I think Jack Balkin is absolutely correct in his assessment of the VP debate. This is probably a mild victory for the Obama campaign. Sarah Palin was picked to help push McCain over the top. For a while, it seemed as if people might actually vote for the, as she called it, Palin-McCain ticket because of her — defying the normal rule that people vote for Presidents, not Vice Presidents. Then she had her disastrous television interviews — the Katie Couric ones were particularly damaging — and she came across as incoherent and moronic. She arguably made the bumbling George W. Bush (the 2000 version) seem intelligent and knowledgeable by comparison.
Then at the debate, Biden clearly "won," if people voted based on the VP selection. But most important, Palin didn’t have that terrible moment of self-destruction. I actually had half-expected a complete melt-down. But unlike the Couric interview where she had to have known which questions were coming, for the debate she was clearly prepared. True, she didn’t answer any of the questions, but rather would say "That’s a good question; instead, I’m going to talk about something else that’s written on my notes." Without the major gaffe for media to repeat ad nauseam, she can just sort of fade out of the public consciousness.
Not as good as it could have been, but this is clearly a victory for Senator Obama. The Republicans actually managed the debate with the sole intention of making Palin irrelevant, and they succeeded. But gosh darn it (to borrow one of the Governor’s colloquialisms), they originally selected her to help the campaign. If they just wanted safe, they would have been better off with Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty.
So now we’re left with Senators McCain and Obama. With people worried about the economy, our guy is the one people trust on economic matters — probably because McCain’s expertise is limited to steroids in baseball and killing Iranians. And even with the bailout, Americans are freaked out about the economy. So doesn’t it seem like it’s going to continue to remain the central issue? I think I’m talking myself into being optimistic about the election.
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