The VP candidate debates will take place Thursday, October 2nd. Chances are that more people will tune in to this year’s VP debate than in elections past, largely due to the buzz that rocketed Sarah Palin–John McCain’s choice for VP–to the hot topic of media interest this past summer.
Some are saying that Sarah Palin will get hammered by Joe Biden, who is the head of the foreign relations committee and has been in the Senate since Sarah Palin was six years old. However, don’t count Sarah Palin out. She also has experience debating, and has been grilled by the Republican Party in preparation for the event.
Of course, with the financial crisis brewing and Congress still undecided over the bailout bill, the VP debate is unlikely to be the most important factor in the 2008 Presidential Election. Even so, it will be interesting to see how Joe Biden–Barack Obama’s VP pick–and Sarah Palin square off. After all, with the 2008 election only a month away and so much on the line for America’s economy, foreign relations, and other issues, this VP debate might just be a historical event!
On small stage, Palin scored big debate wins
Alexander Burns Wed Oct 1, 5:51 AM ET
After delivering halting, unsteady performances in recent interviews with ABC’s Charlie Gibson and CBS’s Katie Couric, expectations are low for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in Thursday’s vice presidential debate in St. Louis.
Yet a review of Palin’s experience during her 2006 campaign for governor, when she engaged in a long series of debates with her opponents, suggests she is a more formidable adversary than is widely thought.
Unlike her opponent Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who has considerable presidential-level debate experience, Palin has never been involved in a debate where the questions were national and global in scope.
But she is familiar operating in a high-stakes debate environment against older, more seasoned pols who seemingly have better command of the issues.
In 2006, with no experience as a statewide officeholder, Palin ran what amounted to a debate gauntlet, beginning in the Republican primary against incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski and former state Sen. John Binkley, and then in the general election, against former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles and former state Rep. Andrew Halcro, an independent.
Against that experienced opposition, Palin proved herself to be a comfortable and confident debater, not exactly deeply versed in the issues but unusually adept at dodging controversy and quick to take advantage of opponents’ missteps. Not one to throw an unnecessary punch, Palin took a patient approach, waiting for her rivals to expose their weak points – and then striking fast.
“Anyone who watches any of her previous debates would be impressed by her debating skills,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Saturday, in an attempt to raise expectations for Palin’s performance. “She has performed very, very well.”
Perhaps the best illustration of her style came on August 8, 2006, during a primary election debate featuring the unpopular incumbent Murkowski, himself a veteran of more than two decades in the U.S. Senate, and Binkley. Palin, by then the GOP frontrunner, kept a wary distance from her rivals, who bickered bitterly.
When Murkowski, taking a caustic tone against his much younger opponents, charged that Binkley did not understand an issue related to fuel company taxation, Binkley replied, “I understand it perfectly.” Murkowski shot back angrily: “No, you don’t.”
Palin, rather than join in the exchange, sat back until her opponents’ anger reached a boiling point, and then, with a voice just slightly raised, chimed in: “You know, you guys, we owe Alaskans a better discourse than this.”
“Respect to our listeners and our viewers,” she continued, “I think we need to speak respectfully and orderly here.”
In a single deft blow, Palin made the older men look childish. And she did it calmly, with an upbeat tone of voice.
Read the rest of: On small stage, Palin scored big debate wins from Yahoo News.
