What the Palin-Biden Debate Really Told us

Who won the Palin-Biden debate? Barack Obama, I suspect.

Who was the big loser? In an historic fortnight that had already underscored his erratic nature, John McCain.

The fact that Palin was able to string her sentences together last night - which she couldn't manage to do in her unscripted interviews with Katie Couric -- shows only how low McCain has strapped his presidential quest.

Sarah Palin's task was an impossible one: to demonstrate that she is ready to be president of the United States. McCain put her in that impossible position; and her performance -- all prep and no depth -- demonstrated the bind he has put himself in.

Yes, he "energized the base" with his Hail Mary pick of Palin as a running mate. But he also demonstrated cynical disregard for the requirement of stable governance were he to be elected president, and then -- through his incapacitation or death -- Palin be called upon to exercise the powers of the presidency.

Just how scary a notion that is went on full display last night: She appeared to lack any semblance of the requisite depth, knowledge, or sense of history we should expect in a president or vice president; then she sought to excuse it by saying, "I've only been at this for five weeks."

Yes, she could wink, she could tell Biden, "Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again," and she could remind us again and again that she is a hockey Mom from the land of Joe-Six-pack (as if Western Republicans don't swill Pinot Grigio with the rest of the country at their fund-raisers). She seemed incapable of thinking through the American condition and responding to it except by scripted answers, theatrical gestures, and tested buzzwords -- and by announcing at the outset that she would decide which questions from the moderator to answer and which to ignore.

Yet Biden's performance (deeply knowledgeable, sensible, and generally responsive to the questions) was perhaps the best evidence that -- considered non-ideologically, but rather on judgment and temperament -- Obama may be ready to be president, and McCain -- who ought to be ready -- is not.

Time after time, Biden had to tell Palin what John McCain's real record is -- as instance after instance -- she misrepresented it (or misunderstood the legislative process), repeated easy slogans and bromides and, for the most part perhaps, offended the intelligence of voters who are not already die-hard, ideological proponents of right-wing Republicanism, creationism, or simplistic solutions to tough problems.

"Maverick," "Maverick," "Maverick," she kept repeating about John McCain and herself. Perhaps Biden's best moment in the best night of his career as a candidate (and I have heard him at his awful worst -- i.e., being his own worst enemy) came when he challenged McCain's constant claim to the Maverick title.

The tactical and intellectual deficiencies of the McCain campaign have been best analyzed by conservative and Republican commentators, and even politicians. George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Peggy Noonan, Chuck Hagel, come quickly to mind. (Hence, Krauthammer, following last night's debate: "You can't blame McCain. In an election in which all the fundamentals are working for the opposition, he feels he has to keep throwing long in order to keep hope alive. Nonetheless, his frenetic improvisation has perversely [for him] framed the rookie challenger favorably as calm, steady and cool.")

As a former White House (Republican) chief of staff said to me, "Palin is evidence of desperation; she is an embarrassment." That is the bottom line. (I generally check in with Republicans -- not Democrats -- to assess how the McCain campaign is doing.) He noted, "She wasn't vetted, really; it's an open secret in Washington, but the details of the negligence are better known to Republicans than Democrats." That doesn't mean she doesn't have a future in the Republican galaxy, lacks star power, or couldn't be a fine Secretary of the Interior in a McCain administration.

It's too bad. Earlier in his career, until the presidency finally seemed within his grasp, McCain had demonstrated a real willingness to seriously and thoughtfully take on both his party and the Washington establishment when he thought they were wrong -- albeit mostly on one issue: pork, an issue he has been heroic on.

But his real opportunity to show independence of his party's reigning dogma and cultural-warrior-infantry was in his choice of a vice presidential running mate. Instead, McCain, who has lectured us about duty, honor, country first, has left many independent-minded voters who might want to vote for him at an impossible, dangerous impasse: an unprepared vice presidential candidate running on a ticket with the oldest presidential nominee in history -- a 72-year-old with four cancer surgeries and medical records he has ordered sealed.

Conventional wisdom has almost always held (JFK-LBJ being a notable exception) that a presidential nominee's choice of vice president makes no difference in the outcome of the election.

This time it is likely to be determinate, because it tells us so much not only about Sarah Palin, but also John McCain's state of mind today, and the promise that his political career once held and now appears to have been left behind.

This post originally appeared on CNN's AC360 Blog.

Comments

[LMKay66]

I miss Tim Russert. Can anyone imagine how he would have nailed Sarah Six Pack to the wall during a debate. He never would have let her get away with not answering questions and no follow-ups. Gwen Ifill was way to easy on her. And does anybody here watch Keith Olbermann's show? Last night he proved that Palin's talking points were nothing but regurgitations of GWB's old talking points from his 2000 debate with Al Gore, right down to the wink. In some cases word for word. Really sad. Shame on you, McCain.

[lis60]

I wish he had been around. I think Gwen was afraid to be too hard given the criticism. She was EASY on her. Americans should demand that Palin do more serious interviews. This is outrageous.

[fanno]

THANK YOU!! Tim Russert is sorely missed and somewhere in the great beyond he is whispering to all of us! I basically made the same observations re:Palin's regurgitating talking points and pointedly avoiding debate. Gwen Ifil deliberately avoided appearing to be tough by ignoring following up on dismissive answers following Palin's announcement that she would be following her own preplanned agenda although this is exactly what the doctor ordered.

[realiybased2]

I did see that and my mouth was wide open when I saw it. Have we as Americans become immune to BS this badly.

[rsaillant1]

Keith-O nailed it with his comparison video;

He proved, finally, that Karl has run out of new ideas and merely flipped back the
pages in his notebook, resorted to what worked before and force-fed it to Sarah durin
her lengthy off-camera sabbatical.

The transcript of the debate is powerful and enlightning. There, one is not distracted by the
winks, grins, smirks and the like. While reading it, one notices Sarah's constant use of
the word "also" that she uses to link one disjointed talkin-point to another, to form what she thought were effective supportive statements promoting the republican mindset.

She is a fraud, through & through. GWB in drag.

[Dupree]

Women fought so hard to be considered an equal and formidable contestant in areas unfamiliar to their gender. We wanted to be taken seriously and felt compel to let men know that we are just as capable of performing many tasks that their gender has dominated for years. We wanted men to know that although we appreciate your acknowledgment of how attractive you may find us....we are far more than a pair of legs or any other pair of our anatomy. We did not want to be known as much for our looks as much as our brilliant minds and the two does not necessarily have to negate the validity of the other but instead we desire to be known more for our ability to communicate and comprehend thoughts that goes beyond surface thinking..­.for our grandmothers and mothers standing along side our other sisters...­.fought hard through sweat and sheer determination to let this profound message resonate within the atmosphere of our modern world. And then came Sarah...wh­o deliberately winks into the camera...a­nd men and seek to use her female wiles to "hypnotized men into voting for her> She shamelessly bat her eye lash as a gesture to suggest an unknown spoken invitation to men. She opens her mouth and speaks scripted words and refuse to connect brain activity to a question and acts as if she is incapable of separate functioning thoughts that has not been prescreene­d....

[girlwild]

Brava!

[DonKrieger]

Country Second:

I have heard very little recently about the “judgement” excercised by Senator McCain in selecting Governor Palin as his running mate. Earlier in the election, this decision was touted for both candidates as the first real “Presidential” decision they would make and the most important. I take that seriously; I think it is very important.

The CBS/Knowledge Networks Poll taken after the VP debate provided this extraordinary answer to the question: “Has the ability to be an effective President, if necessary?
Biden Palin
Yes 91 66
No 8 30

Clearly almost all of those polled, irregardless of their political persuasion, answered in the affirmative on this critical question for Biden. Barack Obama made an excellent choice by this criterion. This results is a demonstration of true “reaching across the aisle.”

Don

Don Krieger, Ph.D., D.ABNM
Retired
Pittsburgh, PA

[hapiguy]

Carl B summed the debate up very well,,,what i learned, Sarah might have a great future on Broadway, she learns her lines very well,,,will have to work on that winking though,,could ruin a performanc­e..
how sad our politics has become...C­ountry First?

[ert]

Any one who thinks that Palin held her own watch the debate again than read this article again. Palins debate was smoke and mirrows.

[WyomingJack]

I think Sarah proved that she is definately presidential material. Did you notice how cleverly she asked Biden in advance if she can call him Joe? Then later slid in the cutsey line about "say it ain't so, Joe." What a clever little devil she is. It just proves that she is ready for the big leagues. When she is about to go to war with Russia over Georgia, she can do the same thing. "Hey Putin, I'm so Vlad to meet ya!" And then give him that cute little wink. I ask you, What could be more presidential than that?

[Miss Lola]

She also continually referred to Obama as "Barack."

Wonder, did she ask his permission, too?

[SamThornton]

To give Gov. Palin her due, for the most part she stayed on the rails during the debate and articulated her campaign's opinions on most issues.

On the other hand, most people can articulate their positions. It's when it comes down to expressing the reasons for those positions that the fun begins.

In the few instances in which Gov. Palin attempted that feat, things got very confused very quickly. Her chaotic expression of the reasons she thought a VP should have more power, for example, likely express the level of thought that stands behind most of her other positions, and not only does this seem consistent with her similarly confused statements in the Couric interview, it doesn't speak well for her suitability for the office to which she aspires.

[ert]

This is a great article and what is so disturbiing is that there has not been an out cry of journalist­,reporters­,news media and the so called intellectuals on politics to call McCain out on his recklessness. There is no intellegent person who is a Independent, Republican or Democrat that thinks Palin is qualified to hold the V.P position. The McCain camp would not let reporters near her or conduct any interveiws this alone was an outrage. to say that a potential VP will not answer questions for the american public is beyond belief. McCain should be impeach from the senate for his actions. to say country first is an embarassment. This country is in trouble we have two wars and the economy is a mess and yet McCain saw fit to put Palin in as his nominee to bring the base together to shake things up.The media did not do its job in asking the hard questions before going to war and it certainly dropped the ball in questioning McCains judgement of picking Palin.

[oldfart1]

Actually the NY Times described McCain's pick of Sarah as "shockingly irresponsible" - strongest language I have ever seen them use.

[ccortezz]

All the Republicans have left: Abortion, Guns, 2 boys kissing, Islamo facist. I am male, i will never give birth, I hate guns, 2 boys kissing don't bother me and there are no Islamo facist in my neighborhood, just a bunch of thugs comitting crimes. The hockey mom scares the hell out of me. The fact the John pick her is A Nightmare on Main St. John McCain has a sick sick sick sense of humor.

[CelticDragon]

Unfortunately, you do have a point concerning what issues the Republicans have to fun on. I say "unfortunately", because I am a life-long Republican.

The party has utterly destroyed any reputation it had for small government fiscal conservatism. The current mal-administration has obliterated 40 years of foreign policy competence. All that is left is culture war blathering.

I happen to be pro-life, although my libertarian leanings make me deeply uncomfortable forcing that on someone else.

I like guns. I own two "assault weapons". The Dems have given up on this as an issue, and we have a SCOTUS ruling that defines the 2nd Amendment as an individual right. Next topic...

Two boys kissing: Well, I am a transgendered woman, so I have never been happy about the anti GLBT bigotry displayed by the religious right wackos to begin with. How they hijacked the party is a story in its' own right.

Islamo-fascism? I am no fan of Islamism, or Islamo-fascism to be sure. I do think that some folks on the left underestimate just how serious the problem is...but they aren't going to be hijacking the Constitution here the way that Little Green Footballs would have you believe.

Certainly, I am horrified and embarrassed at the travesty of judgment shown by the Palin pick for VP. Andrew Sullivan has done a good job of exposing her incompetence, shallow certitude and penchant for secrecy and vindictiveness.

This year, I'm voting for Obama.

[mymatrix]

Gwen Ifill disappointed. She should have tried to get Sarah to answer the questions and done followup. She was remiss in declaring her book to debate commission as GOP response was completely predictable. Is Gwen being disengenous or naive when she is surprised at GOP charge? Either way is wrong. Too much at stake Gwen!
Gwen, did the unfair GOP charge cause you to pull back on Sarah? And why were all your questions so "stock" and predictable?
Gwen, you just are not up to the stature of Jim Lehrer or Robert McNeil and I'm very disappointed.
Your career trajectory is forever diminished on both sides of the aisle. The unfair GOP attack will stay with you as suspicion and you've lost the faith of progressives and democrats.

[oldfart1]

Dead wrong. The Demos agreed before the debates that the rules for the VP debate would be different from those of the P debate.

Actually, Gwen was brilliant, and she did it so well that no one even noticed what she did (which is the idea). She set up the Cheney question, and Sarah took it, hook, line and sinker.

The result is the NY Times editorial today, "Cheney as Role Model", required reading.

[Mdazes]

There were rules, but it was clear that Ifill had been intimidated. She did a good job with the Cheney/Edward debate. Thursday debate was a big disappointment on Ifill part.

[imfedup]

I agree. I think all Gwen needed to do was give her the rope. She did the rest. It was a work of art.

[Dangersea27]

I'm so exasperated and pi**ed off!
Okay, right-wingnuts! Your bombshell managed to quote a movie ("Say it ain't so, Joe! Say it ain't so!" says the disillusioned young boy) and invoke the holy image of St. Reagan in one clumsy breath by repeating his "there you go again!" line. Her deliverary of both LINES, despite practice and coaching was clumsy at best.
By the way, all this fawning over "hot" Sarah's beauty. Since when, according to male chauvinist Republican men, have women in their 40's been considered "babes." I thought we were all washed up at the ripe old age of 25?
What a "fluid" system of beliefs these meglomaniacs have.
(Okay, rant is winding down. Never mix caffeine with disgust)

[GJR227]

Carl B's comments are spot on ... with one exception. Sarah Palin will bring nothing but drama and havoc to any Administrative position she holds. She is a skilled salesperson / self-promoter and would be just a disaster for the country if (perish the thought) she and McCain lie their way into the White House.

[truesoccermom]

I'd be interested in hearing from men and women in the military as to how they would view having the "average Joe-six-pack hockey mom" as their potential commander-­and-chief.

[Fabini]

The old American saw, 'Anyone can grow up to be President,' is no longer true.

[PumaAnn]

Pal obviously held her own in the debate. To suggest otherwise is amazingly disingenuous. The only person who lost in this debate was Couric, frankly. There's simply no way to go from that interview to her debate performance in a week, debate camp or not. Something is clearly fishy.

[Dangersea27]

Yeah, your logic is more than a little fishy, PumaAnn.
I've read a number of your posts and am still struggling to understand how your bitterness over Hillary's defeat (hey, I was sad about that too!) translates into such spite. Are you really going to teach your face a lesson by cutting off your nose? Do you HONESTLY believe that McCain/Palin are going to improve our country's near-desperate straits? And what do you mean by "held her own"? What was the standard of holding your own? The ability to string repub-talking points together without answering the actual question and be adorable in the process?
Is that the role of the VP? Speaking of VP, they want to carry on the Cheney tradition of expanding the VP role -- which has lead to more and more invasion of privacey, government abuses and some seriously frightening shredding of the constitution.
The Dems are probably, at best, the lesser of two evils. But it's all we've got and we've got to start somewhere.

[LilyK]

PumaAnn's no disgruntled Hillaryite; she's just a paid troll and best ignored.

[YY2H8]

Palin said nothing a person with average IQ, 5 weeks to prepare, and a cadre of professional study assistance could not muster. She has been on stage before so that was no issue; she is perfectly comfortable parading around in front of crowds in a swimsuit, so bashful she ain’t.

The drill is to memorize (again, over a 5 week period) a few set pieces and add a couple of tricks and snarky jokes. Plan for expected questions, ignore the rest. Learn to GWB your speechifying with some doggone-go­lly-by-gos­hes and channel your inner cocktail waitress.

Voila!

She is no smarter or more prepared for one of the most critical leadership roles in the world than when we saw her with Couric. With a few more months of work, and her new set of celebrity buddies, she could possibly be ready for a sitcom appearance.

You can get all giggly, swoony, moon-eyed and mushy about how cute your imaginary BFF is--it's your perogative. To try and portray her as a person of intellectual substance, however, is more than a stretch. You just make it abundantly clear you are not a serious person and you lack judgment regarding the critical issues we face.

She is still a far cry from the type of leader that is needed in serious and troubled times.

[iyamchazz]

She held her own alright! Winking..b­linking..n­odding...a­nd avoiding questions. Better delivery of the same dumb stuff and in case you don't know, a one on one interview is a different animal from a debate. Get a grip PumaAnn, you're losing it.

[lincheryl]

What is fishy? Those were her answers/non-answers on the Couric tapes. If she can't even come up with Time and Newsweek as names of magazines she has seen when passing the magazine rack, then she is empty. We already knew she could deliver a script with whatever tone she needs--that is about all she has been doing. When she is on her own--scary. She clearly had note cards from which she read word for word at times when her memorized 90 second answers failed her.

She just needs to be an anchor or commentator on Fox News. She would be appreciated there and would be in her element. She does NOT need to be a VP or president, and I thank Couric for making that obvious by following up on questions not answered or answered with word salad.

[imfedup]

You again??? sigh