One, distinct clash of vice presidential candidates in this campaign was widely anticipated due to rather tied results of previous showdown between Obama and McCain and stunning media focus on VPs with respect to that. Both candidates had to face and deal with remarkable media pre-debate assessments, especially Gov. Sarah Palin whose -being absolutely delicate - 'unfortunate' interview in CBS surprised, and not necessarily in a positive manner, both left and right-oriented commentators and the public in general.
Both candidates had to prove their credibility - Biden his prudence , Palin her experience - which is why this debate and its aftermath appealed precisely to the undecided section of American electorate, for neither of the two participants committed any fatal mistake or undertook a move that would break those solidly decided and turn them towards respective tickets. Biden's situation seemed more severe :
- being already in advantage (tremendous background and foreign policy credentials),
- being a man (taking Palin down decisively had a risk of turning women voters away attached to it),
- being previously a supporter of war in Iraq and in disagreement with Obama in congressional resolutions regarding that issue, which Gov. Palin pointed out during the debate.
Palin's situation was no bed of roses either - expectations indicated another gaffes, and troubles with responding to questions regarding state matters. Palin had to dispell her image of incompetence recently drawn in the debate over her credentials , and that was not an easy thing to do.
The organizers focused again on the same issues that were discussed earlier in previous presidential debate, however this one was better prepared in terms of merits. Foreign policy issues were uptaded with Israeli- Palestinian conflict and the climate change. Neither of the candidates showed any sharp-ended differences on the first issue, though we could see entirely different approaches with respect to climate change. Senator Biden and Gov. Palin did not agree upon the causes of global warming, which Biden described as undoubtedly man-made, while Palin did not attribute any shifts in climate with misconduct of men. Palin focused on a well known element of McCain's eviromental/energy strategy - offshore drilling, and interconnected enviromental issues with U.S. energy situation. Biden prudently highlighted Obama's postulates for new technologies such as clean coal and the importance of exporting it to primary polluters (one being China) and emphasized on McCain's lack of commitment for them throughout congressional votings as well as deficiencies in McCain's enviromental plan.
In general, Senator Biden's posture in the debate revealed and proved correct, majority of pre-debate comments regarding his approach to this showdown - he did not intend to discredit Palin herself, instead focused primarily on John McCain, which in my view was a correct formula for success. Biden consequently discredited McCain's strategies in every aspect from the economy to Iran, highlighting fundamental differences between Democrats and Republicans, which was necessary after the last debate, where the line was not drawn directly enough. In a very important moment - that is at the end of the debate he elaborated on 'maverick' image of republican ticket and intended to slam it down, after numerous repetitions of that phrase in praises raised by Palin - succesfully as I suppose. "Maverick he is not" could without a doubt serve as a catch-phrase of that debate. Biden's success was also appealing to emotions, which in previous debate was entirely McCain's field (family values, single parenting and addressing the troops abroad). Obviously that scored few points for him. On the negative side of Biden's performance it is important to focus on crucial element of Democratic strategy throughout the campaign - which is indicating the Bush administration's failures. Palin took advantage of Biden's notorious as she entitled it - 'finger-pointing'. This should be a warning. Bush administration is certainly not admired among the public, however debating on current issues should be more constructive, over-emphasizing Bush's failures is not a firm recipe for the White House, and at some point '...past is prologue' may not be enough.
As for Sarah Palin's performance - it is safe to say that she saved her VP position in this debate. Prior to the debate news media expressed republicans's concern about whether the choice made by John McCain was right. Her performance will definitely cause reconsideration by aforementioned republican commentators. She spoke directly to the camera, was more opened than Biden and less serious - being able to joke during a debate after such pressure endured before, is a remarkable feat. Palin intended to highlight her experiences derived from governing Alaska - primarily issues of energy and economy. In addition, she advocated McCain's policies and intended to discredit both Obama (same issues as did McCain previously) and Biden (here questioning his allegedly ambiguous position on war in Iraq). Governor definitely surprised her critics and foes and succeeded in tasks assigned to her by various commentators. Negative aspect in my opinion was her language expressions, statesmen of a statue she aspires to become should rather avoid excessive uses of phrases like 'Darn right'. What could also be found slightly annoying were her constant praises to McCain, 'maverick' being one, and dismissing the necessity of reconsidering some programs from the election strategy due to economic crisis and praising McCain's leadership skills instead - being another. Question at hand now is really the one posed by one of democratic commentators right before the debate: Is letting Palin be Palin as some commentators indicate should be the right approach while judging credentials of a candidate aspiring for a second most important office in America? To some - Palin's perfomance does not prove her credibility.
Ultimately, again it is difficult to name a decisive winner. Biden based on merits and performance - as polls show was victorious, though it has to be admitted - both candidates received what they needed from that debate and what was essential to improve their image among the undecided to whom this debate was really addressed.
For more on this debate : http://binarychoice.wordpress.com
