Judging the Vice Presidential Debate Like Everyone Else is Doing

The consensus from viewers polled after the Vice Presidential debate, was that Joe Biden won by a healthy margin. I'm just as surprised by the margin here as I was with the Presidential debate, I thought people would see it a lot closer.

Is it funny or a sad commentary when we think that Sarah Palin wins if she makes it through the debate without embarrassing herself or her candidate? It was obvious that both she and John McCain were coached by the same team, they had similar scripts and stuck to the template, even if the questions asked by the moderator got in the way. She was perky, trying to evoke the folksy image of Ronald Reagan, and constantly on the attack. Biden, to his credit, didn't respond by going after her record as a governor or mayor. To solve the campaign's biggest problem, that they are Republicans running against a Republican administration, they came up with the idea that the Bush era is old history, and its time to move on.

Joe Biden had a better grasp of facts, as expected, and did a good job of linking McCain's voting record with problems in the administration. He also provided the most human moment, almost breaking down and crying when reminded of past deaths in his family. Insensitive guys like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly will make fun of this, but it was genuine and showed more about him than any scripted straight talking to the American people provided.

I don't think this debate swayed any minds, and its clear that McCain is behind almost everywhere in the US, that he won't be able to pull a rabbit out of that Western hat. So now the campaign might as well pull out all of the stops and get really ugly; its why you are paying those Rovian disciples the big bucks. Keep Sarah Palin away from unscripted interviews, and keep changing the message of your campaign, enough so that we become confused as to what you believe in.