Palin vs. Biden: Polite yet pointed -- and no gaffes

Ron Edmonds, Associated Press

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden after Thursday's vice presidential debate.

In their only debate, vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden emphasized their positions on the Iraq war, the economy and energy.

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and MICHAEL COOPER, New York Times

Last update: October 3, 2008 - 10:58 AM

Democrat Joseph Biden, who has spent years trying to get into prime time, and Republican Sarah Palin, a Republican some critics say is not ready for it, scrapped for 90 minutes Thursday night in a lively, rapid-fire vice presidential debate.

Both claimed they were agents of change for a nation in financial crisis.

Palin, who displayed more confidence and fluency than she did in recent television interviews, largely refrained from the cutting comments she has made in some of her speeches. From the beginning, the debate was marked by an air of cordiality, when Palin, who was meeting Biden for the first time, asked, "Hey, can I call you Joe?" and Biden amiably replied that she could.

That folksy manner accompanied the populist tone that Palin deployed throughout the debate, even as she discussed such complex issues as the subprime mortgage crisis.

"Darn right it was the predator lenders," Palin said in response to a question from the debate's moderator, Gwen Ifill of PBS, about whether such lenders were to blame for the economic crisis. They were lenders, Palin said, "who tried to talk Americans into thinking that it was smart to buy a $300,000 house if we could only afford a $100,000 house."

She added, "One thing that Americans do at this time also, though, is let's commit ourselves, just everyday American people -- Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation -- I think we need to band together and say, never again."

Biden often chose not to engage Palin directly, instead turning his fire on Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, whom he sought to portray as erratic in his response to the economic crisis and isolated from the concerns of most Americans.

"Well, you know, until two weeks ago -- it was two Mondays ago -- John McCain said at 9:00 in the morning that the fundamentals of the economy were strong," Biden said.

"Two weeks before that, he said we've made great economic progress under George Bush's policies. Nine o'clock, the economy was strong; 11:00 that same day, two Mondays ago, John McCain said that we have an economic crisis. That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch."

The event was Palin's debut in a debate of candidates for national office -- in contrast, Biden participated in 14 before he dropped out of the presidential race on Jan. 3 -- and was watched by many millions of Americans eager to see how the self-described "hockey mom" with scant national experience would fare against Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a voluble, gaffe-prone 35-year veteran of Washington.

Waiting for a fiery crash

For many viewers, the debate had a certain Indianapolis 500 quality in the sense that at any moment there could be an instant conflagration.

Facing low expectation because of her stumbling performance in recent television interviews, Palin instead went toe-to-toe with Biden at many points during the debate, not skipping a beat as she recited facts and figures to make her points.

"How long have I been at this, like five weeks," she said in discussing the economic crisis. "So there hasn't been a whole lot I have promised, except to do what is right for the American people, put government back on the side of the American people, stop the greed and corruption on Wall Street and the rescue plan has got to include that massive oversight that Americans are expecting and deserving. I don't think that John McCain has made any promise that he would not be able to keep either."

Both of the vice presidential candidates frequently wore wide smiles -- often at the same time -- that were shown on television screens in side-by-side shots. Palin repeatedly looked directly at Biden -- something her running mate did not as he addressed Sen. Barack Obama -- and he returned the glance even as he pointed out distinctions.

The scene on the stage Thursday evening offered to voters, in effect, a mirror image of the presidential debate last week. As a contrast to last week, this time the Republican candidate presented herself as a fresh agent of change, while the Democratic candidate often drew upon his long Washington experience as he answered his questions.

Cox News Service contributed to this report.

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