GAMBIER — With the harsh light of skeptical expectations shining down on them, vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin delivered debate performances Thursday night that boosted both politicians’ profiles. One person watching the debates with keen interest was Dr. H. Abbie Erler, a political science professor at Kenyon College.
Of particular interest to Erler was Palin’s performance, coming on the heels of a notoriously awkward interview with CBS’ Katie Couric. Erler felt that Palin’s performance was reassuring to Republicans who might have been on the fence, and that it will also shore up support among those who were leaning Republican.
“One thing that really impressed me is that she’s really good with the non-verbal cues, communicating warmth and sympathy with voters,” Erler said. She added that though Palin’s informal manner was a bit unusual for a debate, it reminded her of 1992 independent presidential candidate H. Ross Perot’s plain-speaking manner, which resonated with many voters.
By contrast, Erler said, Biden seemed “Washingtonian.” But Biden successfully avoided his perceived weakness of rambling and misspeaking, delivering a disciplined debate, though it took him time to hit his stride.
“He seemed a little bit off his game at first,” Erler said. “I think he perked up during the foreign policy section and made a strong case there for his ticket.” Biden is running with presidential candidate Barack Obama on the Democratic ticket.
Erler said that it will be interesting to see what happens going forward with Palin, who demonstrated an ability to talk about issues which some doubted the candidate had. Erler suspects that the John McCain campaign will use Palin more on the campaign trail because of this. Erler added, however, that the question remains as to why there is such a disconnect between the debate performance and her earlier interviews.
Both sides were clearly well-prepared for the debate. While the exact details of debate-preparation are kept secret, Erler said that candidates will typically rehearse in mock-debate sessions against a person playing the part of their opponent. Erler noted that the preparation is intense, but that it paid off for both Palin and Biden.
“It was a debate that allowed them to show themselves in their best light,” Erler said, citing moderator Gwen Iffel’s open-ended questions, which allowed plenty of room for the candidates to slip into their prepared stump speeches on several issues.
