither contender yesterday managed to land a KO, so the media was quick to declare the debate a draw.
Palin in particular exceeded expectations after a series of damaging media interviews, particularly with CBS anchor Katie Couric. But unlike those interviews — where at one point she meandered incoherently when replying to a question about the $700-billion bailout — Palin appeared knowledgeable on several subjects yesterday.
But both were quick to extend unqualified support to Israel when questioned on the Mideast peace. Though they said that the only solution was “the two-state solution” neither referred to Palestine as the other state while insisting that they were the true friends of Israel.
What Palin possessed in vice-presidential acumen was offset by a stridently folksy charm. At one point she joked about the students of her brother, who is a teacher, were going to get extra credit for watching the debate. She gave “shout outs” to friends at home. She used phrases like “doggone it” and “Joe Six-Pack” and “Main Streeters like me.” In another instance, she winked to the audience.
These down-home gestures appeal to a large constituency of conservative Republicans voters, but questions remain whether they will be enough to change the direction of the race that looks increasingly difficult for the Republicans.
With the GOP ticket trailing in national polls, Palin spent most of the time on the attack. She was armed with talking points involving tax increases, domestic drilling for oil, and critiques of Democart presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s record on the war in Iraq.
Palin repeatedly attempted to steer the debate to allow her to use that ammunition, regardless of the question at hand. As a result, Biden, the longtime Washington insider, frequently was forced to explain the intricacies of congressional procedure and nuances of international diplomacy, often in a defensive posture.
Biden — who may have been concerned about the perception of being condescending to Palin, which could be used as ammunition to label him sexist — went easy on his opponent while pounding hard at McCain and the Bush administration on the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, and nearly every issue that came up. Palin repeatedly called McCain a “maverick,” and by the end, Biden seemed fed up.
“He’s been a maverick on some issues, but he has been no maverick on the things that matter to people’s lives,” he said. Biden kept his attack leveled on Sen. John McCain, attacking the Republican presidential candidate for his views on the economy, branding the Arizona senator as a deregulator who encouraged the current Wall Street crisis; on foreign policy by tying McCain to the war in Iraq; and on health care, where Biden labeled McCain’s health care plan, which involves tax credits but will also tax employer’s benefits, “the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere.”
Some newspapers implied that a draw isn’t enough to chance the tide for the Republican ticket.
In a front-page story titled “Palin Delivers, But Doubt Not Erased,” The Washington Post said “Palin who showed up for Thursday’s debate ... was anything but defensive. In a fast-paced exchange about a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, she was the aggressive campaigner who in the first weeks of her candidacy had so energized the Republican faithful.” But “one debate will not erase doubts that have been building about Palin’s capacity to serve as vice president.”
Commentators on many of the networks marveled at Palin’s insistence on avoiding substantial comment on issues and on simply ignoring questions she couldn’t answer convincingly.
Palin even announced that his would be her strategy fairly early in the debate. She said she wasn’t necessarily going to respond to the questions of the moderator or charges from Biden, but instead: “I’m gonna talk right to the American people,” which some interpreted as arrogant and an admission she would duck the tough questions.
On CBS’s The Early Show yesterday, body language and political imagery expert Joe Navarro, author of “What Every Body Is Saying” and a former FBI criminal profiler, offered his observations of the candidates’ nonverbal communications during their face-off. “I thought they did really well,” Navarro told co-anchor Harry Smith, “you know, so much different than the presidential debate.”
Smith said, “The pundits graded it as a draw. But on the overnight polling, it tended to favor Biden by a significant margin. Why would that have been?”
“One of the things we look for is comfort and discomfort,” Navarro explained. “He made us feel comfortable. He looked presidential. She looked mayoral.”
