Many corporate media pundits seemed to grade the Biden/Palin debate on a rather extreme curve; if Palin could manage to show up and not embarrass herself, the event could be deemed a “tie”–as in the AP analysis headlined “Palin Tops Debate Expectations.”
In USA Today, Susan Page wrote, “Both candidates exuded confidence and determination–a victory of sorts for Palin, the first-term Alaska governor performing on equal terms with the six-term Delaware senator.”
On ABC World News (10/3/08), Time magazine’s Mark Halperin described as “brilliant” Palin’s argument that for Biden to criticize the Bush administration was “pointing backwards,” going on to say: “Look, is she a great policy expert, no. Is she a great communicator, like a Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, we’re learning that she is.”
And on Meet the Press, NBC‘s David Gregory weighed in on Palin’s debate performance:
She chose to ignore a lot of the substantive aspects of the debate and speak right to the American people. Thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s where sheâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s winning. She has a lot of charm, a lot of charisma, and thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s working for her.
Someone should let the American public in on the idea that Palin is unusually charming, since they don’t seem to realize that.
