Ex-Bush Officials: Biden Won The Debate

The consensus from the debate seems to be that while Sarah Palin exceeded the exceedingly low expectations set for her, Joe Biden won the night. The word comes from former members of the Bush administration and even John McCain's former press secretary.

Torie Clarke, who worked with McCain back in Arizona and with the Bush Administration's Department of Defense, had the following remarks on ABC:

"I'm so surprised at what we are talking about before and after the debate. Before the debate the speculation was all on Sarah Palin, how well can she do, can she answer the tough questions? Nobody was paying attention to Joe Biden. I think Joe Biden had his best night tonight. He came with one mission, and that was to go after John McCain, and he did it, backed up by facts. I think he did a better job tonight of tying McCain to the Bush administration than Obama did last week.

Matthew Dowd, who worked for George Bush's communications team while in the White House, followed Clarke and he too agreed that the Delaware Democrat took the evening.

"I think, you know, I agree with her on this. I think Sarah Palin did reasonably well. The death spiral she has been on for the last week, she survived. She's lived another day. She did well. But I think, when the polls come out in the next two, three days, Joe Biden won this debate."

Comments

[dutchess2]

I'm passed the point where I care if McCain or Palin ever 'get it' about the surge... but I think
the media needs to make sure the voters understand.

The Surge was a two pronged stick.... more troops from us, and the Iraqis would get a government together that represented all their factions into one nationalist body....

The Iraqi's never bothered to keep up their end... and we've lost another 1000 plus troops for the lost cause.

Yes, violence is down, we're paying off the war lords, hiring the terrorists, and eradicating whole
communities... That hardly constitutes winning anything with a 'surge'.

If you have any contact with any media people, e-mail them and make sure they start admitting the surge was to buy time for the Iraqis to create a government for all their people, and they have not done so.

McCain keeps bragging how the surge worked... and it didn't... its a lie we cannot allow he and Palin to
keep on telling.

[Texas-Peach]

yeah, the surge worked so well, that its neccessary to send my husband off on his 3rd 15-month-tour to Iraq......Ask a Military Family if they think the Surge worked..... McCain is delusional.

[terrymill]

It is worriesome that she believes that the VP and Cheney need to flex their powers between the legislative and executive branches. Very scary point indeed.

Her eye winking and cutesiness is very insulting to us voters and it probably only won over the base voters (who, by the way, Obama is not going after). I don't think it swayed many undecided voters who Obama IS going after.

KUDOS to Joe for tying McCain over and over and over to Bush. Obama needs to continue that path next week. Keep drilling in on Bush-McCain. He needs to repeat it over and over again.

[IhaveaDREAMwhitegirl]

Senator Biden...You are Amazing on so many levels! You showed this country what a VICE PRESIDENT is!

We love you for being you! (smartie, experienced senator, loving father, husband and man!)

[outsider64]

Where are the McCain supporters now? I miss them so much. Once in a while I need a good laugh.

[WasteNJ]

Biden really did own that debate. He had hard facts, not too wonky, and effectively rebutted most of the lies (talking points) told by Palin. Palin was reading from a script, and just droning on and on. She had a few applause lines, but never answered a question straight, and sidestepped anything uncomfortable. Biden would first answer the question, then illustrate how Palin was wrong. A true pro.

[cryhavoc]

Palin: No gravitas. High school debater feeling. Miss Alaska question time. Can one imagine her as another Margaret Thatcher? Golda Meir? This candidate is simply unqualified. Out of her league. World stage?? What have we come to? Her candidacy is appaling. Leader of the free world? Have we all stepped into some parallel universe?

[EyeballKid]

From a wider perspective, Palin is the perfect metaphor put forth by neo-conservatives for minimal public governance, for shrinking the federal government into oblivion.

Palin is the manifestation of Norquist's desire to make a mockery out of public service.

She is the crown princess of the army of stupifyingly incompetent people that the Norquists and Bushes want at the heads of public office, because she hasn't the intelligence, the talent, nor the interest in making government work for everybody.

That's what makes her the ideal pick. She's been envisioned as the perfect role player that the radical right will use to justify their desire to continue to rob the Treasury through privatization because government just doesn't work.

[Eartha]

Was Joe guest appearing on an episode of "Roseanne"?

[Ohg]

How do those bush folks have any right to say anything. .......................
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/10/01/rednecks-for-palin-wasilla-aa/

[JuniorNorman]

Framing is important Biden could have framed better....... I would have asked her; "Sarah when did stop sleeping with that used snowmobile sales man?"

[CSE]

Sarah six-pack
Eye-Ran
Eye-Raq

That being said, the best short article covering the debate was

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122296343189798679.html

The front page of HuffPo should show a bit more balance - or does divisiveness sell?

[BOJB08]

The winking, especially for the global audience in other countries - does any one, including Sarah, know what winking means in foreign cultures?

[seabass]

folksy and shout outs, she needs to speak english properly too. nuclear and I-raq..she sounds as stupid as bush...she is bush with a side order of nasty lying gambling mc cain. she was rehearsed refused to answer the questions as posed. her power grab on the vice presidency is illegal and she looks like a my way or the highway type. she's not fit for the job and this didn't inspire confidence.

[momofsonofwar]

An elites hockey mom that spews drivel

[dayala]

Biden was stupendous last night, he was laid back and congenial but when he started his barrage of attacks on McCain he was directive, effective, factual and hammered repeatedly at McCain's erratic decision-making and voting record on the war, economy, children's healthcare, domestic violence policy...etc

He staunchly defended Obama's leadership, record and policies at every opportunity.

The REAL LOSER last night was McCain.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

When you're right, you're right!

[DocJerome]

I concur with your diagnosis.

[pamother]

Was this even a debate? While Biden was responsive to Gwenn's questions, Palin completely failed to answer a number of them and seemed to just spout a bunch of rehearsed talking points devoid of any real substance. In fact, at the outset she basically said that she may not follow the program and will say whatever she wants. I knew right there that she needed a cover for what was to follow. A contrived reason for not staying on topic in case she didn't know how to respond. It was obvious to me that while she did not make a fool of herself she clearly did not have the experience or requisite knowledge of the issues. I think the media is giving her too much credit for actually having an idea about how much power a V.P. should wield. That answer was a total fudge. It seemed to me that she had no real position on that issue and had never really considered it in the context of the constitution.