WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: VOLUME 2
"She Killed. It Was Her Evening. ... 15 Minutes In, She Had Joe Biden On The Defensive On The Subject Of Obama And Taxes. ... She Killed"
The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan: "She killed. It was her evening. She was the star. She had him at, 'Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?' It was very interesting to me, for Palin tonight, for an hour and a half, I think America saw her for a really long time, and she became a star probably on a new level. Gwen Ifill was not there for Sarah Palin. Joe Biden was not there for Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin was there with a camera. It was classic go over the heads of the media and everybody else, talk straight to the American people. She hit every populist chord. It is amazing to me that 15 minutes in, she had Joe Biden on the defensive on the subject of Obama and taxes. ... She killed." (NBC's "Vice Presidential Debate Coverage," 10/2/08)
NBC's Tom Brokaw: "I think they're whopping it up in Alaska tonight and all those parties across the country for the McCain campaign because I thought in terms of theatrics and personal style out there, you can see why she's such a successful politician in Alaska. ... And any question asked of her, she talked about John McCain's tax cuts, his record as a maverick, about his determination to reform what is going on and about energy independence. She had been called, as you know, the bumper sticker is coldest state, hottest governor. You saw some of that tonight." (NBC's "Vice Presidential Debate Coverage," 10/2/08)
"I Wanted My Granddaughters To Be Able To Look At This Debate ... I Wanted Them To Look At This Debate And See That A Woman Could Go Toe To Toe With Someone Who Has Had Tremendous Experience"
1984 Democrat Vice Presidential Nominee Geraldine Ferraro: "I really wanted her to get up there and do a good job, and I think she did. ... I think it was a good evening for -- certainly for Governor Palin. ... I think she showed she is certainly capable of going toe to toe with a man who is more than qualified to be vice president, if not president of the United States." (NBC's "Vice Presidential Debate Coverage," 10/2/08)
· Ferraro: "The thing about it is she held her own, and that for me, from a historic viewpoint, I wanted my granddaughters to be able to look at this debate -- I hope they're in bed right now. I wanted them to look at this debate and see that a woman could go toe to toe with someone who has had tremendous experience in the Senate and someone who is an incredible candidate for vice president of the United States. That to me is very very important." (NBC's "Vice Presidential Debate Coverage," 10/2/08)
MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "I think she's an extremely appealing politician. Her energy level was much better than Biden's. I think Biden lost a little speed there during the evening. I think she came across terrific in terms of presentation." (MSNBC's "Vice Presidential Debate," 10/2/08)
ABC's Diane Sawyer: "On the first go, you're right, I thought that Governor Palin, after a bruising time in the media, showed up not just with confidence, but cheerful confidence that might surprise a lot of people, talking about her personal issues ..." (ABC's "Vice Presidential Debate," 10/2/08)
"Sarah Palin Was Sensational Tonight ... I Think She Wiped Up The Floor With Joe Biden"
The Associated Press' Jim Kuhnhenn: "Under intense scrutiny, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stood her ground Thursday night against a vastly more experienced Joe Biden, debating the economy, energy and global warming, then challenging him on Iraq, 'especially with your son in the National Guard.'" (Jim Kuhnhenn, "Palin Stands Her Ground In VP Debate With Biden," The Associated Press, 10/2/08)
· Kuhnhenn: "The Alaska governor also noted that Biden had once said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wasn't ready to be commander in chief, 'and I know again that you opposed the move that he made to try to cut off funding for the troops and I respect you for that.'" (Jim Kuhnhenn, "Palin Stands Her Ground In VP Debate With Biden," The Associated Press, 10/2/08)
CNN's David Gergen: "She was spirited, she came out well, she came out strong." (CNN's "Debate Coverage," 10/2/08)
MSNBC's Pat Buchanan: "My take is Sarah Palin was sensational tonight. She not only met the expectations, I think she wiped up the floor with Joe Biden, quite frankly. She is personable, she is young, she's got a sense of humor...I think that she has done a sensational job and I think she as recaptured that magic she had out there at the convention." (MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," 10/2/08)
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "She was most effective when she argued against Barack Obama ..." (Marc Ambinder, "Palin-Biden: First Take," The Atlantic's "Marc Ambinder" Blog, marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 10/2/08)
The New York Times' Bill Kristol: "It was match point against Sarah Palin and she won the set and she kept the race alive." (Bill Kristol, Fox, On The Record, 10/2/08)
National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru: "Biden had a good start, but Palin was exceptionally strong." (Ramesh Ponnuru, "The Opening," National Review's "The Corner" Blog, corner.nationalreview.com, 10/2/08)
The New York Times' Peter Baker: "If the debate was the defining test this fall of Sarah Palin, she emerged from it largely unscathed." (Peter Baker, "Live Blog: St. Louis Showdown," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com, 10/2/08)
· Baker: "[S]he came across as a forceful, articulate and well-prepared candidate, able to go toe to toe with an opponent who has been debating on the floor of the United States Senate for the past 36 years. She may not have had any breakthrough moments but she never stumbled in response to any "gotcha" questions and Joe Biden largely focused his attacks on John McCain, not her." (Peter Baker, "Live Blog: St. Louis Showdown," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com, 10/2/08)
· Baker: "But she was aggressive and kept on the offense. Mr. Biden never seemed to rattle her. To be sure, he had some strong moments where he may have gotten the better of the argument on points, but she had a parry for every thrust..." (Peter Baker, "Live Blog: St. Louis Showdown," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com, 10/2/08)
CNN's Bill Schneider: "Palin is going after Biden over his comments that the wealthy should pay more taxes as a patriotic move. The Alaska governor has come to this debate fully armed." (Bill Schneider, "Attack, Counter Attack," CNN's "Political Ticker" Blog, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 10/2/08)
NBC's Chuck Todd: "Governor Palin proved very adept at being a good debater. ... In many ways, she was a better surrogate for her top of the ticket than Joe Biden was for his. ... Governor Palin started this debate very strongly, I think." (NBC's "Vice Presidential Debate Coverage," 10/2/08)
The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes: "The moment in this debate when she knew how well she was doing, and was actually winning the debate came at 9:55 eastern daylight time and she said to Gwen Ifill the moderator, "can we talk about Pakistan, or rather can we talk about Afghanistan for a minute?". In other words she wanted to go back to one of these foreign policy issues. She knew that she passed the test that she could handle Joe Biden, and it was all about her as Mort said, and Bill said. This was not a debate where Joe Biden had to do much of anything, it was entirely a test of Sarah Palin, and she passed it." (Fred Barnes, Fox, On The Record, 10/2/08)
The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "She's sticking to her broader message, not getting caught up in a back-and-forth on policy that she can't win with Biden. it's all about energy, energy, energy." (Jonathan Martin, "Palin Doesn't Care What The Topic/Discussion Is (Cont.)" The Politico's "Jonathan Martin" Blog, www.politico.com, 10/2/08)
CNN's Bill Schneider: "Palin's primary strength is her outside of Washington status. She doesn't act like an insider, she doesn't talk like an insider, and a lot of voters may respond to that." (Bill Schneider, "Palin's Strengths," CNN's "Political Ticker" Blog, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 10/2/08)
The Hill's Walter Alarkon: "One theme Palin keeps hitting tonight is the idea that Biden and Obama are looking backward. After a riff by Biden on how McCain's policies are the same as President Bush's, Palin pounces. 'Say it ain't so, Joe,' she said. 'There you go again, pointing backwards. Now doggone it, let's look again and tell Americans what we plan to do for Americans in the future.'" (Walter Alarkon, "Liveblog: The Veep Debate" The Hill's "Briefing Room" Blog, briefingroom.thehill.com, 10/2/08)
ABC's Rick Klein: "We knew this was coming -- attacking Obama by using Biden's own words. And the rest of the answer -- 'we're getting closer and closer to victory, and it would be a travesty' to quit now -- was very well put. 'Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq,' she said." (Rick Klein, "Live Debate" Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 10/2/08)
