Sarah Palin is such a joke. The media talks about how she is genuine and relates to the middle class. She doesn't relate to my family. She should get off the energy subject and talk about more important issues, such as, medicare and health coverage. She uses the word maverick too much and who are these hockey moms she keeps talking to. Are there really that many hockey moms out there? And I am sick of hearing about Alaska. How about talking about what you can do for all the United States, not just Alaska? I am very upset that she condones killing the wolves in Alaska and leaving them to suffer and offering a bounty for the severed hind leg. Please vote Obama. Do we want this kind of cruelty? I do not!!!!!!!!

Joe Biden answered his questions directly, with convincing facts, while Sarah Palin at least twice failed to answer her question. While she was less nervous this time than her two previous interviews, her debate was lacking in factual data, a reflection of the Republican position throughout this campaign.

Biden was clearly the winner of tonight's debate. In fact, he was masterful.

Bottom line is Mccain is old and Palin has more then a 50% chance of being our next President. Scary

Isn't anyone going to comment on Sarah Palin's "cutsie" demeaner tonight. I just loved the wrinkling of the nose, the lifting of the eyebrows, and especially, the winks!!! Yuck – it's Barbie in real life.

It almost appears as if Palin was campaigning for 2012.
She did a horrible job of defending John McCain.

I think she wants the office more than John.

What average "Hockey Mom" is Gov. Palin talking about. She is not addressing the average mom that is trying to make ends meet. She is not representing me. It's hard for me everyday trying to put food on the table. She has not experienced the experiences of the average mom who has to work two jobs to even get the hockey equipment that is needed for her sons. She never lived on my street. This is sad for her to even state that she can relate to the average mom. There is main street and there are the poor. I DONT SEE HER OR JOHN MACAIN HELPING THE POOR. What about the POOR

If you are going to show results, show them equally. You showed what percentage of people thought Palin was qualified to b e Vice President, but not what % thought Biden would be qualified.

It seems you don't give fair commentaries on each person. So far it has been Palin, Palin, Palin....what about talking about Biden and his 35 yrs in the Senate and what has he done to improve this country? He is just a much of the problem with what you guys call "this administration" as Bush is. In reality the presidents hands are tied. It is the Senate and House that make the rules and run this country. Why don't you remind people of that fact? The president hopefull can promise the world, but with the votes in the House or Senate, it means nothing.

Also, if middle class starts at the wage of $250,000 a year, I would love to move to that state and earn those wages. How about earning what an average women earns a year $25,000. That's what I make. Why not see if any of the politicians would like to try to survive living like most americans.

Palin confirmed that she is not ready to be vp and mccain was eratic and irresponsible for bringing her on national stage.

While she was playing ms alaska, Joe Biden was very presidential and knowledgeable.

Candidate Palin did not answer the majority of questions. She avoid the issues and change most answers to her own agenda.

Palin's sneer and condescension really turned me off. We "average Americans" aren't stupid, and she is NOT one of us.

Sarah Palin came across as a real person who does understand the problem of Main Street. I thought she did very well in her debate with Joe Biden considering he had 30 yrs. of history to draw on and she had only 5 weeks to catch up on Washington. She was energetic and enthusiastic and I would rather have her as a VP. Administrative experience is extremely important. On the job training is not very effective as I have witnessed in my 40+ years of being a working woman with various types of people working under my supervision. I believe Sarah can get the job done!!! McCain has a history and that is better than a "new guy" like Obama. I'll take McCain-Palin anyday!!!

palin disrespected gwen ifil

While Palin was seeking to connect with the average American, Biden's emotions when making his personal connection with single parents was the most authentic 'connecting' response of the debate–a show stopper at my house party that made everyone sit up and say WOW. Those who didn't know either of these debaters were incredibly impressed by Biden's composure and authenticty.

Sarah comes across as someone who lacks basic education..history lessons, for example, how many wars have been won on the foreign land and for how long was someone able to hold those territories? I believe Zero...Forgot to read a world history book dear Sara? maybe then we should wait for the victory in Iraq…..(scary how many people will die in that useless anticipation and how much American’s money will be wasted). Also, as a graduate student majoring in the Environmental Eng., I have never heard about drilling for oil without having a negative effect on our environment. The choice is either moral (preserving the nature...) or not (more greedy drilling). And isn't it the fossil fuel emission the main factor contributing to the global warming???Ah Sarah, I guess you didn't read that textbook either...

Senator Joe Biden's responses were clear, concise, thoughtful, and sincere. While Gov. Palin's responses were an improvement from her most recent interviews, they came across as sound bites and cliches, with little, if any, factual evidence. The 'shout-out' to the 3rd grade class made me think Gov. Palin was treating the debate as something you would see in a sideline interview at a sports event. Cute, but I'm not voting for cute. When I heard the Joe Biden was Obama's VP choice, I thought it was a good thing. After tonight's debate, I am thoroughly convinced that it was absolutely a good thing. Obama and Biden have locked my vote.

Being a person in my 20s and having grown up with 2 very distinct and different administrations, I feel like this will be the most important election I vote in. I am currently undecided, but the more I hear Sarah Palin try to relate to me and others with her phrases like, “heck of lot”, “hockey mom”, “straight up” she feels fake!! I feel like she should sound more like a leader and less like one of me. I want my VP to be educated, a leader and also articulate so he/she can properly communicate their POV. I don’t know where she stands on issues, I am frankly, annoyed at the term “Maverick”, and it’s just a tag line, not policies and stands on issues. I want answers to where SHE stands on the issues as well. As said in the debate, if she were president, I want to know where stands on the issues, rather than what she has been prepped to say! I want see and hear the real her, not sound bites written by great speech writers!!

Governor Palin did a respectable job tonight in her debate , but I still cannot imagine her one step away from the Presidency. Her personal feeling that her strength is that she is an "outsider" to Washington brings no comfort when reality sets in. I shudder at that thought!
In no way do I feel assured or comfortable or confident with Ms. Palin as our country's Vice President. I came out of viewing this debate with the feeling that Ms. Palin's only strength is that she owns a possesses an over-inflated self-confidence. I would expect that our V. P. have a greater command of the issues and broader experience. Maybe she would serve better in a cabinet or sub-cabinet level position if she truly has any expertise in any issue of importance to our nation.

good job by both, but Palin not a VP

I am apalled by Sara Palin's colloquial speaking style. I think that she is lowering communication standards and setting a bad example for grade school and adolescent girls. Her references to "Joe six-pack" indicates a predisposition to acceptance of the use of alcohol on a daily basis and that it is a norm. I am extremely concerned that due to the advanced age of McCain she could end up being our country's top leader. I do not want her as a President. I think she is the Larry-the-Cable-Guy of the political arena!

Palin never answer any question that was as of her, seem to me she is giong to be telling McCain what to do and those things are the same thing that Bush had been saying for the last 8 years.

I am new to the political scene and am tired of hearing about Sarah Palin. Your correspondents talk about Senator Biden as if every American has known him for ages and very little time as been spent thus far discussing his statements during the debates. Stop giving the manipulative Republican party their time in the limelight while they distort facts and history and spend more time analyzing Obama and Biden. Americans are a diverse people and all candidates should be given time in the spotlight and discussed. I would like to hear about the issues and less about a fluff candidate like Sarah Palin. She does not understand genuine Americans like myself.

If you show this debate to 100 political analysts in foreign countries who are not familiar with Joe Biden or Sarah Palin, not a single analyst would say that Ms. Palin won the debate. As a matter of fact, they will be shocked to even hear that there are people in US who believe that. This is how biased and how idiotic this conversation is regarding who won. Ms. Palin was expected to screw up and she did not. saying that she won the debate is like saying that America has the best of its 8 years under George Bush. I am not sure when the people of this great country are going to wake up and smell the burning cash in their pockets.

My question becomes, how can we trust Sarah Palin to communicate with international leaders that already have reservations about women in leadership roles when she uses comments such as:
"darn right" and "I want to send a shout out" . To me these cheap attempt to be a real person affected her credability to be the right leader for the job.

I felt that Gov. Palin had a script and no matter what the question was, she was going to get in whatever was on those papers on her podium. No substance to any of it except to tell of all the problems. The thing she didn't address was that it was the Bush Administration, that caused this problem which is from the same party her and McCain are from.

Sad part is, I have voted for the republican ticket for the last 6 presidential elections, this time will be different.

Biden did an excellent job answering ALL of the questions, sticking with the facts and was very seasoned in his performance. Palin cannont wink and smile her way into redemption. She missed her opportunity by avoiding questions and dancing her way through the answers.

The VP Debate – Biden was the strongest and Obama- Biden have my vote. Palin seemed scripted and it seemed like she was trying to get that Joe Sixpack in somewhere. Some of the questions, Palin avoided. I am from Florida and we took a vote in my office and we are all against for off shore drilling off the coast of Florida. I was offended that she inferred that everyone is for it. "No drilling – Baby – No drilling"

I don't understand Palin could possibly be on the ticket , she just regurgitates all the rally speeches that McCain's been giving for the last 6 months. She's awkward and lacks focus.

I would like to know exactially what BOYH CANDIDATES think middle class is ? My husband and i have worked most of our life . We are 64 now and ss just doesnt get it . We raised 5 kids , both working and taking care of home, kids , sports , girlscouts and drs appoints. therefore we didnt have much left over to save. WE NEVER IN OUR WORKING LIFE MADE 250.000 NOR HAVE WE EVER SEEN THST MUCH. What catagorie are we in, poverty? we aer in dire straits now with that donut hole for meds noone will help us . My husband didnt ask to be disabled at 47 . It made him really mad. I WOULD FOR BOTH THE PARTIES AND CANDIDATES TO TALK OPENALLY ABOUT THIS ISSUE. Where does middle class stop and poverty start? Please let someone read this who will talk anout it on cnn or somewhere. thanks ms

Sarah Palin was not nearly as strong in these debates as is being portrayed. The expectations were lowered for her in these debates because of the repeated flop performances answering tough questions posed by Katie Couric and others in the last two weeks. Gov. Palin was far from impressive in these debates and was unable to explain in a reasonable and sensible manner that she is ready to lead. Rather, she did not get caught stumbling and offering confused, incoherent answers to straight forward questions and therefore pundants are calling her performance a resounding success. Get real! Joe Biden sounded like an elder statesman whereas Gov. Palin sounded like an actress pretending to be a politician.

There is no doubt that Biden won this debate. It is unfortunate that we accept style (Palin) over substance (Biden). Palin was unable to answer the questions substantively. All of her responses were scripted and she did well sticking to her script. Biden was factual and very confident in his responses. Biden is far more prepared for his role as VP of this country.
Futhermore, I have a problem with the fact that the rules for this debate were changed. Palin, again, has been protected so that her true ignorance will not overcome her "style".

Mr. Schneider you said " Palin’s answers do not lack confidence, they lack coherence.", and "She doesn’t act like an insider, she doesn’t talk like an insider, and a lot of voters may respond to that."

I'm an independent voter. For me, her lack of coherent answers is what turned me off more so than her lack of confidence on a national platform. Confidence can be fixed within a matter of weeks, but general knowledge on the issues can't be. From her debate performance tonight, it seemed evident she had a lot of confidence, but not necceasilly a firm grip on the issues. That would explain why her answers were so incoherent in my honest opinion. For me, she still hasn't proven to me that she would be a good vice president.

Secondly, I will have to respectfully disagree about how dialect affecting the vote. If people are responding to her because of that, and not giving Biden looks because of his "sentoral" dialect, then they are making an uniformed decision. It should be about the issues, not about how they speak. I've sadly saw on focus groups on other networks, that some people were swayed by that.

As a police officer and a middle class citizen, I don't appreciate being called "Joe Six-Pack". It makes me feel like I am only worth a vote and nothing else to the Republican party.

Let me clarify why I feel that energy was the real reason for this recession. Yes the mortgage lenders may have convinced many people into the American dream, but how many wouldn’t sacrifice to have that dream. Then you take the war, which most likely raised the cost of gas, which then made the cost of everything else go up. The people saw their dreams slip away. It wasn’t the banks fault or the peoples fault for living the dream. Wake up! This put a lot of people to work and everything was fine before the war. The war and the rise in cost of fuel has caused this whole problem. I know this I am still struggling to get by and I don’t know how much longer I can go. Who is going to bail me out?

I really get weary of all the morons who are so busy shoveling their manure into the faces of the American people. Biden said that the "surge" in Afghanistan wouldn't work, per the comments of the commanding general in Afghanistan, even though it was working in Iraq. What was the "surge" but an increase in troops. Biden said we didn't need a "surge," but we need more troops. Doesn't anyone have enough intellect to see that he is contraticting his own words?! I am so discouraged that our leaders don't recognize such blatant contradictiion, our news commentators are so moronic they can't see or refuse to acknowledge such contradictions, or that they don't have enough intestinal fortitude to clearly point out such contradictions. I would rather have a Palin advising a McCain than a Biden advising an Obama.

As a republican, the debate was a train wreck for the GOP tonight. Palins grasp of the English language is slightly better than my 6 year old. I am more disappointed with CNN and your panel for going so easy on her. Then again, kicking someone when they are down is simply cruel.

Debate was good.
Biden far exceeded the expectations that some had for him.
Palin did okay, better than some thought she would.
He proved he is very well qualified to be VP.
She proved she is not qualified for VP.

Sarah Palin redeemed her current status and McMain's judgement in
that she out performed Sen Biden and was more aggressive and
energetic throughout the debate. Sen. Biden lacked any sense of the
urgency and seriousness of the current economic situation; as far as
appearences, he appeared tired, lacking energy as opposed to
Sarah Palin. She helps Sen McCain in dispelling doubts as to his
judgement in selecting her as his running mate...it is one less of a
negative for Sen McCain now.

The only thing I can see that she learned in debate camp was to change the subject instead of stammering. Too bad for them, they only prepped her to change the subject once.

"She doesn't act like an insider, she doesn't talk like an insider, and a lot of voters may respond to that"... My response: I don't want someone who speaks like the cashier at the 7-11 (cheer)leading my country. She is the female George W. Bush only with LESS experience and education!

When did the American people become so superficial as to think that someone that could not even answer the questions did a good job in this V P debate. Sarah Palin comes across as a snippy beauty contestant not someone that is ready to become a leader of this country. This is not a personallity contest this is about the economy and what is best for our country, not who can be the most condecending person on the stage.

I don't know who is writing the headlines for CNN, but the notion that only "jabs" were thrown and that Gov. Palin was even partially effective at defending her ticket's capacity for generating bipartisanship is ludicrous. According to the transcript that CNN posted, Palin mentioned the word 'bipartisanship' (or any derivative) 3 times.
Palin was marginally effective at defending her experience as Gov. for two years and tax reform in a town of 9000 people. But overall, Biden was throwing haymakers and Palin could only do so much to avoid a devastating onslaught of punishment aimed at her ticket.
Biden mentioned McCain nearly 4 times as much as Palin mentioned Obama. The reason for this is her tendency to bob-and-weave away from issue specificity with quippy sound bites (the "white flag") or embellishments about her experience.
All this being said, I was impressed with Palin's political talents tonight. She covered up well. But her skills and experience have still not developed.
Palin was not TKOed by Biden's Tyson-esque salvos of power punches and got up by the count of '8' a couple of times, but the fact that this decision will go to the cards does not mean that this wasn't a decisive victory for the Obama/Biden corner.

She was like a parrot repeating script written by Bush's speechwriters. She even mispronounced words just as Bush ("nuculer")! She did not answer a single question! She is so incompetent, so full of vanity and absolutelly illiterate. She is scary. God help America

I believe Joe Biden won the debate. I also think of the job as a VP is to be able to step up as President if anything happens to Obama or Mcain. And looking at this debate I surely would not want Palin to run the USA as president or as VP.

Does Governor Palin even know what the job description is for Vice President of the United States of America? She seems to possess a Cheney attitude towards the position. More of the same Sarah?

After tonight's debate, I am confirmed that Senetor McCain's administration will be dangerous for the country. Governor Palin did not present herself well as far as the party. She was worried about cleaning her image. So where is the comment "Country First". She would be a dangerous VP. I have made up my mind and will be voting early tomorrow for Obama/Biden.

Palin is an embaressment to America. She represents all of the old world thoughts of this country. I can't understand how America could actually vote for her.

Anderson, come on, you and your panel don't honestly believe that she could be the next Vice President. If you want to go to the local bar with someone, she might be your choice, but winking into the camera, and "daw gone it" talking like she's never been out of the country, is this who the American people should trust to help lead this country. Your panel is dead wrong. The average American who is intelligent and worried about the state of our country would never vote for someone who cannot speak professionally and tried swaying votes with her quirky smile and winking. What a disgrace.

I am a born and raised democrat but how come no one caught Joe Biden said he wasn't going to change? He is running with a guy who all he says is CHANGE..........

I think it is disgusting that Sarah Palin parades her infant son around at loud political events. That baby needs to be at home in bed not being used to help his mother get votes. I don't know who thinks this makes her look like an every day American Mom because I don't know too many mothers who would make this decision for their child.

Tonight's debate, though spirited, showed two very stark differences between Palin and Biden. Biden showed how he has the experience, confidence, and competence of a leader and potential President with real answers to questions asked and prompt and complete responses to redirection. Sarah Palin showed us that she wasn't the screw up that tens of millions of Americans have seen on her interview on CBS. If this was the "Show the American people how I'm really not an idiot debate," Sarah Palin won hands down. But I do believe we were watching the Vice-Presidential debate, so I think the person that actually gave real and credible answers was the victor in this one. Score one for Joe Biden.

Biden=Presidental

Joe Biden is hands down winner, landed credible and effective one-two counterpunches on Sarah, one after the other.
Joe summed up the debate results early by raising his arms up directly in front of Palin and saying, "This is the definitive Bridge-To-Nowhere"
John McCann, I like and respect you, but picking Sarah Palin was
not the right thing to do.

I am 59 year old female in Texas. I believe Sarah Palan did not debate tonight but delivered her rehearsed speech. She only answer her questions and stated what she was prepared to say. My opinion of her has not changed at all. She might refer to herself as an average Joe six pack, but that is not what we need to lead our country out of the disaster it is in now. I am also a very average mom, but I don't want an average person dealing with the current situation. Second the female gender should never be brought up in the election, when she decided to become the VP nominee on the Republican ticket she is on the same level as the other candidates and should not be handled differently because she is a woman.

Biden and Obama seem to have to resort to outright lies of the facts to try and convince people that they are the good guys. If you look at Obama's voting history, you can see that he consistently votes exactly how Pelosi and Harry Reid tell him to vote. He has only rarely accomplished anything with a bipartisan effort. If we think that partisanship will ever be put aside and the business of this country put out front, it doesn't stand a chance when you have two of the most liberal, most partisan party members like Obama and Biden. The extreme leftist views of Obama are nothing but absolute Socialism. The democrats tout all this clean and green energy proposals, but yet are so hipocritical. They don't want us to drill in the US where we have the best technology and cleanest drilling processes in the world, but it is ok to tell OPEC to increase their production in those countries with the poorest record of clean drilling.

Sarah Palin did better than I expected, but she remains unqualified for the job. As a mother of four who also worked outside the home until just 18 months ago, it is 100% clear to me that she is not representative of middle-class working Moms. In addition, I think her informal speaking style is fake and unprofessional. I kept thinking Andy Griffith was going to show up. Love her or hate her, at least Hillary Clinton came across as educated and made professional women proud. I have been an Obama supporter since the beginning, this certainly doesn't change anything for me.

One is like talking to my next door neighbor, the other is the loan officer at my local bank. Obama states that every American should have health insurance, send the kids to college and own the American dream. The American dream we just tried by letting every American get a loan to buy that dream.See what position that put us in? McCain wants to control the middle east and you can tell from thousands of years that "that ain't gonna happen". The last administration has dealt with something no other has, and that is an attack against us on our land. We struck back, now take action to remove ourselves from a foreign land. Let American stand on her own and that means desperate measures to eliminate the need for foreign dependency. It may cost more to invest in technology now but over the long haul it's worth it. Palin has the track record to continue with creating our own domestic energy.

As an independent voter, I believe Biden did much better job in this debate than Palin. More impotantly, Biden convinced me of who is more qualified to the VP office. The Republican ticket has not gave the direct solutions of the current and potential future crisis other than name callings and labelings. Be honest, I really don't know and care of who is a maverick.

Unless Mc Cain can provide real solutions, I'm leaning to vote for the Obama/Biden ticket.

It was not really a "debate" since they had few rebuttals. Palin did a good job of reciting what she had memorized but failed to defend McCain from the criticisms raised by Biden.

Some of your analysits keep saying Palin represents the average American and not your typical politician. Come on, there are many people who can connect with the average American like Palin, but the Vice President of the United States needs a lot more than just being a mom and living an average American life.

Butch H.

"but it is ok to tell OPEC to increase their production in those countries with the poorest record of clean drilling"
This is exactly what Bush and his crew were doing - ask OPEC to increase their production of oil. If you think Macain will do differently with all his advisers who worked for Bush administration, you are dreaming...

Palin is not prepared to do anything. She is a diaster waiting for somewhere to happen,.

As an independent I waited to hear the debate tonight. Sara you did not connect with me. I want a leader not a soccer mom. Stop saying phrases like “joe six pack, daw right--whatever. Sara Palin did not answer any questions. Period. She just talked about energy but not alternative energy. Instead of answering the question she was keep going back to her comfort subject. Why she was winking? What the hell was that about? Is she going to convince foreign leaders with winking? I am going with the guy who has degree from Harvard.

I could definitely see a polished old car salemanship in Joe Biden tonight. His answers were pretty typical as to what was predicted the way he would need to answer. He is an old established professional politician who knows the answers that people want to hear. It too bad so many citizens can't see through the smoke screen.

In Oregon the economy was fairly good until the democrats took over the senate couple + years back. It is not the president that runs the country, but the congress.

Let scrutinize Biden, Obama evenly right along with McCain and Palin. What I am looking for not professional politicing, but a person of integrity, servitude demeanor and a fear of the living God. Not some watered down religious bigot or atheist.

The analyst team have so many liberals on it. Our founding fathers, let alone most grandparents would roll in there grave to see such a promiscious mindset. We can scoff and thumb our nose up at God now, but do not be deceived, surely, we all will be acoountable for our actions, words, and support of that which does not bring glory to God.

Thank you for your time.

Sarah Palin didn't answer the questions. Might as well have been a stump speech. You could almost swap any answer she gave with any question asked and you'd be none the wiser on her position. Biden actually answered the questions and looked more vice presidential.

McCain killed his campaign by pandering to voters and picking her. His decision was rushed like a few other decisions he made last week and that is no way to make decisions on how run a country.

I imagined a future where Sarah Palin was giving a press conference at the White House lawn about the situation in the Middle East and of course, she gave the same answers she gave tonight and it was just a little terrifying.

VERA

She even mispronounced words just as Bush (”nuculer”)!

THATS ENOUGH TO BURN HER AT THE STAKE!! In the great states of SC and NC I doubt you will find a single person that will pronounce every word correctly. (and that counts for a lotta votes) What do you know about nuclear fission? Where did you get your degree in that field? Bush had to ask for the increase in production from other countries since your heartthrob is voting to stop drilling.

Was I the only one offended by the "East Coast" politician remark?
I LIVE ON THE EAST COAST, as do a hefty number of American citizens and if she chooses to govern ALL of the United States and not just Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Mississippi, Texas, and Alaska then I suggest she cut the snarky East Coast remarks.

Hey, Sarah, ever been to New England? Ever been to New Jersey? Does she realize that the swing states of North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and New Hampshire are located on the EAST COAST?

Biden clearly was the winner and the only one on the stage who didn't look or sound like an infomercial for "mavericks" who aren't really mavericks.....Who have no distinction from W....So how are they mavericks? No thanks.

I don't know where to begin. Biden could have said more if he wasn't warned to tiptoe because she was a female. If women want to
be in this situation, they should be treated equally without being insulting. Well, i guess that settles that!

Did anyone get that she called Senator O'Biden after she said Obama?

Leave the baby at home. He should have not been in public with all the "unknowns" out there. I wouldn't expose mine at every event.

I cannot imagine anyone is falling for McCain/Pain.

I was disappointed in the "best news team" on your program telling it like it is with Palin. They were being kind.

Thanks for letting us get our feelings on your page.