VP Debate '08: Biden vs. Palin

"Phew, she pulled through" are the words that came out of my mouth when the VP debate ended last night.

I was so worried that Palin was going to ... "come short" [in nicer terms :) ] as she has in her past interviews. However, she did surprisingly well. That being said, Congrats Palin!

PALIN:
Instead of answering the moderators questions Sarah Palin had her own method of running the show. Which is a good thing and bad thing. While watching the debate, it made me bite my lip and ask "WHAT are you doing?! That wasn't the question!!". For example, they had been talking about bankruptcy and mortgages and then it became Palin's turn and she would start talking about Energy again. However after watching it - I don't think she was necessarily avoiding the questions rather she was PROMOTING the policies of McCain and then attacking Obama's. Then she really threw it out there to the audience - to make it known to all. (Speaking to Biden) "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm gonna talk straight to the American people,"said Palin. This must have been an eye opener to the audience, in fact ... I KNOW it was because I heard this quote at least 3 times during news reports on my way to school. This showed me that she knows what she's doing. She is aware that she isn't directly answering the question. Her focus was more on promoting her ideas. She doesn't need the media to bash her about it. Now, was that the right move to make? Probably not - she probably should have answered the question and then go on to issues she wanted to promote because it seemed like she had been trained on a few topics and so thats all she would talk about. In the end, Palin did a pretty good job.

McCain at one point said something along the lines of "Through 35 years of experience I have learned how to reach across the aisle..." addressing the needs of both republicans and democrats. Then Palin's HORRIBLE response to that was something along the lines of "I know how to address both sides because even members of my own family have conflicting views." That - wasn't as substantial evidence compared to McCain's...

Another thing! I do not believe that "shout out" she did to one of her family members third grade class was appropriate, saying they would get extra credit.... what?! This is a VP DEBATE in front of ALL of America. She was trying too hard to appeal to the middle class...I think she felt as though she could relate better to them because her family as always been middle class, she has kids, a child with special needs, etc. The fact of the matter is....is that McCain can relate too. This is when he brought up that he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident, leaving him as a single parent with 2 critially injured sons. Once again Biden was on top. Something that I thought was annoying was how Palin kept talking about "up there in Alaska.." we arent talking about Alaska anymore we are talking about ALL of America.

Both candidates targeted the Middle Class in their speeches. Palin did not agree with Biden's comment about it being Patriotic to pay taxes - and Obamas plan to increase taxes. Palin stated that there is nothing patriotic about being a middle class citizen and paying taxes. She made a strong point that increasing the taxes would further hurt the economy.

After writing all my thoughts down about the debate last night...I'm starting to think. Palin didn't do as well as I had thought. Yes, she did do better then expected and in comparison to her other interviews but ....
I feel as though both candidates talked themselves in circles - so to speak. I honestly don't know what to think about the final outcome of the debate from last night.

As Mr. Eckerson just perfectly said, "Personally I think Biden won ... however Palin won because she exceeded peoples expectations." I completely agree.