Little gloating but self-satisfaction all round for an average performance by both vice presidential candidates.
Read the transcript.
A quick review of the papers tells us that the debate was not as exciting as anticipated, with neither candidates making any huge gaffes. For the NYTimes, Sarah Palin's performance was satisfactory albeit not as fantastic as hoped by her supporters. She isn't helping John McCain who is lagging in the polls both nationally and in swing states, but she hasn't hurt his bid for the presidency either, at least not as much as she did when she performed very poorly in an interview with Katie Couric.
(one of the most mocked points made by Sarah Palin is one on her foreign policy credentials (video) based on the geography of Alaska)
The Economist rates Governor Palin's performance mediocre with Joe Biden giving a "strong and disciplined performance".
What doesn't go down very well with The Economist is Palin's strategy of ignoring the question she is asked to make another point. When asked about Darfur she offered a rant against Washington insiders and exposed Joe Biden's shifting position on the Irak war; however she did later offer a laconic and non-specific answer on Darfur, but only after having scored a few points.
Watch the video:
However annoying for pundits and commentators, I think that this tactic is actually quite effective. Why? First it provides the media with good soundbites that will be played over and over again. Second, these quips go down well with voters tired of the Washington politics and Palin started by saying that she would be speaking directly to the American public, and not the journalists attending en masse. In the end, it might not matter whether Palin answers the questions, and she had better say something she knewto be popular than stumble on an issue she hadn't been briefed about.
No comments:
Post a Comment