"Say It Ain't So Joe" and a shout-out to a group of 3rd graders was the highlight of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's performance. Let's call it what it is -- she's in over her head and no amount of lipstick is making this pig purty!The Showdown in the Show Me state had vice presidential candidates, Democrat Joe Biden, 65, and Republican Sarah Palin, 44, debating for 90 minutes at Washington University in St. Louis.
"Nice to meet you," Palin greeted Biden, because indeed they hadn't met before. "Can I call you Joe?"
Asked about Congress's work on the Wall Street bailout package, Biden said it was evidence of eight years of failed policies.Biden pledged to "fundamentally" change policies to focus on the middle class.
Palin answered that a barometer is to go to a kids' soccer game, and said "I betcha" that you'll hear fear. She also said that federal government not provided "sound oversight," and said running mate John McCain had sounded the warning bell on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and said McCain had put politics aside by suspending his campaign to return to Washington to work on the bailout.
Biden responded by saying that McCain said two weeks ago that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. "He's out of touch," the senator said.
"He was talking to and talking about the American workforce," she retorted. Asked if predatory lenders were to blame for the subprime mortgage crisis, Palin answered, "Darn right, it was the predatory lenders."
"Joe six-packs" and "hockey moms" need to band together and say, "Never again," she said, filling her answers with everyday conversational language.
Biden, who never looked at Palin and answered Gwen Ifill directly, blamed McCain and other Republicans for deregulation that allowed subprime lenders to run free. He also disputed Palin saying that Barack Obama had voted to raise taxes, asserting that it was a procedural vote and by that measure McCain had voted to raise taxes much more often.
"It's a bogus standard," Biden said.
While simultaneously winking at the camera, Palin went after Biden for saying in a television interview last month that it would be "patriotic" if wealthier Americans paid higher taxes, as under Obama's plan under which those making $250,000 or more a year would lose their income tax cuts passed under President Bush.
Palin said that she comes from the middle class, and there "That's not patriotic. Patriotic is saying, 'Government you're not always the solution, often you're the problem."
Biden replied that he grew up in the middle class as well, and that McCain would give more tax breaks to big oil companies. He also pointed out that small business owners typically make under $250,000 a year, dispelling the idea that these individuals would suffer due to this tax imposition Barack imposes.
Palin, repeatedly looking down and apparently checking her notes, accused Obama of supporting tax breaks for Big Oil that she tried to undo as Alaska's governor.
Biden said Obama voted for the bill because it included alternative energy, and tried to strip out the tax breaks. Palin defended McCain's vote for a bankruptcy bill that made it more difficult for consumers to get out from under debt, but acknowledged that circumstances are changing.
Biden also voted for the bill, while Obama opposed it. "Barack saw the glass as half empty, I saw it as half full," he said.
Asked about her position on global warming, Palin said Alaska is feeling the effects more than any other state because it is closest to the Arctic.
"We know it's real," though she said she would not attribute all of climate change to man's activities.
Not answering many of the questions directly, Palin promoted McCain's "all of the above" plan for energy independence that includes wind, solar, nuclear, and offshore oil drilling.
Biden said global warming is "clearly man-made," asserting that if you don't understand the causes, you can't come up with a solution. He derided McCain's call for offshore drilling, saying the first drop wouldn't be produced for 10 years.
Biden said he supported equal rights for same-sex couples when it comes to hospital visitation, contracts, property, and other issues, but does not support gay marriage.
Palin said she opposed moves toward a change in the traditional definition of marriage, but said she is tolerant of people who choose to be homosexual.
On the Iraq war, Palin said McCain has the right strategy, put in place by General David Petraeus. "We're getting closer and closer to victory," she said.
Biden said Obama has a clear plan -- to withdraw troops within 16 months of taking office -- that President Bush and Iraq leaders are now negotiating. "We will end this war," Biden said. "John McCain has no end in sight."
"Your plan is a white flag of surrender," Palin replied.
They also sparred over whether Obama had voted not to fund the troops; Biden said McCain had done the same thing by voting against a funding bill that included a timetable for withdrawal.
Biden disputed McCain's assertion that Iraq is the central front on the war on terror, arguing that any attack on the United States would be planned in the badlands of Pakistan.
Palin asserted that Petraeus and leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq had said that of Iraq.
She tried to turn the tables, calling Obama not only naive but dangerous for agreeing to meet without preconditions with dictators who hate America.
"This is simply not true," Biden replied, saying that former secretaries of state and allies are urging US leaders to negotiate.
He then criticized McCain for saying he would not promise to meet as president with leader of Spain, a NATO ally. "I find that incredible," Biden said.
Palin broadened her critique of Obama and Biden, saying that voters will tire of them constantly criticizing the Bush administration's eight years.
"There's just too much finger pointing backwards," she said.
She acknowledged "huge blunders" by the Bush administration, like every administration, but vowed, "Change is coming."
Palin said McCain will learn from the mistakes, put aside partisanship, and move the country forward.
But Biden said the comparison to Bush is entirely fair because McCain has not proposed any different policies on a wide range of issues.
"Past is prologue," he said. The bottom-line challenges for the candidates:
It is the most-anticipated vice presidential debate in years, with some predicting a record audience. Of course, the same predictions were made about the first presidential debate last Friday, and it ended up not even cracking the top 10, though typical light TV viewership on Friday nights likely kept the numbers down.
John McCain Is No Maverick On Kitchen Table Issues
Biden really came into his own the second half of the 90 minute showdown. He clearly was in his own element, and show strong emotion when he talked about being a single father taking care of two boys after his wife died. Holding back tears, he checkmated Palin on the whole mom of five thing and demonstrated that this race is personal for him.
The most-watched veep face-off so far was George H.W. Bush vs. Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 with 56.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 2004 version between Dick Cheney and John Edwards drew an audience of 43.6 million.
The candidates at the top of the ticket are both watching the debate from afar, Obama in a hotel in Lansing, Mich., and McCain at one in Denver.