Talk Back: Reactions to the VP Debate
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| Thu, 10-02-2008 - 5:14pm |
Hi everyone --
We wanted to get your reaction to the Vice Presidential debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin. Did you watch? What did you think -- and who do you consider the winner? Were there any surprises? Tell us what you considered to be the highlights, the low points and everything in between.
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Thanks for your input!
Caryn Stein
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I think Palin did a very good job. I thought Biden's responses were more substantive, but that is to be expected -- he has more years in national politics.
I know that Palin's folksiness is very appealing, but it's not my cup of tea. I'm sure her colloquialisms will play very well with her base and perhaps with some independent voters. They likely irritates some others. (Like me? Confession time, but yes, it's a petty complaint.)
Laura
How could she be rehearsed?
Yes, I watched. Clearly, Palin's handlers coached her well, & she fared better on the foreign policy front than in the recent past. Biden was very controlled & restrained himself by choosing not to 'correct' some errors on SP's part, so as not to detract from his points, nor appear to be 'picking' on her. He definitely had a better grasp on just about all the significant facts & stats, esp. in relation to voting records & the proposed health care plans & their net costs.
My biggest criticism of SP is how she would not adequately address the fin'l crisis and kept moving the discussion back to 'energy independence.' The idea that by cutting taxes & focusing on jobs is going to fix what's 'wrong' with our economy -- is just so short-sighted and shows that she does not understand how serious & complex the problems facing our country truly are!
I was truly disappointed with her response to global warming/climate change problem & her conjecture that the cause was not important, totally downplaying man's contributions to the growing problem. With the whole issue of Iraq & Afghanistan, I just heard SP repeating the same lines regardless of Biden's continued emphasis on their troop withdrawal plan. I wonder how many times 'maverick' was uttered during the 90 min.?!
Clearly SP does not feel that she has any real 'achille's heel,' while Biden was very candid, forthright and unapologetic for what makes him who he is. Palin's reliance on her background & experience in Alaska as being directly applicable and adequate for what is needed to address issues of this country -- is just untenable. Also, Palin does have a solid grasp on exactly what the responsibilities of the office of VP of the US actually are - scary!
My overall impression is that Biden has a record of service that speaks for itself & he acknowledges that he's had some ideological differences w/Obama in the past, but at least he knows what those differences were!
As for Gwen Ifill, I think she did an admirable job as moderator and did not detect any 'bias' towards either candidate, whatsoever. She also did not give SP a hard time when she wanted to redirect the discussion to her topic of choice. Both candidates displayed lots of 'diplomacy' towards the other.
My vote is still with Obama/Biden. I didn't learn anything new & 'maverick' from the McCain/Palin team.
respectfully, hB
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