Palin looked really shaky for a large portion of the debate. She got used to it as it went on, but I thought she was pretty stiff up there. She did well for her first national debate, though. No real gaffes or goof-ups that she could have really avoided, since priority number 1 was to stick to the script. Biden didn't say anything offensive, either, so they both got out pretty much unscathed when it comes to self-mutilation.
They both had their own rehearsed party lines to say, but God DAMN, Palin absolutely drove the "heartland hockey mom" image INTO THE FUCKING GROUND AND DANCED AROUND THE WRECKAGE. Jesus, even if she actually IS that folksy and not faking it, I don't like it.
I didn't agree with Biden on all the issues he presented, and he didn't say a lot of things I wanted him to say, and even said things I just didn't like at all, but the only times I ever agreed with Palin was when she was in agreement with Biden on a freebie topic question like "Do you hate poor people". Palin just kept fucking lapsing into "Wall Street Greed and Corruption" for the first half whenever she needed something to say, and she kept talking about "The Real American Family and Values and Shit" for the second half when she needed to say something and nothing at the same time. Made me sick right from the start. When she blamed EVERYTHING on Wall Street regarding the subprime crisis, I almost lost it. As if people HAVE to try and get houses they couldn't realistically afford. It was a mutual fuck-up on the lenders and the consumers. That's how it was allowed to get so deep, but she played the role of the Glorious White Knight, saving people from the Evil Wall Street, absolving people of any responsibility. When she talked, it was like she was talking to an idiot. It was almost insulting, because it was like she assumed the audience didn't know anything and just wanted to be coddled and hugged.
Biden could have done better in his explanation of his work in the Senate. He probably went over a lot of heads that way, and lost a bit of support. Other than his frequent "In the Senate, blah blah blah" points, he seemed really solid, especially on foreign policy, and showed that he obviously knows how shit works in Federal and International government. That was probably his biggest advantage over Palin.
Palin kept mentioning her experience as a business owner, Mother, Mayor, and Governor and all that, but honestly, we're talking about Alaska. The Mayor experience seems inconsequential, and the only thing that really gave her experience would be her work in dealing with international oil industries. There are Mayors of cities that have more constituents than she does as Governor. I mean, Alaska is 47 on the list of U.S. States with highest population. She doesn't deal with as much as a governor of most states would have to deal with, with the exception of oil production. She didn't display much experience or knowledge of foreign policy, and that's worrisome.
In the end, I'd say that if there has to be a winner to this debate, it would be Biden, but with the experience he has with this kind of thing, it's only expected.
