Meet Sarah Palin: “the gun-toting hockey mom who blazed into history at the Republican convention.”

Photo Credits: Richard Perry/The New York Times

Allesandra Stanley at the NY Times today offers a much more colorful take on the debate last night between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden than presented in my earlier post linking to Foon Rhee at Political Intel.

Stanley’s theme is that the debate wasn’t as much between Palin and Biden as it was between Palin and the Palin parodied on SNL by Tina Fey. I would argue, however, that Stanley’s description of the Palin onstage in St. Louis was a parody in itself. In a backhanded kind of way, though, Stanely does give the feisty governor of Alaska her due.

Stanley writes:

‘“And Ms. Palin was the one who set the tone, making Mr. Biden sound stuffy before he had a chance to make her look unsteady. She bounded onto the stage, shook hands with her opponent and said brightly, ‘Hey, can I call you Joe?’

‘“He said yes, then addressed her as ‘Governor Palin.’

‘“She twinkled, cocked her head, and spoke as plainly as she could. ‘Darn right it was predator lenders,’ she told the moderator, Gwen Ifill of PBS, when asked who was to blame for the mortgage meltdown. Her sentences had lots of pep and patriotism, and few g’s at the end of her words — ‘You betcha’ and ‘Get down to gettin’ business done ‘and ‘doggone it.’

‘“Expectations for both candidates were low, but the expectations for the debate were almost absurdly high — cable news commentators led up to the event like children on a Halloween sugar bender, deliriously excited by what The Washington Times described as a ‘Thrilla in Manila’ showdown.”’

Read more.

A Feisty Sarah Palin Does What She Needs to Do

You have to admit tonight’s debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden was a heck of a lot more interesting than the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. And it was largely due to the feisty, folksy performance by Sarah Palin; Biden, on the other hand, just couldn’t help talking like a senator who has been around for years and years.

Still it seemed to be a fair fight, well moderated by PBS’ Gwen Ifill, and I’m reluctant to pick a winner. I do agree with several pundits that I’ve checked with this evening that Palin did what she needed to do.

Political Intel at the Boston Globe, said it best: “The Showdown in the Show Me state showed that Sarah Palin may be ready for prime time after all.”

To read Foon Rhee’s complete coverage of the debate go here.

Political Intel also reports the McCain campaign’s statement on the vice presidential debate (evidently they’ve not yet received a statement from the Obama campaign):

"Tonight, Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as Vice President of the United States. She won this debate, putting Joe Biden on defense on energy, foreign policy, taxes and the definition of change. Governor Palin laid bare Barack Obama's record of voting to raise taxes, opposing the surge in Iraq, and proposing to meet unconditionally with the leaders of state sponsors of terror. The differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the McCain-Palin ticket could not have been clearer. The American people saw stark contrasts in style and worldview. They saw Joe Biden, a Washington insider and a 36-year Senator, and Governor Palin, a Washington outsider and a maverick reformer. Governor Palin was direct, forceful and a breath of fresh air," said Jill Hazelbaker, McCain-Palin 2008 Communications Director.

The McCain campaign has already sent out a fund-raising appeal under Palin's signature that bashes the "liberal media."

"In the weeks since I joined John McCain as his running mate, the Obama-Biden Democrats have used their allies in the liberal media to paint us negatively, all in an attempt to sway undecided voters. Tonight's debate gave me the opportunity to bypass the biased media filter and communicate our shared values of reform directly to the voters," she wrote.

"I know millions were watching as I went toe-to-toe against Senator Biden to explain our plans. Reform Republicans will strengthen the economy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and secure our nation from the threat of Islamic extremism."

MSNBC’s Today Interview with George H.W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro (video)

If you’d like a great warm up for tonight’s vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, then watch this video of MSNBC Today’s interview with George H.W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro who debated one another as vice presidential candidates 24 years ago.

Thursday night’s Palin-Biden Debate Could Be Fun!

Excitement is building for the 90-minute face off between the garrulous Joe Biden and “hockey mom” Sarah Palin this Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern. PBS’ Gwen Ifill will moderate the one time only vice-presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis. I predict the Palin-Biden debate won’t be nearly as boring as the first presidential round between McCain and Obama.

The word is out across the Internet: “Underestimate Sarah Palin at your own risk.” LA Times staff writers Braun and Hamburger put it like this:

“During Palin's brief exposure to the high-stakes environment of political debates, she has unnerved both her handlers and her opponents. At times she has been handicapped by her lax approach to learning the nuances of policy and state issues, but she has also projected a Reaganesque ability to offer up pithy answers and charm on camera.”

Palin gained experience while running successfully for governor of Alaska. Braun and Hamburger describe her style in debating political opponents:

“Palin had ready answers on tough questions about social concerns such as native needs, abortion and assisted suicide. Sometimes her remarks seemed glib, but she was usually poised and sometimes kicked back at her opponents and her questioners when they took the offensive.

‘“Larry Persily, a panelist questioner in the campaign's final televised debate, said Palin flummoxed her rivals ‘like Muhammad Ali dancing around the ring.’ She avoided statements and tough questions that could have impaled her and repeatedly stung at her opponents. And Palin, a former sportscaster, was easily the most comfortable in front of the camera.

‘“She knows television,’ said Persily, who participated in other debates and has watched Palin closely for years. ‘She knows how to look at her interviewer.’

“Palin saved her most devastating riposte for the final question of the debate, when Persily asked the three candidates whether they would hire their opponents for a state job.

“Knowles and Halcro offered halting jokes. But when it was Palin's turn, she pounced.

‘“Smiling at Halcro, who recited reams of statistics by rote, Palin observed that the businessman ‘would make the most awesome statistician the state could ever look for.’

‘“As the debate audience laughed, Palin pivoted to Knowles, who had started his political career as an Anchorage restaurateur. ‘Do they need a chef down in Juneau?’ Palin asked, smiling as she turned the verbal knife. ‘I know Mr. Knowles is really good at that.’

“Two years on, Halcro and Knowles admit they are still baffled how their mastery of policy and state issues was trumped by Palin's breezy confidence and feel-good answers.

‘“When you try to prove she doesn't know anything, you lose, because audiences are enraptured by her,’ Halcro said. ‘And her biting comments give you a sense of how competitive she is. Anybody who doesn't take her seriously does so at their peril.”’

Tune in Thursday night at 9 for your one and only chance to see Palin and Biden go at it.

To read the LA Times article in its entirety, go here.

What’s This? Obama Camp Calls Palin a Terrific Debater?

Mike Allen reports at Politico:

‘“Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters Saturday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, is ‘a terrific debater’ who could give Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden (D-Del.) a run for his money when they meet Thursday.

‘“We’ve looked at tapes of Gov. Palin’s debates, and she’s a terrific debater,’ Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. ‘She has performed very, very well. She’s obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she’ll give a great performance next Thursday.’

‘The single vice presidential debate will be at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday at Washington University in St. Louis.

“Lowering expectations is a common campaign practice before a debate. But the Obama campaign's claims will surprise the Republicans who have begun to fear the debate following Palin’s performance in network interviews. The Obama campaign says they have nothing to worry about.”

Read more.