gwen ifill: palin "blew me off"

Sunday wasn't a great day in the media for Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

First of all, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had to correct the Alaskan governor when Palin misquoted her. Then, an AP op-ed called Palin's attacks on Barack Obama "racially-tinged," referring to her trying to link the Democratic presidential nominee with terrorists. Also, conservative columnist and pundit Peggy Noonan referred to Palin's populism as "not a good road to be on" for the country.

One of the more interesting comments, though, came from the moderator of last Thursday's vice-presidential debate, Gwen Ifill.

Ifill commented on Palin's unwillingness to answer her questions during the debate. Ifill suggested that Palin ignored the questions that she was asked and instead chose to deliver a stump speech. Watch Ifill say that Palin "blew me off" in the video below:

saturday night live at the debates

Tina Fey reprised her Sarah Palin role over the weekend on Saturday Night Live. The opening sketch from this weekend's episode satirized last week's vice-presidential debate. Check out the hilarious clip below, with a special guest star, Queen Latifah as moderator Gwen Ifill.

biden v. palin

Thursday night's vice-presidential debate was hands down the most-watched VP debate ever and the second most-watched political debate in U.S. history, according to the Style section of today's Washington Post. That means more people tuned in to see Joe Biden and Sarah Palin debate the issues than than the number that have tuned in to almost every presidential debate in history. And these guys don't even get to run the show.

Along with a projected seventy-three million Americans, we tuned in to see Biden v. Palin. Many thought that Palin, the governor of Alaska and Republican John McCain's running mate, would fall flat on her face (figuratively, at least). Her expectations were low following a series of Katie Couric interviews that were released last week that made Palin seem like she didn't know what was going on. She couldn't name any newspapers that she read or any Supreme Court cases that she disagreed with other than Roe v. Wade.

Palin surprised us all, though, by generally seeming as if she knew the issues when pressed on them. She employed the age-old tactic of skirting the question, but that's to be expected of most honed politicians. She at one point even claimed to be such a Washington outsider that she likely wouldn't answer questions in the way that Biden or moderator Gwen Ifill may like.

Palin also employed colloquialisms and her famous Alaskan accent to her advantage, making her seem more appealing and real. If the debate were judged solely on style, she'd be a sure winner. Unfortunately for Palin, we judge debates on substance.

Biden, Democrat Barack Obama's running mate and the senior senator for Delaware, was more substantive. His deeper understanding of the issues was glaringly apparent. He made a clear case against a McCain administration while remaining friendly and cordial toward Palin. He outlined to the American people why they can't afford to re-elect the Republicans, and spoke of a better future offered with an Obama administration.

Biden also seemed to have a better understanding of the role of a vice president. While Palin argued that the Constitution allowed for an expansion of the VP's role, Biden countered that Vice President Dick Cheney "has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history."

Other standout moments found the governor and senator practically agreeing on their respective stances against same-sex marriage, followed up by stark contrasts on foreign policy. "Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq," Palin told her opponent.

It was an interesting debate and seemed to captivate a large audience, but historically vice-presidential debates haven't had much, if any, of an effect on the outcome of an election. Eileen Smith at Poll Dancing sums it up nicely:

In the end, do VP debates matter? Probably not. Palin had the most to lose, and could have possibly done damage to the ticket, if she had given a lackluster performance. But she didn’t. Biden didn’t all of a sudden turn into Rick Lazio, and there were more than a few opportunities for that to happen.

So, Biden did well and Palin did well, and nothing changes. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming, also known as McCain versus Obama.