Oct 03 2008
Who won the debate?
For those who were expecting drama or even a train wreck from Sarah Palin, they didn’t get it.
SNL will be disappointed naturally…
Having read, heard and then watched previous interviews of Sarah Palin, I have to admit there was a part of me tuning in to be ‘entertained’. Especially after cringing at her interview with Katie Couric. THAT ONE… the media loved. She gave us so many interesting answers, one couldn’t resist but news-ify them. My favourite? How she told Katie Couric that merely living next to Russia helped to boost her foreign policy credentials. Right… So, I was just one of the millions watching this debate just to see how Mrs Palin performed.
You know what? She did a great job - she brushed up her knowledge, sold herself as much as she could with the thin resume she had and maximised opportunities to let her charisma and passion shine through on topics close to her heart. She even had the candor to wink a few times at her audience! Though looking nervous, depending too much on her cue notes and often swallowing hard after the end of each answer, she held herself up high and well.
Could you do that knowing over 55 million pairs of eyes in the US alone were watching you for that ‘gotcha’ moment? I couldn’t.
Palin fans can no doubt breathe much easier today than yesterday…
But hold on. She’s only proven herself to be a competent speaker. What about having the vision AND the potential to be a leader? She didn’t score there.
Whatever good she did in her answers on domestic issues and others, may have vaporised when she said she was not entirely sure that global warming was a man-made problem. And reality check… the NATO commander is General ‘Mckiernan”, not “Mclellan”. She’s still got some homework to do.
So, good for her, this debate might only have a shelf life of about 24-48 hours some critics say. And there were no moments I think will get replayed over and over again.
Same goes for Joseph Biden.
He was good. But that was expected. What really helped him was that he managed to keep to the right tune and tone the whole time during the debate. A little too defensive at first, but soon his sharp tones directed at McCain came through and I think the Democrats were happy to see that.
But the most effective moment came when we saw Biden choke up and briefly lose his voice when he spoke of his family. Biden lost his wife and daughter in a car crash and almost lost his two sons. One of them is currently serving in Iraq.
That was when the whole hall went silent. I don’t think I was the only one moved by this.
Palin though fell on deaf ears and her eagerness to get her ‘maverick’ message across might have come off looking a little cocky right at that moment.
I suspect this might have cost Palin dearly…
Palin did good.
But Biden did better…
Hi Suzanne,
A big part of me tuned it to the debate was to get ‘entertained’ by Palin, it was dissapointing, she didn’t mention Russia.
Anyway, I also thought both did great and really controlled, but Palin to me was a little robotic, I felt like the Republican team prepared her so much that I don’t feel what she said was that genuine.
The debate wouldn’t really have an impact, it didn’t lived up to my expectation (not just the entertainment aspect).
Guess I’m a little bias here, but I seriously don’t see why many say Palin did well during the debate. Sure, she did better than expected, but considering her past few interviews on live TV were really really REALLY embarrassing, doing better doesn’t really take much effort here.
Maybe we all are a wee little bit critical of her, more her than Biden, Obama or McCain, but that’s the whole point isn’t it? The American people need someone who is competent at it’s helm, and if one can’t handle a debate like that (or TV interviews), it’s very worrisome if that person were to be the close aide of the world’s most powerful man.
I think Biden didn’t extremely well, to me a little better than both Obama or McCain did in their debates. He was cool. He was collected. He showed his experience. And I think he really did help Obama’s campaign a lot that night. With that kind of personality (and that unexpected emotional choke-up), I think it gives a whole new perspective to Biden. It’s like Democrats now have a man of wisdom (Obama) and a man of substance (Biden) as their frontliners to govern the country.
I dunno about everyone else, but I’m just all stoked up to watch the next debate between Obama and McCain.
Talk is cheap. And sad to say, you can’t really see a person’s leadership potential through debates.
A leader gets selected by his people because of his ability to inspire and the true test only comes when he uses his power to lead.
Playing it safe never gets anybody into power though.
A great leader is not necessary a charismatic speaker.
But in reality, how one projects himself or herself during presentations and public speechs often tips the scale of the perception of others either in favour of or against him or her.
I like your style of writing, I think it reflects your true personality. Much the same as your voice, I feel this portrays your lovely attitude, despite media office stress.
Gov Sarah Palin said Senator John Mc Cain never inhibited her and that’s truly a beautiful facet of democracy in the USA. However this is not always possible in countries which have borrowed democratic constitutions, where people have to be disciplined before self regulation’s practical.
Trust the people of Iraq too respect their constitution and benefit from constitutional democracy, even as the economic giant Japan, in modern day history.
I enjoyed watching todays second presidential debate between Senators Obama and Mc Cain and look forward to CNAI presentation of the final debate as well.
Hope you would have returned from South Korea by then.
To me, neither party impressed at all. The same can be said abt their principal running mates, Obama & McCain.
I seriously do not think either one wud do a better job than Bush. Thus, I’m quite concern what kind of administration, both foreign & local, the next President wl adopt as it wl hv quite an impact on the rest of the world!.
Cheers!.
Hi i’m came from indonesia nice to meet you
yes, i was a little disappointed that there were not any “gotcha” moments as many had been expecting, but the debate was good to watch nonetheless.
Still, you could see that Palin was quite nervous at some points, and that should be expected given her relative inexperience at the issues on hand.
Suzanne no further comments?
hi suzanne i am a big fan of yours well i’ve been motivated to watch channel news asia every morning i guess if you’re a celebrity it be the greatest thing.
Yours Sincerely’
Sebastian
well regarding the US Presidental debate i personally feel that we can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Thats my philosophy. Obama is the best candidate if there is no financial meltdown but i personally feel senator john mc cain will be my choice for the curret situation in dealing with the US economy.
“Let the experienced man do the job”
Yours Sincerely’
Sebastian