Palin versus Biden debate thread

Call it as you see it here. The purpose of this thread is to quarantine the kind of partisan name-calling that is the hallmark of live debate discussion from the main thread, so I won’t quite be holding commenters up to this site’s normal high standards. The other thread remains open for those wishing to discuss the presidential race more broadly.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

292 comments on “Palin versus Biden debate thread”

Comments Page 2 of 6
1 2 3 6
  1. The more serious the answer that Biden gives, the more women like it. At the moment when talking about bankruptcy reform, women were plus 15-20% and men were minus 10%.

    Palin talks about energy and plummets to minus 20% before slowly moving back to zero, then slightly positive

  2. Palins favourability is highly variable – she get’s both higher and lower scores than Biden whereas Joe scores consistently 15% positive with women and 5% positive with men and never goes below 5-10% negative

  3. Palin says that climate change is real [doesn’t that contradict her previous positions?] …. worm rolling along mild positive ……

  4. [Palins favourability is highly variable – she get’s both higher and lower scores than Biden whereas Joe scores consistently 15% positive with women and 5% positive with men and never goes below 5-10% negative]

    Joe has been around a lot longer and is probably considered ‘steady’ by most, so they may just turn the dial to a position and sit there no matter what they hear

  5. This assessment from an article in the London Review of Books is being borne out with respect to Palin. She’ll come out of this very well if things continue as they are, given the recent heavy duty expectations management.

    When answering questions, both Obama and Joe Biden have an unfortunate tendency to think on their feet and thereby tie themselves in knots: Palin never thinks. Instead, she relies on a limited stock of facts, bright generalities and pokerwork maxims, all as familiar and well-worn as old pennies. Given any question, she reaches into her bag for the readymade sentence that sounds most nearly proximate to an answer, and, rather than speaking it, recites it, in the upsy-downsy voice of a middle-schooler pronouncing the letters of a word in a spelling bee. She then fixes her lips in a terminal smile. In the televised game shows that pass for political debates in the US, it’s a winning technique: told that she has 15 seconds in which to answer, Palin invariably beats the clock, and her concision and fluency more than compensate for her unrelenting triteness.

  6. Seems like Biden isn’t going for a knock-out punch but rather is focusing on remaining gaffe-free.

    Palin, on the other hand, realises this is her last chance to establish her credibility on a national stage and is laying it all out on the table…

  7. Women agree with AGW and Biden, men dont. Women go +15 to +20%, menstay at zero to +5%.

    Kicking China shoots the male ratings up. Heh!

    Biden: “Drill we must”, men go up, women go down.

  8. Where is the thread with the worm? I can’t see it.

    I’m watching it on nytimes. I think Palin is doing much better than expected.

  9. [This assessment from an article in the London Review of Books is being borne out with respect to Palin. She’ll come out of this very well if things continue as they are, given the recent heavy duty expectations management.]

    William, that will hold up provided the questions don’t get any harder, which I think they will down the stretch

  10. [Palin says that climate change is real [doesn’t that contradict her previous positions?] ]
    No, she thinks it is real. She doesn’t think it is caused by human activity.
    [Seems like Biden isn’t going for a knock-out punch but rather is focusing on remaining gaffe-free.]
    Agree!

  11. Some of these worm movements are completely at odds with the large qualitative polling done over the last 6 months. The post debate polling will be interesting.

    Get this, Biden goes “we need same sex benefits” – men go up, women go down!

  12. Biden supports granting same sex relationships benefits that they don’t currently have; no discrimination …. worm mild positive …..

  13. Swing – whenever Plain uses one of her folksy sayings and cliches, women hate it and tank nearly instantaneously. The tank doesnt last long, but it’s clearly there and pretty large.

  14. [whenever Plain uses one of her folksy sayings and cliches, women hate it and tank nearly instantaneously.]

    Isn’t that the only way Palin talks??? 😛

  15. Talking about foreign policy now … moderator mentions that both have sons in or going to Iraq …..

    Palin talks first, worm is below the line ……

  16. [ whenever Plain uses one of her folksy sayings and cliches, women hate it and tank nearly instantaneously.

    Isn’t that the only way Palin talks??? :-P]
    I wonder if it is because many women voters feel that her folksiness reflects badly on them?

    Or maybe there is a reverse Bradley-Palin effect? Women SAY they don’t endorse her folksiness, but will actually vote for her on election day?

  17. Ooooh – foreign policy now.

    Palin on “Exit Strategy”. Worm stays dead flat before heading down to -10%.

    Critises Obama’s Iraq voting record and goes 5% positive for women – men still dont buy it.

    Worm stays dead flat for women, +5% for men

  18. Palin claims we are getting closer and closer to victory in Iraq and it would be a shame to quit …. worm is at or just below the line …..

  19. Biden talking now, women and men are maxed out in the positive … clearely they recognize that Biden has some expertise on this issue 🙂

  20. Biden goes +20% postive on Exit Strategy, women go zero to slightly negative when he attacks McCain but men stay positive 10-15%.

    He says Iraq must take responsibility and Women go through the roof positive, men go +40%

  21. Palin, gets in her jibe at Biden for what he said earlier in the year that Obama wasn’t ready to be CIC and the worm tanks ……

  22. Palin accuses Biden of waving the white flag and everyone goes negative 10%. Men slowly lift to 0-5% positive, women won’t have a bar of it and stay negative.

    After that Palin flatlines at zero before Men lift to+10% when she starts praising Biden and his military views. She attacks Obama over the troops and his policies and women go negative again

  23. Biden mentions Pakistan – Women love it at +30%, men at +15/20%.

    Men slowly increase to pull level with women – but then Biden talks about helping Pakistan about governance and women positive goes through the roof and cant be measured, men arent so fussed and remain at +20%

  24. Biden says Iran getting nukes would be more destablizing and then goes on to talk about the region in general and mentions Bin Laden and the worm maxs out in the positive ……

  25. As before, as soon as Palin gets her rebuttal, the worm tanks … clearly she has no credentials on this issue at all with the uncommited Ohio voters …..

    now palin talking about israel …..

Comments are closed.

Comments Page 2 of 6
1 2 3 6