Who won the VP debate?

Ok, I just finished watching the VP debate and many of the analysis that has come after it. And while I believe that from an argumentative standpoint that Joe Biden was clearer and talked more definitively about the issues, I also believe that the McCain/Palin group won more in political terms than the Obama/Biden group, because I was pleasantly surprised by the clearness and air of knowledge that Palin seemed to have. It is true that Palin could have been briefed by hundreds of political experts before the debate, but that she had just debated with a 30 year member of the Senate and walked away generally unscathed, as we were led to believe she wouldn't, is very impressive.

I am not saying that I am now a Republican and will go vote for McCain/Palin (because I'm still not going to), I am simply stating that because of this debate, Palin was able to cast off a bit of the prejudice that has befallen her, how she keeps up with this performance and whether she can overcome her stupidities in the past, only time can tell. I am by no way saying that Palin won the debate, because i think Biden won, but just that she was better than I thought she would be.

There's my stand point, what's yours?

MCAIN UP N THIS THANG!!!


jk Obama 4 life, but 4 real tho palin iz an idiot

I tried watching the debate but quickly got disgusted. Both Biden and Palin threw out figures early on that must have required hours worth of searching to find. Who seriously counts to see that McCain has voted over 400 times to increase taxes, or whatever the bullshit was? I remember that being said, too. (The "over 400" thing, I mean.)

Saying that sort of crap is pointless. So, a politician voted in the past to do something bad. You're not explaining the context of the situation; you're just spouting out numbers. Worse, somebody had to spend a lot of time researching that shit! Just so someone could say it. A simple message, a sentence that doesn't even take ten seconds to say! God, I'd kill myself if that was my job.

Anyways, it made me sick, so I couldn't watch all of the debate. I don't see how anybody could, really. The vice president candidates weren't even giving their own views, just the views of their respective partners. Which makes sense, considering that the VP of whoever wins will do next to nothing in the White House.

I'll be so glad when this election shit's over with. At least, I will be if Obama wins. Otherwise, I'll be starving in the gutter and wishing that I lived in Canada.

Why do you put such stupid people in power?(Palin)

What are you talking about? I don't know where people get the idea that she's stupid and that Biden is better than her... Give me a good reason why she is inferior to Biden, because from what I've seen, Palin is a step above Biden who can't even remember that there were no TVs in 1929 and FDR wasn't president in that era either...

They were both quite bad choices.

I'm inclined to agree my English friend. I'm not fond of any Presidential or Vice presidential candidate. Though I can say this, Palin has breasts. That has to be worth something.

From what I have heard on various news channels is that Palin walked away on about equal terms with Biden. You have a newcomer to that level of politics and yet she held her own with a man who has been playing the game for a while. Even if you don't like her you have to commend her ability to hold her ground.

joe, though white and creepy, swept the floor with Miss "I can see Russia from My House" --- but McCain will win, one year in to office he'll croak and she'll run the country. Yeah, I'm moving to Mexico.

You're depressing.

I don't really like to think that anyone actually "wins" debates. I watch it as a trial of the running mate's abilities to respond quickly and accurately. As well as stay on topic and discuss the question at hand. Something Palin was not able to do.

That's a good point. It's not like points are added or deducted throughout these presidential and vice presidential debates. There aren't really any "winners" or "losers." The debates just reflect whether a person him/herself is a winner or a loser.

Like back in the day, between Nixon and JFK. Nixon didn't lose the debate; he just showed that he was a horrible man who wasn't fit to run a herd of cattle, let alone the entire country.

Word.

Well, I managed to miss the debate. Damn the CBC for airing the Canadian one at the same time as this one.

Well, at least I got to see Layton own Harper. That's was worth something.

On the merits of policy and knowledge, Biden would have to be the clear winner.

However, expectations for Palin were so low after her abysmal Couric interview that merely showing up and stringing together coherent sentences was viewed as a victory for her by some. Commentators also speculate that her "folksy" and down to earth attitude will resonate with some voters.

I think ultimately, Palin still didn't really know much anything, she just elected not to answer the questions and instead gloss over her talking points on the few issues she presumably did know something about. She also attacked Biden and Obama.

Biden, for his part, was long winded, but managed not to say anything incredibly arrogant or stupid. He also didn't take the bait and attack Palin, which has proved itself an ineffective strategy. Rather, he concentrated on sounding knowledgeable and attacking McCain/Bush when he attacked.

Nobody imploded and both candidates did what they were supposed to do pretty well. I don't think the debate will impact the election much.

From a debaters' points standpoint, Biden clearly won. However, Palin won the debate against her own damaged image and low expectations, which counts for something.

If someone has a link to the debate floating around in some dark corner of the internet, I'd really appreciate it. Fact is, that I didn't turn on my TV for months, so didn't really get a chance to view / read it (due to the simple reason that the landlord wants quite the sum of cash for having an active TV connection and that it distracts me from doing my stuff for university).
Anyways, I would like to quote my history and politics teacher from way back: "Having TV duels and other kind of confrontations before an election is a championship in sugarcoating things. The one that makes the bitter core look more delicious wins".

That isn't quite right actually, JFK was able to sway that election due to the debates being televised. 56% of people who listened in on the debates through the radio thought that Nixon's policy and stances were better than JFK's, but 65% of people who watched the debate on tv thought that JFK won the debate. This shows us that the American public bases their votes on the image of the debater.... which is kinda sad...

You can't be too harsh on the people who watched the debate.



Look at him.

He's frightening.

You know you can't trust that man.

Just watch it again, you'll see that Palin dodged every question that was asked all the while slinging mud at Barock and Bidin

I watched hoping for a Palin car wreck (mostly for entertainment's sake, I don't intensely hate her on anything), but she didn't deliver =(. She gave a good performance, but I think Biden actually answered questions better. That being said, never underestimate the power of a good performance over gullible people =). It's hard to decide on a winner or loser, but at least you do get a better idea of what the candidate is about.

On a side note, Tina Fey's impression of Palin is pretty spot on. They should have stuck her in the debate, I doubt people would have noticed the difference.

Y B so negative, vote 4 Obama & keep that shit frm happenin

A good reason why it'll happen is people don't want to vote for a candidate that promotes class envy and socialistic tendencies. That and the media basically treats him like a messiah and when the media and celebrities treat you as if you are Jesus Christ the average Joe can't relate to you and they don't vote for someone they can't relate.