02 October 2008
Americans Eagerly Await Vice Presidential Debate
Joe Biden and Sarah Palin face off in 90-minute televised event
Washington — Rarely have Americans been more excited about a vice presidential debate than they are about the October 2 face-off between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin.
The vice presidential nominees will participate in a live, televised, 90-minute debate at Washington University in St. Louis. Biden and Palin, standing at podiums, will each have 90 seconds to answer a question posed by the moderator, Gwen Ifill of the PBS television network. That exchange will be followed by a two-minute discussion period.
Ifill will ask questions regarding both domestic and international issues.
Political observers might be more interested in the candidates’ behavior than in their answers. Debates give Americans a chance to compare the candidates as they respond to tough questions and react to unscripted moments on live television. Americans will be judging whether Biden and Palin are prepared to be president if the need arises.
Many are particularly interested in seeing how Alaska Governor Palin performs, because this will be her first unscripted moment on nationally broadcast live television. When McCain announced the 44-year-old governor would be his running mate, few Americans were familiar with her. Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention was well received by many, but since then she has struggled in some high-profile news media interviews.
These interviews have been replayed heavily on the Internet and lampooned on the well-known comedy show Saturday Night Live. This exposure likely hurt Palin’s image, but it helped give the show its highest ratings in years. A September 29 ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 35 percent of Americans believe Palin is experienced enough to be president, down from 47 percent who said the same on September 7.
In comparison, the poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe Biden has the experience necessary to be president. But that does not mean that the long-serving Delaware senator will have a smooth debate. Biden is known for speaking his mind, and sometime gets into trouble by saying too much. Political experts believe it will be important for Biden to word his responses carefully to avoid appearing rude or condescending.
Adding to the excitement is interest in observing the behavior of the debate’s moderator. Ifill is the author of an upcoming book called The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Some conservatives argue that her authorship of a book related to the Democratic nominee should disqualify her as an objective moderator. Republican John McCain said he believes Ifill will do “a totally objective job because she is a highly respected professional.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates selects the moderators. It seeks news media professionals who are attuned to politics and have a record of objectivity. Ifill moderated the vice presidential debate in 2004 between Vice President Cheney and Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards.
Even if one candidate does extremely well or flounders during the debate, political experts doubt it will affect the race. When George H.W. Bush sought the presidency in 1988, his running mate Dan Quayle gave what is considered by political experts to be one of the worst debate performances in history. Weeks later, Bush easily won the 1988 election.
Streaming-video coverage of the vice presidential debate will be available on the C-Span Web site.
This is the only vice presidential debate. There will be two more presidential debates, the next scheduled for October 7. See “Large Audiences Expected for Televised Presidential Debates.”
