Palin's demeanor impressed me, and certainly exceeded my expectations given her recent interview performances . & Her avoidance of answering uncomfortable questions annoyed me. & I don't know whether she honestly believes that oil-rich Alaska's tax structure can be translated to the United States as a whole, or whether she just liked repeating over and over that she lowered taxes, but I never saw any proposals from her that seemed credible on the current economic situation.
Biden met my expectations. & He was competent and well-spoken, just like every other time I've seen him speak. & Even where I think positions pull a bit to the left and are too tilted toward an over-inflated government, it was a comfortable refrain that was what I expected to hear. & No jarring surprises and no loss of traction.
If I had to score the debate, I'd give Palin a very narrow win, but purely for exceeding my dreadfully low expectations. & She didn't convince me of a plan, any plan at all, and didn't sway my vote, but for the most part showed me how she was able to get elected as as a governor and how with more experience she could be a formidable presence in the national arena in years to come.
I expected good things from Biden, and he gave them, but nothing more. & Maybe if he would have slapped down the upstart for her attempted use of some of President Reagan's better lines, or even corrected her mispronunciation of 'nuclear' just once, I would have thought he'd risen to the occasion, but he didn't.
Despite what I have to admit was a surprising coherent performance by my fellow Vandal (Law '99) , I left the debate coverage basically feeling bleh. & I'm glad neither of them are on the top of their respective tickets, and nothing either of them said or did will really influence how I vote in the general election. & I buy the car for the car, not the spare tire. &
