DEBATE: Three ladies were big winners last night!

Impressions of the VP Debate | The Iconoclast - NER
And The Republic For Which We Stand Them | The Iconoclast - NER

There were three winners in last night's debate: Lady Liberty, Gwen Ifill, and Sarah Palin! Not all agree, however.

America is a winner because her people are being remembered. Ifill is a winner because she was professional to a fault ... kudos to her! And Palin, well I'll let Noonan speak for me!

Rebecca Bynum, at NER, is on the side of Biden ...

I thought Palin was much too rehearsed ... she shaded the truth ... without really understanding the reality of the situation ... .

This was especially blatant concerning her characterization of Biden's position on Iraq which has been basically consistent. ... Bad marks there. ... I do remember his basic assessment was much more realistic than the rosey picture we got from the administration.

Moreover, Joe Biden ... actually succeeded in making himself seem more human, especially when he almost broke down referring to a child who had died. This in turn, made Palin's strategy of sticking to policy talking points seem shallow.

Palin made good points on energy policy, but outside that issue, she was a bit out of her depth. [...]

Biden said an Obama adminstration would "end the war in Iraq." If only I could believe him. [...]

Palin exceeded expectations, but I'm afraid when all is said and done, the debate went to Biden.

Another NER contributor, Hugh Fitzgerald, was favorable to Palin but recognizes reality for what it is ...

[...] One of them was pretty.

This part of the pick hardly matters. The choice is between McCain ... and Obama .... And there is also the question of effectiveness. Who has a record that suggests he will be better able to persuade or force the recalcitrant in Congress -... to do what he thinks, or claims, must be done? This matters, for the consequences of both global warming, and the world-wide Jihad -- like time and tide -- wait for no man.

Bynum, to her credit, recognizes this in a comment to the latter's post ...

Yes indeed, it is McCain who will be able to "reach across the aisle in a bi-partisan way" and enact...comprehensive immigration reform. Neither one will get us out of Iraq and either one is likely to get us further bogged down in Afghanistan.

We're doomed, doomed.

I don't share that level of pessimism.

Biden, Debate, Election 2008,
McCain, Obama, Palin, Politics