All good points.
However, I'm getting the sense that as the initial impressions fade on the debate and people look back on it Palin's style impressions will fade and the lack of substance will become more prominent. I'll bet polls taken a day or two after the event will favor Biden even more, as they did after the Obama-McCain debate.
As a minor bit of evidence on this, InTrade had a contract as to whether the InTrade numbers for Obama would improve or decline following the debate. In the lead up to the debate this contract had a 67% odds in favor of the numbers going up. At the conclusion of the debate the contract had plummetted to 33% -- that is, at the moment the debate ended bettors thought that Palin's performance would weaken Obama's numbers.
However, this morning Obama's numbers are up. Indicating that the overnight reaction to Palin was more negative than the real-time reaction.
Posted by Anonny at October 3, 2008 09:59 AMWas anyone else pissed that CNN broke their "persuadable" feedback tracker into Women and Men instead of Rep/Dem/Ind?
Besides being patronizing, it robbed us of the insights we might have gotten from seeing how more meaningful groups responded.
I took away 3 things though:
-Women clearly have a more negative view of Palin (perhaps the opposite of what we were supposed to see),
-Palin/McCain were both perceived negatively, usually when they went negative. Biden rarely dipped below 0 and Obama almost never,
-Mc/Palin'sIraq points get no traction one way or the other. Neither the surge nor Obama's funding vote moves the needle one bit.
the more they talk about iraq, the better for obama. then again, the more they talk about the economy, the better for obama...
the snap polls were encouraging, last night, and i agree that the more people think about the debate, the more they will realize palin said absolutely nothing.
Posted by Turkana at October 3, 2008 10:07 AM...and i agree that the more people think about the debate, the more they will realize palin said absolutely nothing.
You betcha!
Posted by snark at October 3, 2008 10:17 AMLooking back, I think palin basically kept asserting there were "differences" between the two tickets without ever once explaining one specific difference. A
And she seemed to agree with an awful lot of lib'rul positions as well---Wall Street regulation, same sex benefits, global warming, Bush is shit, etc.
Why vote for Dem-lite? I know, I know, real Dems are evil....
Posted by euzoius at October 3, 2008 10:34 AMEven though McCain Camp successfully neutered Gwen Ifil by a predebate attack on her credibility, we should not be fooled by Palin’s Acting/sparring abilities (although she had her Notes with her, Isn't That Like Cheating?) to sucessfully weave and bob and her canny ability not to answer questions she does not like in contradiction to her also not being able to intelligently answer complex questions on the spot! It seems as if she feels the American people have no need to be given intelligent, thoughtful answers to the pressing questions of today, and that we would rather be winked at and called hockey moms and Joe Sixpacks while our economy is in ruins! We need our candidates to present truth, not lies and talking points of lies which have nothing to do with reality. We have been lied too enough in this country. We need leaders who are of high moral character and who believe their word is thier bond.
**************************************************
Starting to question McCain’s mental fitness
McCain’s interviews have become increasingly angry, hostile and unhinged. He seems to be on the verge of some kind of mental collapse. A big part of McCain’s erratic behavior is due to Obama having gotten deep, deep, deep inside his head. If McCain’s brain was x-rayed, it would reveal Obama sitting comfortably upon McCain’s cerebral peduncles. But, it is more than that. I believe McCain’s increasing instability is being caused by the stress of the campaign and his 72 year old body not being able to get the rest that it requires to function properly. That isn’t ageism—that is a simple fact of life. I wondered how McCain, being in advanced years, would respond under the grueling pace of a general election. I think we are all beginning to find out and it really isn’t a pretty site. He is on the verge of some kind of mental collapse.
http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/?p=1986
Posted by Angellight at October 3, 2008 10:45 AMAngellight raises a good point: Schmidt and Davis worked over the refs so much before this debate by thrashing Ifill for her book that it allowed them to set the rules in their advantage. Bully for them, but Ifill and the debate commission should never have gone along with this, nor should Ifill have allowed her to filibuster with drivel last night.
Oh well, they got away with it. The net result is that she stopped the bleeding she herself had caused over the last two weeks, and now Schmidt and Davis can return Palin to her bubble and away from the media the rest of the way.
It will be up to McCain to rescue himself from the hole he has put himself in with his erratic behavior and lack of anything to offer on the economy. And if he doesn't score some points Tuesday night, the ballgame is over.
Posted by Steve Soto at October 3, 2008 10:55 AMI think we'll see more of Palin answering questions in town hall meetings and before the press. They're now confident that she can manage, so they'll put her out there. I'm looking forward to some reporters pushing for answers.
Posted by CG at October 3, 2008 11:01 AMThey're now confident that she can manage...
Nope. They knew this was a totally safe format for her. She'll continue to be shielded from the press. Why do you think they're playing the "avoid the MSM filter" meme. She won't utter an uscripted phrase from here to November 4th.
Posted by snark at October 3, 2008 11:09 AMsnark's right, I think. McCain's already had to walk back two of her gaffes and he's really pissed about it. She's no longer important, really. It's all Obama and McCain now. The gambit failed to get the Hillary women, as anyone with a brain knew it would, now they're stuck with Vanna White, basically. "Shut up and hold the baby, Sarah. And would it hurt ya to show a little leg once in a while?"
Posted by iamcoyote at October 3, 2008 11:18 AMYou betcha!
Posted by snark at October 3, 2008 10:17 AM
This says it all....
Posted by headxray at October 3, 2008 11:58 AMWe don't know yet whether Palin's performance will help McCain, but I doubt the media will raise any more questions about his "judgment" in selecting her. That's important. And nobody votes AGAINST the bottom of the ticket. I don't care how old McCain is. People don't think that far ahead.
CNN's poll has Biden winning the debate but Palin crushing him on likability. That seems like at least a draw for the Republicans. We're talking about the vice-president, for God's sake. (Dan Quayle, anyone? He was seen by the public as more absurd than likable. He won.)
A point regarding Angellight's question about McCain's health. If I'm not mistaken, McCain is holing up in Sedona all weekend. Taking 3 days off when there are only 33 days left and he's behind! Either he is training for Tuesday, or he desperately needs some rest.
Thursday, he responded to a supporter's question, "When are you going to take the gloves off?" with "How about Tuesday night?" He's either worn out or practicing new lies with which to attack. I'm good with either option.
Posted by DeminNewJ at October 3, 2008 05:30 PM