Debate Thoughts

What I’ve garnered from focus groups and polling seem to indicate that Biden had a strong victory. Fox News gives a slight edge to Palin, but that’s to be expected.

On TV, the actual words spoken are not as important than images and moods, so it does little good to analyze what was said. Joe may have gotten in a good jibe here and there, and so did Sarah. But it’s more about demeanor (and screw ups – there were none).

For example, who can remember what McCain or Obama said in their first debate? But do we remember McCain’s sneers, Obama’s friendliness? McCain lost to Obama because he was mean and snarly and petulant. Obama was kind and his smile was genuine, and he was calm and cool. He showed gravitas – seriousness and weight, along with a good nature. People could actually picture him in the Oval Office.

Last night Joe Biden came off as a serious and knowledgeable candidate with a real résumé, while Sarah Palin was more like a student trying to make an F into a C- after a night of cramming. Her rote responses and non-responses did not help her. The winking was annoying. The folksiness might be genuine, but it may be put on too. (It worked in Alaska.) The fact that she didn’t screw up only reassured her base – they breathed easier. The rest of us could see that she had been heavily coached.

In the focus groups I’ve read about, the percentage of people who think she won at is around 35% or so – McCain is polling at around 43% average, so it appears as though she even failed to impress even many of those who are going to vote for the top of the ticket. She did not help his cause.

Note: Apparently, Palin only learned this morning, on-air on Fox, that the McCain/Palin campaign had abandoned the state of Michigan. She’s not exactly an insider – more of a prop.