Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and US Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware sparred over both domestic and foreign policy on Thursday night in this 2008 election season's first and only vice-presidential debate.
In a format that allowed just two minute responses from the questions posed by debate moderator Gwen Ifill of PBS, issues of economy, the financial sector, healthcare, energy independence, the war on Iraq and future US foreign policy dominated the discussion.
Governor Palin's experience and preparedness had fallen under fire in recent weeks, after she gave several interviews in which she was perceived as awkward when discussing issues like the recent financial crisis and US-Russia relations, and many political pundits predicted that Senator Biden would score a comfortable victory.
But though the Senator demonstrated sound command of policies and flexed his 36 years of experience in the US Senate, Gover Palin held her own by sticking to the McCain campaign's party platform and by exuding a sort of folksy charm that likely resonated with much of Main Street America.
Senator Biden will likely be interpreted as having won the discussions on policy minutiae, because Governor Palin often refused to directly answer questions and gave responses that seemed canned. But she clearly exceeded expectations and flashed genuine political skill, by hitching herself to the American middle class and showing a connection to the 'common man'.
She displayed this tendency early and often, answering a question about the so-called predatory lending that helped contribute to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US housing market: "Everyday American people -- Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation -- I think we need to band together and say, never again."
Governor Palin also worked to head off talk of her inexperience, by early on referencing it herself: "How long have I been at this? Like five weeks," she said, when asked what promises she might not be able to keep, given the economic downturn.
"So there hasn't been a whole lot I have promised, except to do what is right for the American people, put government back on the side of the American people, stop the greed and corruption on Wall Street, and the rescue plan has got to include that massive oversight that Americans are expecting and deserving. I don't think that John McCain has made any promise that he would not be able to keep, either," she said.
But veiled behind her charm were pointed barbs at US Senator and presidential nominee of the Democratic Party Barack Obama, including accusations that he had voted against funding for US troops in Iraq and had undermined the US war effort by voting against the troop surge.
She also took on Senator Biden, telling him that, on issues of national security, he had in the past supported US Senator and Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain and been critical of Senator Obama's history on the Iraq issue.
"I know that the other ticket opposed this surge, in fact, even opposed funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barack Obama voted against funding troops there after promising that he would not do so," she said. "And Senator Biden, I respected you when you called him out on that.
For his part, Senator Biden chose to rarely address Palin personally, which was to be expected after some Republicans had levelled charges of sexism against the Obama campaign, and given Senator's Biden's reputation as being tough and tenacious, sometimes too much so.
But the Senator didn't pull any punches when condemning the bulk of McCain's proposals for America (though he praised McCain personally), repeatedly linking him to the George W Bush administration, which an overwhelming majority of Americans consider a failure.
On a question about a possible withdrawal from Iraq, Biden hammered home this point. "Barack Obama offered a clear plan (for withdrawal). Shift responsibility to Iraqis over the next 16 months. Draw down our combat troops. Ironically the same plan that Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq and George Bush are now negotiating. The only odd man out here, only one left out is John McCain," he said.
Senator Biden went so far as to call the Iraq war a fundamental difference between the two tickets. "We will end this war John continues to tell us that the central war on terror is in Iraq," he said. "I promise you if an attack comes on the homeland it's going to come as our security services have said. It's going to come from Al Qaeda planning in the hills of Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's where they live, that's where they are, that's where it will come from."
He also blasted McCain on his erratic response to the recent financial crisis, including the Wall Street meltdown and the proposed $700 billion dollar bail-out bill. "You know, until two weeks ago -- it was two Mondays ago -- John McCain said at 9 in the morning that the fundamentals of the economy were strong," he said.
"Two weeks before that, he said we've made great economic progress under George Bush's policies. Nine o'clock, the economy was strong; 11 that same day, two Mondays ago, John McCain said that we have an economic crisis. That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch," he added.
Because she was chosen just five weeks ago, and has only been a governor for less than two years, and that too of one of America's least populous and most far-flung states, American voters have yet to develop a fixed opinion of Governor Palin. After providing a marked boost to the sagging McCain camp in early September, the last two weeks have seen her approval ratings plummet.
Thursday' night's debate likely worked to improve her image with many Americans, particularly those firmly entrenched within the Republican Party base, but it'd be hard to score the debate a victory for the governor. While she managed the difficult feat of being critical yet likable, many of her answers painfully wanted in terms of substance and nuance.
On isuess of foreign policy, her answers -- though glittering with talk of 'maverick', 'hero', 'America' and other generalities -- seemed canned and rehearsed. For example, when asked about nuclear-armed Pakistan and a potentially nuclear-armed Iran, she robotically repeated a John McCain talking point, failing to ever acknowledge Pakistan: "Israel is in jeopardy of course when we're dealing with Ahmadinejad as a leader of Iran. Iran claiming that Israel as he termed it, a stinking corpse, a country that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Now a leader like Ahmadinejad who is not sane or stable when he says things like that is not one whom we can allow to acquire nuclear energy, nuclear weapons."
Though Senator Biden rarely pressed the governor or disagreed specifically with what she said, when he did, the governor seemed to lose out in the ensuing conversations.
Talking about the plan needed for success in Afghanistan, Senator Biden said that General McKiernan -- the commanding general on the ground in Afghanistan -- yesterday said that John McCain's calls for 'Iraq surge principals' to be used in Afghanistan would not work.
In response, Governor Palin, botching General McKiernan's name, said: "Well, first, McClellan did not say definitively the surge principles would not work in Afghanistan. Certainly, accounting for different conditions in that different country and conditions are certainly different."
If she struggled but held her own on foreign policy, she also effectively conveyed her domestic message with tried and true populism, speaking about "American exceptionalism" and the superiority of the American workey. She also attempted to frame her opponents as elitists, similarly bashing the 'mainstream media' and other "East Coast politicians", for failing to respond to the climate of Middle America.
This perceived slight of Senator Biden's link to the middle class drew the night's testiest response: "Look, I understand what it's like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it's like as a parent to wonder what it's like if your kid's going to make it. I understand what it's like to sit around the kitchen table with a father who says, 'I've got to leave, champ, because there's no jobs here. I got to head down to Wilmington. And when we get enough money, honey, we'll bring you down.' I understand what it's like."
This was Biden at his strongest, flexing his middle class Pennsylvania roots while also demonstrating an adeptness for political and policy.
In all, neither candidate scored a knock-out. Now, the McCain camp, likely relieved that Palin has answered the questions about her basic competence, must regroup and look to regain them momentum.
Thursday night's high-profile debate comes at a time with Obama running at a high-water mark, finally having broken the 50 per cent barrier in many national public opinion polls of likely voters.
The second presidential debate will take place next Tuesday on October 7 and the third and final will be on October 15.
American voters go to the polls on November 4, little more than a month from today.
