Biden wins debate

CBS Poll: More Uncommitted Voters Saw Biden As Winner: 46%-21%

Forty-six percent of the uncommitted voters surveyed say Democrat Joe Biden won the debate, compared to 21 percent for Republican Sarah Palin. Thirty-three percent said it was a tie.

CNN poll gives the debate to Biden: 51% to 36%

"You betcha" ... Palin might have appealed to "Joe 6-pack"... but "doggone" few others.

Palin refuses to answer moderator's question, spouts rehearsed attack lines, and offers nothing to distinguish herself and McSame from the colossal failures of the Bush administration.

The saving grace here is that she did just well enough to remain on the ticket to further cripple McBush's chances.

TP:

• Palin repeatedly referred to Gen. McKiernan as “McClellan”


• Like McCain, Palin keeps referring to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the “leader of Iran.” However, as Biden noted, the Ayatollah Khameini is the leader of Iran who sets policy.


• Palin spoke out against “early withdrawal” from Iraq, but the Iraqi government itself has already endorsed the withdrawal of American combat forces along the schedule Obama has proposed.


• Palin said we’re now at pre-surge troop levels in Iraq. This is wrong. There were 130,000 troops in Iraq before the surge. Today, there are 147,000 troops in Iraq. McCain made this same error in June.


• Palin bragged that as governor, she has appointed people “regardless of political affiliation.” However, high school affiliation has been very important. As the New York Times noted, “The Wasilla High School yearbook archive now doubles as a veritable directory of state government.” Palin has appointed her former junior high band-mate, among others. [Typical cronyism]


• Palin just praised Alaska politicians ability to “work together,” yet Palin refuses to cooperate with the Alaska legislature’s investigation into her alleged ethics violation known as “Troopergate.”


• Asked to describe her weaknesses, Palin seems to be answering a completely different question that only she heard. She delivered a rambling answer describing her strengths and what she would bring to the ticket. Ifill asked no follow-up question.


• Palin claimed that Alaska’s “energy” supply (by which she means only oil) is helping America on the path to energy independence. This is nonsense.


• Palin’s claim that Biden backed McCain’s military policies until this presidential race “is flatly false.” “Biden was an outspoken opponent of President Bush’s troop increases in Iraq as soon as Bush announced them after the 2006 elections. As Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, he led the most heated hearings before the troops were actually deployed.”


• Palin said that the McCain-Palin ticket supports alternative energy, but she only mentioned nuclear and clean coal. McCain says he is against subsidies for real renewable sources of energy like wind power and solar power.