As in last week's presidential debate, both contestants in the Biden-Palin debate this evening gratified their own supporters. Sarah Palin did better than many expected and Joe Biden avoided any fumbles. The good news for the McCain campaign is that no serious damage was done to their cause, and Palin's standing will increase some. The good news for the Obama campaign is that most people thought Biden won the debate and is more ready to be vice president.
The bloc of about 9% of America's voters who are truly undecided is the big prize now. CBS News identified 500 of these voters and did a post-debate survey with them that yielded revealing results. To see the story go here. Biden clearly came out on top. 46% said Biden won the debate, 21% felt Palin did and 33% thought it was a tie.
Before the debate 79% felt Biden was knowledgeable on the issues and 43% thought Palin was. Afterward the figures were 98% for Biden and 66% for Palin. She gained 23% to his 19%, a small edge, but not enough to significantly deplete his advantage. 97% agreed Biden showed he was prepared for the Vice Presidency while 55% said the same of Palin. A similar number said Biden is ready to serve as President if necessary but only 44% felt Palin is.
Another question asked if the debate had changed the viewer's perception of the candidate. For Joe Biden, 53% said their view had become more favorable, 5% less favorable and 42% said their view was unchanged. Palin did a bit worse. Her corresponding numbers were 55%, 14% and 30%. Most who were uncommitted remained so, but 18% of respondents said the debate had made it more likely they would vote for Obama and 10% said they were now more likely to vote for McCain.
The bottom line seems to be that Palin avoided disaster but that Biden did nothing to jeopardize Obama's lead. Palin tried to make as much hay out of the "maverick" and "tax" appellations as possible while avoiding dealing directly with ten questions she did not want to discuss. Her delivery was effectively true to style, but often did not go beyond talking point detail. Biden dutifully commented on each question, usually in superior detail. Probably his strongest moment came when he ran through a list of issues and underscored that Palin had failed to draw a distinction between McCain's position and George W. Bush's on any of them.
This is like a football game entering the fourth quarter. Obama has a 9-point lead. Palin and Biden each took the helm offensively. Neither scored, but after an exchange of punts Biden gained 15 yards of field position. Obama still has that lead and now there are 11 minutes left with two debates to go.
1 comment:
But let's give a "shout out" while we're at it, mainly because we can since we're on national TV. Serious debate and we're subjected to a cheerleader rooting on a classroom? Give me a break here.
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