Posted by
"Mind and Morals" Michael Coyne on Thursday, October 02, 2008 10:28:00 PM
Wow. THAT was a debate. I think I enjoyed that debate more
than any exchange between politicians in a very long time. Senator Joe Biden
and Governor Sarah Palin were very much equally matched. I have to commend them
both. I took 6 ¼ pages of notes before 9:10 PM central time (a little over an
hour into the debate) before I had to stop. My hand was too tired.
I’ll start with Sen. Biden’s strengths. He is infinitely
stronger in a debate than Sen. Obama. Unlike the ticket’s top, Biden has the
benefit of specifics and strong points. Where Obama regurgitates talking
points, Biden can emphasize specific beliefs and particular points to highlight
what his views for action in 2009 forward include.
Biden did, amusingly, look at Palin with almost admiration
while she answered, specifically in the early parts of the debate. Biden came
off as all business. He was direct, strong, and had logic to back up his
positions. Even while I disagreed with him on a great many things, I understood
and respect where he came from. He connected to me, a staunch Republican, on
that level.
Palin’s strengths were two-fold. One: she made no gaffes. At
all. She was factually prepared, honest, and didn’t fumble anything. Two: she
was human. The woman who wowed America at the RNC came back in full force
tonight. She spoke directly to the American people. She came off as Biden’s
antithesis: folksy, often funny, and dare I say cute. She managed to achieve a
balance that Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro never could: she was strong,
intelligent, and feminine at the same time. Unlike many women in politics, she
was unafraid to be wholly a woman and wholly a leader. I applaud that.
Weaknesses are harder to come by. Neither candidate really
fouled anything up at a totally noticeable level. The biggest criticism I have
goes to Palin: early on, she wanted to keep answering the energy question over
and over. Biden was almost three questions ahead of her at that point, and that
came close to hurting her. Fortunately, it caused no lasting damage, and I, for
one, was over it one question later. Biden had more problems with actual facts,
such as his previous statements on coal power; but a casual observer would
likely think that Biden did fine.
I will do a follow-up piece to this one on fact-checking specifics.
But here, I want to focus on the big picture. While I thought that John McCain
won the first Presidential debate—albeit by a slim margin—and
articulated that point in my school’s newspaper, I have to say, in all honesty
and fairness, that Joe Biden came out just a hair ahead tonight.
Don’t misunderstand me. I love Governor Palin, and I think
she did absolutely excellent tonight. But Biden had a more professional air,
which lends itself to perceived credibility. What I’ve felt about Biden for a
very long time is that he’s a remarkably liberal person who breaks all the
liberal rules of presentation. He comes off like many conservatives do; more
concerned with facts and his own logic than the emotion and “bleeding-heart”
elements that usually drive liberals. Obviously, Biden did make factual errors
in his performance, but he nevertheless had the aura that can usually only be
controlled by conservative thought.
Palin’s personality and conviction won her some friends
tonight, and it reminded me why I like her. But her answers lacked depth, which
unfortunately drew contrast from Biden’s experience and argumentative brawn.
Congratulations to Joe Biden on his very, very, very narrow
victory tonight. And congratulations to Sarah Palin for blowing your first
National debate out of the water. Both candidates gave a stellar, fast-paced,
and outright entertaining performance tonight. I know most of the pundits are against me tonight, but these are my immediate impressions.
UPDATE: The follow-up piece mentioned above has been cancelled. I feel that the issue had been covered ad-nauseum, and that most rational-minded Americans will agree that Biden won on presentation/appearance of knowledge, and that Palin won on actual facts. Biden made, I believe 14 factual errors to Palin's 6 or 7. Our gal won there, but the bar should have been higher.