The VP Debate: Biden vs Palin

Man oh man. Okay, let's keep the analysis simple.

Sarah Palin did better than I thought she would as far as getting words out of her mouth. She started out nervous as hell. She was gasping for air and swallowing like she was trying to force as many words across her tongue as possible.

Then there were the questions she did not answer. Instead of answering the question asked, she tried to respond to Biden's criticisms. She completely forgot to go back to the question. She fell back to party line banter. Taxes this and taxes that just like I figured she would. She would run down bullet points and lacked direction many times. I did not hear clear plans. I heard key words and phrases, but no real specifics. When she did give specifics, she was on the defensive. Many times, she was unable to refute attacks. She survived the debate, but did not win. Like the campaign trail, she spoke to the Conservative base. She was unable to convincingly portray her team as the Maverick Team. She kept using the word, but it did not stick. Palin also took a jab at the media in order to appeal to the Conservative base. Sorry toots. Cry me a river.

Can she stop calling it "eye" raq and "eye" ran?

Biden was also speaking a little too fast. He would say words and kind of muddle through without trying to annunciate. He was still able to focus his criticism on McCain. His answers and understanding of the intricate detail of the problems this country faces illustrate the experience this guy has. He didn't need many zingers to bust her balls. Of course, the Bridge to Nowhere jab was well placed. He was able to refute many challenges Palin brought at him, especially with regard to taxes. He clearly pointed out that anyone making under $250k would not see a cent in tax increases and then refuted the attack related to small business. Palin tried to spin it so small businesses would be hit with tax hikes and Biden was able to point out that the vast majority of small businesses still fall under the $250k limit. Biden was also able to shoot down the notion that McCain is some sort of maverick. There were times when Palin tried to drive a wedge between stances Biden has taken in light of Obama's own votes, but he didn't answer those attacks. Maybe he should have. Biden spoke to middle America and hopefully they believed in what he had to say.

Biden won the debate, but Palin proved she wasn't going to freeze up. She did fall back to party line. She is too partisan for reform. Her idea of reform is going to be the same as what Mitt Romney proposed in his RNC speech. They want to rid government of Liberal policy. The middle of the road is not her plan, nor is it the target for McCain. Let's face it. Liberals are just better at compromise.

According to ABC News, Biden talked for 40 minutes and 26 seconds. Palin talked for 40 minutes and 59 seconds. Both had instances where they needed to wrap up, but I think Palin was the only one to get called on time.

Edit
It seems Americans on the internet are no more informed than Sarah Palin.

General McKiernan is who Palin was talking about. She repeatedly called him McClellan.

Talabani also seems to be off the radar screens of Americans.
Jalal Talabani is the Iraqi President.
Nouri al-Maliki is the Prime Minister.

It's so nice to see we have an informed electorate.