Gov. Palin's performance in tonight's debate changed the election -- at least for a little while. The momentum has been going against Sen. John McCain for the last few days. Gov. Palin's performance has changed that, at least for a few days.
The Fox News Channel had a focus group of undecided voters -- half voted for Bush four years ago and half voted for Kerry. EVERY SINGLE PERSON said Sarah Palin exceeded expectations. EVERY SINGLE PERSON save two or three said Sarah Palin won the debate.
Now... let's be honest, as a person who very much has liked Sarah Palin since I learned about her after her nomination, I had some trepidation about this debate. So I have to be honest and say part of the reaction of that group was driven from lower expectations. But that does not take away from the very, very positive impression she made.
The most important impression she made on that focus group is that she spoke to us and like us. Sen. Biden is talking Washington and talking votes and Gov. Palin, while doing that is sending a shout out to her brother's 3rd grade class in the middle of a Vice-Presidential Debate and saying "Now doggone it, lets look ahead...". When Gov. Palin said we need some of Main Street Wasilla in Washington, she rang true. When Joe Biden talked about Main Street in his hometown in Delaware, it didn't.
Now, I have to also admit, as a commentator on TV is saying right now, if you handed a transcript of the debates to someone they would conclude that Sen. Biden won the debate. However, the same thing was true of debates that Ronald Reagan had with Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. But people don't vote just on what you say, they vote on how you say it and Sarah Palin struck a cord.
In point of fact, the same comment can be made about the first debate between Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama -- where Sen. McCain clearly outdid Sen. Obama on Foreign Policy questions in part because Sen. McCain talked about foreign policy and Sen. Obama talked about the middle class, health care, the economy, etc. But it was Sen. Obama who came off better in that debate.
Something to watch for... As I listened to the debate, Sen. Biden made a number of statements that just did not ring true about Sen. McCain's record, about his own positions on issues, and about Sen. Obama's positions. I'm just betting there are going to be news reports (perhaps prodded by the McCain website tracking Biden's daily gaffes) and some ads that will be saying "Joe Biden said this, but the reality is...."
The Fox News Channel had a focus group of undecided voters -- half voted for Bush four years ago and half voted for Kerry. EVERY SINGLE PERSON said Sarah Palin exceeded expectations. EVERY SINGLE PERSON save two or three said Sarah Palin won the debate.
Now... let's be honest, as a person who very much has liked Sarah Palin since I learned about her after her nomination, I had some trepidation about this debate. So I have to be honest and say part of the reaction of that group was driven from lower expectations. But that does not take away from the very, very positive impression she made.
The most important impression she made on that focus group is that she spoke to us and like us. Sen. Biden is talking Washington and talking votes and Gov. Palin, while doing that is sending a shout out to her brother's 3rd grade class in the middle of a Vice-Presidential Debate and saying "Now doggone it, lets look ahead...". When Gov. Palin said we need some of Main Street Wasilla in Washington, she rang true. When Joe Biden talked about Main Street in his hometown in Delaware, it didn't.
Now, I have to also admit, as a commentator on TV is saying right now, if you handed a transcript of the debates to someone they would conclude that Sen. Biden won the debate. However, the same thing was true of debates that Ronald Reagan had with Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. But people don't vote just on what you say, they vote on how you say it and Sarah Palin struck a cord.
In point of fact, the same comment can be made about the first debate between Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama -- where Sen. McCain clearly outdid Sen. Obama on Foreign Policy questions in part because Sen. McCain talked about foreign policy and Sen. Obama talked about the middle class, health care, the economy, etc. But it was Sen. Obama who came off better in that debate.
Something to watch for... As I listened to the debate, Sen. Biden made a number of statements that just did not ring true about Sen. McCain's record, about his own positions on issues, and about Sen. Obama's positions. I'm just betting there are going to be news reports (perhaps prodded by the McCain website tracking Biden's daily gaffes) and some ads that will be saying "Joe Biden said this, but the reality is...."
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