What We Can Learn from the VP Debate

John McCain shocked the political world for just one tiny moment when he announced that Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin would be his running mate for the 2008 elections. She now stands in a very awkward position. She supports Republican values and includes a personal touch to everything she says. This ultimately brings viewers to the conclusion that Palin and Biden are completely different.

The Vice Presidential Debate of October 2^nd, 2008 gave proof that these two individuals have different styles of approaching subjects. Palin showed her mild inexperience. She sounded a tad bit shaky, but presented her ideas and conveyed her thoughts in an efficient manner that allowed the American viewers to connect to her stance. She incorporated her family in many initial answers and managed to draw an abundance of topics back to the idea of family. Also, Palin did not attack Barack Obama or Joe Biden in any sort of fiery, passionate way like McCain and Obama go after each other. In some cases, Palin even agreed with Biden. Some viewers will see this as submissive or simply willing to allow claims to slide by.

Biden's debate style is completely different. From the debate, we can see that Biden is able to both agree and attack at the same time. This is either flip-flopping or excellent bipartisanship planning. Biden often likes to speak more at the people, while Palin spoke directly at the camera. He also tends to throw his emotions into every part of his speaking, from gestures to words to pauses and phrasing. This is not to say that Palin does not do so. He shows his passion for the success and welfare of the American population a bit more to the extent where it mildly belittles how Palin reacts and suggests new ideas.

In the end, it's easy to say that there is no winner in the debate. Both candidates drew wonderful ideas. They connected with each other and showed, both explicitly and implicitly, that the opposition were not as strong as they claim to be. Viewers must be able to see that both sides are correct in their ways, but interpretation gives everything it's own spin. Viewers of one party or another can say that one individual "won", but nonpartisan voters will know that it was essentially a draw. These two candidates simply cannot be compared. Each has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, creating effects that change how the debate plays out.