Who Won the Vice Presidential Debate? - Both Candidates Did

Going into the vice presidential debate, both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden had one over-riding goal; don't lose the vice presidential debate. After the contest, both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden can honestly proclaim mission accomplished. Neither Joe Biden nor Sarah Palin lost the vice presidential debate. I can't say that either of them really won the vice presidential debate, though it seemed that Joe Biden, as expected, had a greater command of the facts. Sarah Palin did not have any embarrassing Katie Couric / YouTubemoments or say anything that will likely be used as a comedy script on Saturday Night Live this week-end.

How Joe Biden Won the Vice Presidential Debate

I wrote in another article before the vice presidential debate that Joe Biden simply needed to maintain his composure and not allow himself to be baited into unseemly attacks against his debate opponent, Sarah Palin. He needed to stay on message and deliver the messages of the Barack Obama campaign. Joe Biden achieved that goal while reinforcing the perception that he, himself, is qualified for the position of vice president and, if needed, president of the United States.

How Sarah Palin Won the Vice Presidential Debate

Sarah Palin, as I wrote several days before the vice presidential debate, had to avoid making major errors and long rambling answers that were obviously devoid of content. Sarah Palin had to give a vice presidential debate performance that stopped the rampant defection of the conservative media. She needed to slow or quiet the calls for a new vice presidential running mate coming from the likes of Kathleen Parker and George F. Will. In short, she needed to give a performance that wasn't laughable. Sarah Palin did that during Thursday's vice presidential debate. I'll forgive her mistaking the name of the commanding general in the Afghanistan theater for the name of a Civil War general, that was a slip of the tongue, as might be expected from anyone.

Expectations Redefine Victory in the Vice Presidential Debate

In an ordinary vice presidential debate, this would have been a strong defeat for Sarah Palin. Her opponent out-debated her from start to finish and grew stronger throughout the vice presidential debate. At times, Sarah Palin seemed to have a weaker grasp on the details, such as the record of her running mate, John McCain. Several times she pointed to a vote that Barack Obama had made only to seemingly discover for the first time that John McCain had made the exact same vote. This wasn't an ordinary vice-presidential debate. Although Joe Biden clearly won the debate from an intellectual perspective, Sarah Palin exceeded the abysmally low expectations that she created with earlier interviews. That in itself is a kind of victory.

Both Camps will Claim their Candidate Won the Vice Presidential Debate

So who won the vice presidential debate? Both Joe Biden's Democratic supporters and Sarah Palin's conservative media supporters will proclaim resounding victories and it won't matter one whole point in the national polls. Sarah Plain has stopped the bleeding caused by her earlier appearances, but the damage has already be done to John McCain's campaign as Democrats, Independents, and even many Republican stalwarts have been given reason to question McCain's decision-making. The results of the vice presidential debate won't undo that damage, but it might stop it from getting worse.