Post Debate Impressions

I was with my mens group from church last night during the debate so I watched it on tape when I got home. I could tell things went well however from listening to Hugh Hewitt's live coverage and the calls he took.

All in all, Sarah Palin did a fine job. It wasn't the total smackdown I was hoping for, but she proved that she can go toe to toe with a career politician and lifetime insider like Joe Biden. In retrospect it was very "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

Initial observations: Palin looked enthusiastic, optimistic (almost bubbly), and confident. Biden looked angry and cynical. I think Palin's "golly gee willikers!" expressions might wear thin on some people ("heck yeah!" "darned right we do!") but I think that was just the real Sarah coming through. Her engaging the camera was masterful. Biden was able to get away with some outright lies just because Palin, in her own words has "only been at it for five weeks" and wouldn't be expected to recognize every tall tale that Slow Joe spun. And obviously, she's not as slick a talker as Biden is (which I'm sure the more viciously mean leftists like Keith Olbermann and Tina Fey will make use of), but she knew her stuff, and I'm sure that given the choice between a less polished straight talker and a slick-as-grease BS artist like Biden, most people would generally prefer the former.

Biden's great triumph was getting through the debate without a major gaffe (apart from his lies which Palin accurately predicted would be debunked immediately following the debate). Because he managed to accomplish this herculean (for him) feat, most pundits are calling the debate a draw. But if we're going to apply the same standard that the MSM so generously applied to Obama after the first debate, "a tie goes to the underdog" and Palin wins. And actually I don't think it was a tie. I think she beat him handily.