VP+Preview

For possibly the first time in history, it looks like the potential vice presidents might have a very important impact on this year’s election. Like visiting Professor Haynie stated during our class discussion “This year’s Vice Presidential pick might matter” in terms of the election. It is also obviously a historic election because there has only been one other possibility for a woman Vice President, which was Geraldine Ferraro who ran with Walter Mondale, and did not win the election. ( [|Wikipedia] ) Also in this election, if the team with the woman v.p. does not win, America will have its first African American president. Thus this year’s vice presidential debate has gotten a lot of hype and most Americans will be tuning in to examine the VP candidates, where they wouldn’t have in the past. Most would say that the upcoming vice-presidential debate is far from fair. Senator Joe Biden has had far more experience in the area of public speaking and debates compared to Governor Sarah Palin. But Senator Biden has his own potential problems with the debate. At the same time, Governor Palin’s polls have been falling and her interviews stumbling, so she must do her best to impress America in this Thursday’s debate. Tonight is very much her night and it could possibly make or break McCain’s campaign. Washington University, where the debates will be held, has been preparing for months and has spent $1.35 million dollars on the event so far. The university has held many debates in the past (four presidential debates), but it will be the “first time the university will held a vice presidential debate”. More than 60 different countries are scheduled to show at the debates, to cover for their news channels. This shows just exactly the importance of this debate, that this many foreign countries have decided to cover the debates. Joe Biden has many good things going for him, but also has difficulties with this upcoming debate. Biden has been called one of the most “knowledgeable democratic foreign policy experts” in history. Senator for thirty-five years, Biden has had a lot of experience with interviews, speeches, TV shows, and debates. Certainly most would say that Biden has the advantage in this debate. He has been described as a “loquacious man of charm and detail with an agile yet unpredictable mind.” That’s quite a compliment for this potential V.P. and if he taps into his experience and plays his cards right, he should be able to win this debate. Yet Biden is not particularly known for wonderfully to-the-point speaking. He has been known for speaking too long and making odd remarks. Biden is said to have a “free-wheeling” style of talking. He will say comments that will not reflect his campaign positions or simply get the facts wrong. He could possibly even know too much for his own good, causing this confusion of facts to be an issue. Advisors say he must be careful in his responses because he has a tendency to “talk down to people” which is especially dangerous with him debating a woman. If he were to say anything that could come across as demeaning to women, it would greatly hurt his chances of winning over many female voters or the general public. Governor Palin also has her strengths and weaknesses for the debate. When Palin was first announced as John McCain’s running mate, she brought a lot of new aspects to the election. She’s the mother of a big family with a pregnant daughter and a new special-needs child. Many things about Palin appealed to American and she started out with sky high polls and brought in much support for McCain. Soon after, however, her polls started falling. As of mid September her supporters had slipped from 52 to 48 percent. It’s surprising how fast her popularity decreased. One report says that “over the course of a single weekend… Palin went from being the most popular White House hopeful to the least.” While McCain continues to defend his choice of Palin, this is her chance to prove her worth to him and America. Up until now, one of the things that most attracted Americans to Palin was her down-to-earth sense of confidence that reminds Americans of themselves. The American public has been drawn to her approachable presence in her speeches and interviews. Recently, however, Palin had a difficult time in an interview with Katie Couric. She stumbled over answers, unlike her usual confident self. Some sources even deem the interview “a disaster.” News reporters are blatantly stating that the pressure is on Palin for Thursday, and simply that she cannot afford to make a mistake. It seems like a “tie” would not help either too much, while it probably would not hurt much either. However, a “win” for Palin would mean not stumbling over her answers, and being strong in her issues. This win would re-gain her integrity in America’s eye and potentially gaining a lot of support for McCain. Because of her difficulties in the past few days, it seems that Palin can only go up from here, but she must be sure not to make a horrible mistake. A tie for Biden would require him to be correct in his facts and use his time effectively, making sure not to waste away his time rambling. While Biden has his experience on his side, neither he nor Palin can afford an obvious blunder at this point. In addition to her recent difficult days, Palin was again parodied on the ever-popular “Saturday Night Live.” As Tina Fey’s popularity continues to rise, Palin’s can only fall. While it may not be a huge deciding factor in the election, it’s quite possible that Fey will show her skills again if Palin makes any memorable mistakes. It will be interesting to see how the debate pans out with short answers not being Biden’s strength. Biden must confine himself to ninety second answers with two minute follow-ups, and make sure to keep his facts straight. At the same time, Palin must try to regain popularity among Americans by bringing back her old, confident, self and answering in the debate as she did in her early interviews. Finally, an eye should be kept on how Biden addresses Palin in this upcoming debate in regards of staying away from demeaning or condescending comments. SOURCES: http://www.alternet.org/election08/99424/polls_show_palin_is_starting_to_drag_down_mccain/?page=entire http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/381219_Joel01.html http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKLz7PW9AGelXQRIVxIeA0-kSB9AD93HA4LG0 http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE48T5BK20080930 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i_9f9f2IVzARDtc_lWuM6ZSCbRPgD93GG0A01 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/30/politics/washingtonpost/main4489307.shtml http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/09/29/daily48.html

Other questions still to be discussed:

How are the questions chosen? What can the topics be?

Moderator Gewn Ifill 90 second answers and 2-min follow-up

Washington University has spent $1.35 million on the debate ([|CNN]).