Swompdonkey

Even Better Than the Real Thing



Thanks to all the vitriol that had been expended on her over the past weeks, Palin exceeded expectations by simply not sucking, but Joe Biden won by giving a good performance and sounding in command of the facts even when he actually wasn't.

Truth matters, but perception is everything: Joe Biden may have made some factual errors, but Sarah Palin missed almost every chance to call him on his multiple inaccuracies because she did not know they were falsehoods. This just goes back to what the (rational) critics of Palin had been saying: She simply did not have the depth to go toe-to-toe with Biden on most issues--energy being a notable exception. Therefore, Biden came across as authoritative and knowledgeable, and Sarah, not knowing any better, let him.

For a change, the McCain camp adopted the right strategy and prepped Palin to go short on details-long on rhetoric in her answers. She sometimes avoided a question on which she was weak --near the begining of the debate, she had announced that she would "speak directly to the American public", a tactic that let her work her significant charm (wink wink), even when the substance just wasn't there. The camera really does love this woman, and I got a chuckle watching the line representing the male members of the CNN focus group spike on the reaction-meter when Sarah got flirty or conspiratorial with the viewer.

Palin also managed to get in a couple of zingers in her singular down-home way, but because Biden did not rise to the bait nor come off as a blowhard by belittling or condescending to her, he kept to his message, kept to the game plan, and he won.