VP debate swung in Biden's favor

By: Alex Sanders

Posted: 10/6/08

The vice presidential debate consisted of 90 minutes of circuitous answers and Republican candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin trying to figure out how to properly pronounce the word "nuclear." For the most part, it was business as usual, with Democratic candidate Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) defending the middle class and Palin reaching out to hockey moms and "Joe Six-packs" across the country.

The debate was slightly unbalanced in favor of Biden, although CNN awarded Palin an "A+" while Biden had to settle for an "A." Palin held her own, but she was often misleading and indirect in her answers. She repeatedly accused Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) of voting against the troops or surrendering on the subject of foreign policy. She also claims that she puts a significant amount of trust in Gen. David Petraeus, one of the people perpetuating this war.

In actuality, Obama voted against a plan to fund troops in Iraq because he was looking to facilitate withdrawal of troops and the funding plan would have kept troops in Iraq. If he had voted on the plan, he would have seemed hypocritical for then claiming to want an end to the war while voting for something that would have kept soldiers in Iraq. Palin misrepresented numerous facts when she discussed Obama's plans.

Biden seemed to enjoy proving her wrong, but he used an interesting tactic. Rather than pointing fingers directly at Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), he said that McCain voted on something too, as in Obama voted the same way. It made the candidates seem less diverse and put them on a level playing field. Biden and Palin agreed on some issues, including gay marriage. Interestingly enough, they both support marriage-type licenses and fair rights for committed couples, but neither supports adjusting the current definition of marriage to include homosexual couples.

They both seemed to come close to an agreement on many issues and ambiguous on a few they disagreed about. They both have a history of making one statement and going back on their word months later. Biden initially said he would never be vice president and Palin previously said that she would have to be told what a vice president does before she commits to the job. During the debate, she claimed both statements were jokes and proceeded to explain what a vice president does, although she was not entirely accurate. Biden corrected her and explained that the primary job of a vice president is to assist the president. He also explained that he joined the ticket because Obama sincerely asked for his help.

Both candidates were shaky on previous statements and spent a lot of time discussing the past rather than focusing on future plans. This was an enormous flaw in the debate. They both dodged many questions about the future, including ones about an exit strategy for Iraq. Palin especially never actually specified what McCain had planned; instead, she outlined loose details about how the troops are doing a great job and that they don't need to surrender now. Biden did a better job explaining what Obama could do for the country, although he seemed significantly less enthusiastic than Palin.

The two also played the "hometown card" several times during the debate. Biden mentioned Home Depot and proceeded to say he spends a lot of time there and Palin, of course, spoke of hockey moms and soccer moms across the country. However, it seems as though she hasn't realized that her ticket won't help those middle- or lower-class soccer moms who are working a job or two to support their families. As Biden pointed out, McCain's tax cut plans will help large corporations and wealthy homeowners. Palin attempted to retaliate by saying that Obama voted 94 times to raise taxes, which in actuality is not necessarily true. The votes were procedural budget votes.

Throughout the entire debate, Palin tried to bring Obama to the dark side and make him sound conservative and untruthful. She even claimed that "Obama can still admit that the surge worked." Obama said in a speech that the surge "succeeded beyond our wildest dreams" from a military perspective only, according to CNN. He never supported the surge and has always supported a plan for gradual withdrawal of troops.

The debate was close, but it is important to look at the subtle differences between the candidates rather than their straightforward plans. It shouldn't matter if a candidate can hold his or her own. If a candidate's statements are misleading or if he or she leaves a question unanswered, it seems as though that candidate will prohibit government from being transparent. That candidate could then easily mislead the American people, just as President Bush has done. Based on truthfulness of answers and clear plans for the future, Biden took the debate.