Biden and Palin to Spar in St. Louis

A USA Today / Gallup poll revealed that 46% of voters who watched the first presidential debate of 2008 felt that Obama won. All eyes turn to the vice presidential debate set for 9 p. m. on October 2. The Commission on Presidential Debates only states that the vice presidential debate "will include domestic and foreign policy." The moderator of the debate will be Gwen Ifill, a career journalist currently at PBS. Likely topics of discussion for Joe Biden and Sarah Palin include the economic crisis, political experience, and the Iraq war.

With the record 777-point tumble of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on September 29, the current economic crisis should arise early in the debate. The moderator should press both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden whether they supported the Bush bailout plan and the reasons for their positions. If they don't support it, what are their solutions?

Most likely, Biden will stick with the talking points of investing in energy and infrastructure to create jobs and lead to energy independence. Additionally, I except him to vaguely refer to the need for increased regulation of financial markets. Palin will follow McCain's lead and call for decreased government spending, earmark reform, and tax cuts.

Sarah Palin faces an uphill battle in the debate. Both Kathleen Parker, a conservative columnist, and Fareed Zakaria, another columnist, have criticized Palin's interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson. Zakaria wrote that when pressed to any depth beyond talking points, Sarah Palin offers little more than "gibberish."

Both Parker and Zakaria have asked Palin to step down as the Republican vice presidential candidate. The McCain campaign also retracted Palin's statement on Pakistan that apparently agreed with Barack Obama's position. During the first presidential debate, McCain characterized Obama's policy as "dangerous."

Joe Biden has to prove himself at the debate as well. At a rally in Nashua, New Hampshire, Biden stated that Hillary Clinton was more qualified to be vice president. He touched off a storm of rumors that he would step down to allow Hillary Clinton to take his place on the Democratic ticket.

Unwittingly, Joe Biden also raised the question of whether he was qualified to be vice president. Given his 38 year history in politics, however, he will probably spend more time defending the competency of Barack Obama.

The economy has dwarfed the Iraq war in recent news, but taxpayers become angrier with every $12 billion the United States spends there each month (according to economist Joseph Stiglitz) while the American economy flounders. Related to Iraq are Afghanistan and Pakistan. While violence has decreased in Iraq, the Taliban have regrouped in Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The American people will want to know what each candidate plans to prevent another major terrorist attack in the United States.

Sources

Toby Harnden. Barack Obama won first presidential debate over John McCain, say polls. Telegraph.

Comission on Presidential Debates. CPD Announces 2008 Sites and Dates. CPD.

Tim Paradis. Dow dives 777 points as House rejects bailout plan. Google news

Kathleen Parker. The Palin Problem. Townhall.com

Fareed Zakaria. Palin is Ready? Please. Newsweek.

Emily Sherman. McCain Retracts Palin's Pakistan Comments. CNN.

Political Radar. Biden: Hillary a Better Pick Than Me. ABCNews.

AP. Studies: Iraq a $12 billion-a-month war. MSNBC.