Forbes/The Biden-Palin Debate

Suzanne Garment looks at both Palin and Biden’s performance — “political jujitsu” between a “hockey-mom” and a “politician”. She suggests that Palin is not experienced to govern and questions the success of the debaters based on the point system. Her conclusions are stark — if Palin out-does Biden in the rankings it is because “the

country is a lot bigger than we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking it is; implying that personality and deliverance play a key role where the American “mid-Westerns” identify with Palin.

Al Jazeera/Palin-Biden Debate Draws Millions

Al Jazeera’s senior Washington correspondent Rob Reynolds says that Palin, contrary to predictions, did not make any major mistakes in her face-off with Biden. The article touches on the Iraq issue looking at both Republican and Democrat strategies and finds that each accused the other of having no apparent strategy.

Slate Magazine/VP Debate — The Biggest Shocker

Timothy Noah looks at the American-ness of Alaska, where Palin comes from, against that of Hawaii, where Obama was raised. Throughout the debate, Palin stressed her traditional American roots and emphasised the role of Alaska. Conversely, Hawaii’s place in the American political landscape is vague and Obama has not used it as a campaign platform. The article reflects on the differential between Republican dominated and Democrat dominated states and their place in the American political spectrum, that is, the more Republican a state is, the more American it is perceived to be.

Le Monde — La n’experience de Mme Palin inquiete les Republicanes Nicolas Bourcier thinks Palin is in deep trouble both within her party as well as in the polls. He dwells on her inexperience and the blunders she has made in her scarce TV appearances. She appears confused and unconvincing and Bourcier accuses her of diverting blame towards the gotcha-journalists for her foot-in-mouth interaction with Katie Couric on CBS. He quotes New York Times’ David Brooks describing her as “embarrassing” and National Review’s Kathleen Parker who previously supported Palin: “We are sad the candidate is not ready to play in the big league...”

... contd.