Biden vs Palin

The VP debates were much more exciting than the presidential debates because the candidates actually debated. Both Joe Biden and Sarah Palin performed well during their first and only pubilc debate.

Fortunately, Sarah Palin was not a train wreck and did what she was supposed to do tonight: Stick the the rehearsed script that the McCain campaign gave her and mention that John McCain is a "Maverick" at least 25 times in the 46 minutes she spoke. And when didn't have a good/rehearsed answer to a question, she made sure to remind people of her experience as governor of an energy efficient state and the ticket that's going to bring real change to America. She also remembered to smile, look into the camera during the well rehearsed sections, and wink when she said something that she thought would connect with the all "Joe six-packs and hockey moms" that were watching. I am only commenting on what I saw during the debate because this was the candidate's first chance outside of the conventions to let the American people know who they are and their stance on tough issues.

Joe Biden is chairman of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee and effectively displayed his knowledge on foreign policy; especially when he spoke on the threat of Pakistan and Iran. However, Sarah Palin has no experience with foreign policy and made sure she avoided answering the difficult questions by reverting back to her work as governor of a state, in America. For example, when asked about the condition of Israel, Palin gave her rehearsed answer and then listened to Biden's answer. However, rather than rebuttal his statement, she completely avoided the chance to prove her intelligence on the issue and started talking about "how the American people needed a ticket that believes in this country and the ticket that's going to bring real change to Washington."Her rebuttal had nothing to do with Israel, in fact, I believe she repeated the same "Ahmadinejad said we're going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth" statement that John McCain said last week's debate.

The only time Biden really took a stab at a Palin mistake was when they were both asked about Dick Cheney's belief on the role of the VP. Palin made a big mistake by saying she agreed with the idea that the vice president's role is not fully part of the Executive Branch. She didn't stick to the script and her response made it look like she didn't understand the basic fundamentals of the U.S. Constitution. Biden quickly answered back that the role of the VP is clearly stated in article 1 of the constitution and that his role is to support Obama.

Both candidates came to do what they had do; they did not say anything absolutely crazy to upset the American people and send the media into a frenzy. Final note; kudos to the McCain camp for showing us they know how to turn a woman into a well trained doll!