A Ticket Tally: Sarah Palin or Joe Biden -- Who'd you like better?

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Comments

[Sandy Karn]

There is no way that Palin compares in depth in experience for the VP of the USA. She is way under qualified for that position. There is a huge difference between talking points that were well rehearsed by Palin and many years of experience of influencing policies like Biden to take on the depth of responsibility of running a country like America.

[rena olshansky]

biden is the man! honest, informed. human. he was not scripted. he is genuine. .The man for our times

[Mary Magner]

Palin was the most rehearsed person I have ever seen and she is not a good actress. This is proven by the fact that she could not answer the questions.

[John Ewing]

Palin is without a doubt a good pulic speaker - now is she could just think maybe she'd have something to offer. I could have trained a parrot to give a performance like that. She didn't answer the questions and just spouted off her memorized talking points. Let's find out who the handlers are so we know who would actually be one heartbeat away from the presidency.

The Gwen Ifill flap did exactly what they wanted it to do it kept Gwen from making Palin answer the questions. She just can't think - in the next interview, if there is one, expect to see an earpiece so her handlers can feed her answers.

[Lsmith]

It is very difficult for me to understand how any intelligent individual could possibly think or believe that Governor Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President. Her performance in the debate was horrific. She doesn't have a clue of what the office of Vice President entails. Her responses or should I say lack of responses were terrible. They were the kind of responses that most high school kids make. In fact, most high school kids could have responded more intelligently than Governor Palin did. I find it difficult how Senator McCain could possibly keep her on the ticket as his running mate.

[Diane de Anda]

Joe Biden provided substantive answers. Sarah Palin dodged important questions, offered platitudes and false information, and clearly prepared and rehearsed answers. Sarah Palin is an embarrassment to all women and a clear example of the Republican Party's sexism, in that they obviously think this is the most you could expect from a woman candidate: little experience in the world of work or government, poorly informed about critical issues, and questionable higher education with poor academic achievement. It is frightening that she does not know enough to know that she does not know enough!

[Jeff]

Biden was so scripted and clearly outmatched. Palin connected with Americans and the polls will show that over the next few days.

[Andrew Hyatt Masset]

If only i could get past Palin's non-answers, phony 'small town mom', gosh darn it, you betcha...
I visualize her across the desk from Putin and shudder...
Please God, deliver us from Palin...

[lisa]

It's hilarious to me to see supporters of Barack "143 days" Obama suggest that Palin is unqualified to be VP.

If she's unqualified to be VP, he's certainly unqualified to be President.

[Joe Six Pack]

Palin didn't connect with me and I am certainly an American. Are you kidding me with this woman? I also have the capacity to memorize talking points instead of actually answering questions. Does that qualify me to be VP as well?

[tim fitzgerald]

Biden WON!!!

[mkjohns]

Gov Palin once again did what is commonly referred to as "laying it on thick" but side-stepped genuine content (even when addressing the topics she posed herself). Most people wouldn't find that acceptable from a co-worker. Why put up with it from a VP candidate?

[Rblackmo]

I agree with the above post, I am still waiting for Palin to answer the questions. She had nothing to say about the housing market, nothing to say about the war, and anything else for that matter but what she did with the energy plan in Alaska. If she does not think that American's are intelligent enough to see through that she is as insane as this attempt to run for Vice President. It is an absolute insult that she even thinks she remotely qualifies for that position or represents the MIDDLE CLASS. On CNN one of the focus group participants summed it all up, when the beginning of her response to one question was "Well I have been at this what Five Weeks" he said that sealed it for him that she is not ready for such an office. Go Back to Alaska SP and keep shooting at the moose and take care of your family.

[Rotimi Olu]

There is no need begging the questioin on who wins or loose on yesterday's debate. It is crytal clear without any doubt that Joe Biden was outstanding.
'Put a lipstick on a political neophyte , it still remains a neophyte'.

[Mary Dibbern]

The only thing Palin proved last night is that she can deliver a rehearsed set of talking points. She is not qualified to hold any national public office, and the firm conclusion is that the only rational choice for President is the Obama-Biden ticket.

[Rotimi Olu]

What yardstick do you want to use for your comparison? Let's be honest Palin is just too small of an ant to compare with an elephant that Biden is.
'Put a lipstick on a political neophyte, it still remains a neophyte'

[Fingal]

Palin showed, again, that she can wield a rhetorical hatchet and at least remember which talking point to mangle into something resembling a sentence. She'd be horrific, but competent, at the city council or school-board level.

Once or twice I've heard Harry Shearer put together a series of clips of beauty-pageant contestants answering questions on issues of the day, apparently to show that, though sweet, the girls have some brains (but not too many!). Sarah Palin's demeanor was often just about that cutesy. Nice smile, babe, but that's not enough for this job, sorry.

[Edward P. Pita]

Biden showed maturity and understanding. HIs maturity and Obama's intellectual understanding of the current events make them a quality team. No doubt Obama/Biden will win. Edward

[Brown Bear]

Who looked more vice-presidential? Biden, and it wasn't even close. Perhaps it was good debate strategy for Gov. Palin to duck certain questions and fall back to her own version of Cliff's Notes talking points. But for the hard questions of Real Life, taking a pass is not an option.

[Mike Files]

The fact that Palin was able to speak correctly by using complete sentences, finally, should have been a given and not a measure of success. Sarah’s next step should be to try speaking complete words such as getting instead of gettin’ but I cannot expect too much at this point. Then maybe that is the “folksy” quality which I guess I do not understand up here in my elite ivory tower, surrounded by servants while I look out at the serfs sowing the fields. But apparently I am suppose to give her more time since she has only been in the race for 5 weeks. Tell that to Putin, Sarah Simpleton.

[Tom G]

Maxine Walker, please report to the McCain campaign headquarters immediately. Maxine Walker. The Straight Talk Express needs a new fictitional character immediately. Maxine?

[Rebecca Garrett]

THE GOP is hoping people will vote based on an emotional appeal, instead of facts and competence. Palin's whole schtick is she's "just like us." But I don't want someone just like me in office--I want someone smarter, better educated and with more depth and breadth of experience and that is not Palin.

[Ranjith Samaranayake]

WATCHING THE DEBATE LIVE IN SYDNEY , AUSTRALIA, I AM REALLY WORRIED IF THE US VOTERS WOULD MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN BY PUTTING THE REUBLICAN MCCAIN -PALIN TICKET FIRST. SPECIALLY WITH A 72 YEAR OLD ELECTED AS PRESIDENT THE VP IS REALLY A HEART BEAT AWAY.

[Belinda]

I'm concerned that we're polling the American people to see which VP candidate is more likable. A debate is not just another beauty pageant. If I wanted to watch a beauty pageant and hear beauty pageant answers I would tune into a beauty pageant, not a VP debate. The only reason Sarah was not blundering all over (like on the Katie Couric interview) was because she stuck to her rehearsed talking points without answering any of the real questions.

[Patricia Wootan]

This dates me but remember the famous team Haldeman/Erlichman who ran the white house for Richard Nixon? They had a strategy when dealing with the press and public. Never answer a direct question with a direct answer. It was about getting your point across whether the question related or not. The only difference in Sarah Palen's debate performance winked and used that folksy way while (her words) "she did not answer the question the way the moderator or Joe Biden would like." It begs the question what does she know? Should she be vice-president?