Hotline After Dark -- Living Another Day

The VP debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin was the talk of the TV. Some of the reviews:

FNC's Hume: "It was a spirited debate in no sense hostile; not quite perhaps as lively a series of exchanges as we had last week between the two presidential candidates. ... The question really came down to whether Biden basically did what he had to do and whether she did as well. He seemed to hold up well. His experience and knowledge of Washington and familiarity with the range of issues certainly seemed to help him as he worked his way through his answers. Governor Palin, on the other hand, while she didn't seem to have quite the full command of the issues that Senator Biden had ... she seemed perfectly comfortable. She seemed to get more confident as the debate went on and she certainly does not seem to have committed any of the kind of gaffes or deer in the headlight moments for which she has been criticized in recent interviews" (10/2).

Chicago Sun-Times' Sweet, on Palin: "She survived. She stood there in spiked heels. Biden did better, but he was supposed to do better. And he didn't make any big mistakes. When you think about how it could have turned out, she survived" (CBS, 10/2).

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss: "There was not a gaffe on either side. And I think both sides were relieved. But I didn't think that they really looked equal tonight. I think [Palin] got through without saying something that would damage her in the way that some of these interviews that she's done. ... But I think Biden gave the sense of someone who's a little bit more human, a lot more willing to confess human error. His was sort of, 'You know, here I am, warts and all.' I think that's appealing in a public figure" (PBS, 10/2).

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen: "Joe Biden gave the best debate performance of his life. I thought he had superior knowledge, I thought he had superiority on the debate overall. On political point, it may be a bit of a draw. As a debate, I thought he was the superior debater" (CNN, 10/2).

Newsweek's Fineman: "My dominant impression, stylistically, was of a wolverine attacking the pant leg of a passerby. I mean, she got ahold of Joe Biden and hung on for dear life, using every attack line she conceivably could. Obviously, they had rehearsed tons of attack lines in Sedona. ... She repeated her record from Alaska at any time she conceivably could, whether it related to the question or not. ... It was attack, attack, attack, resort to Alaska when necessary, not listen to the questions or answer them when necessary, all to get through the 90 minutes by attacking" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 10/2).

After the jump, McCain abandons MI and the VP candidates' take on Cheney.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), on the low expectations for Palin's performance: "She clearly exceeded [them] tonight" (FNC, 10/2).

More McCaskill: "I think she was poised. Certainly there were no major mistakes that Governor Palin made, but I was on the edge of my seat listening for some specifics about how their policies differ from George Bush's. ... Other than saying that George Bush had made mistakes, she failed to ever answer any specific question about how they would be different than the failed policies that have gotten us in this mess in the first place. So I think she missed an opportunity, and I think the reason she missed it, frankly, is that there aren't any differences. ... I was confused. The [John] McCain-Palin campaign has gotten very erratic and confusing. And one of the things that was confusing tonight is that Governor Palin would be asked a question and she'd give an answer that was totally unrelated to the question" (CBS, 10/2).

Pat Buchanan: "Sarah Palin was sensational tonight. She not only met the expectations, I think she wiped up the floor with Joe Biden, quite frankly. She is personable, she is young. She has got a sense of humor. She looked straight into the camera while Joe is talking to Gwen all evening long. I thought she didn't make a mistake, not a foot fault in the whole thing. ... I was astonished at how well she did. ... There are conservatives and Republicans across America who are ... breathing a sigh of relief. ... She has recaptured that magic she had out there at the convention. ... I think that McCain campaign, given the economic problems, I don't know if they can turn this around, but if it can be turned around, I think she has done it in the sense that of the four debaters we've seen, she was the most interesting, attractive of them all" (MSNBC, 10/2).

New York Times' Brooks, on the highlight for Palin: "The key moment is the colloquial, is the 'gosh darn its,' the soccer mom, the hockey mom, the Joe Six-Pack, the Main Streeter, sort of the mention of the East Coast. I mean, it's not enough to be suspicious of Washington. She's sealing off the whole East Coast. And that will either work or it's not or it won't. But I think it's authentic to her. ... But I thought it was just that style of 'me versus Washington.' I thought it was quite effective for her in general. There are a few more Hallmark moments, Norman Rockwell moments, but I suspect most people will really like that" (PBS, 10/2).

CNN's Borger: "Biden was uncharacteristically restrained in this debate" (CNN, 10/2).

Roll Call's Kondracke: "It takes the vice-presidential issue off the table. ... She was becoming an issue. ... Is she qualified, was John McCain's judgment right? I think that's gone. ... The game goes back to John McCain vs. Barack Obama. Their policy differences, who do you trust to be president, so in that sense it's not a games changer; it's what it was and the vice presidency is just not an issue anymore" (FNC, 10/2).

See today's Hotline for the latest reviews.

TARGET PRACTICE

The McCain camp announced 10/2 it was pulling its TV ads in the state and moving their resources elsewhere.

NBC pol. dir. Chuck Todd: "We are in decision time mode for these campaigns when it comes to money. ... They have to pick between Michigan and Pennsylvania when it comes to targeting, truly targeting one of these carry states that he carried in '04. They made the decision Pennsylvania over Michigan. It's expensive to do both. If they had the money, they'd be doing both. The next state that may be coming off the board ... is Wisconsin. Now, they may add some other ones. They may add Maine" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/2).

CNN's King: "This is a very interesting decision. Many Republicans are saying, to announce it, to make it clear so soon is a big mistake. On one hand, no surprise. Democrats have carried the state of Michigan since 1988, for 20 years now. But this was a state where they thought they could do better" ("Situation Room," 10/2).

Newsweek's Wolffe: "The McCain campaign is highly professional when it comes to news management, at least on a news cycle to news cycle basis. And this is the equivalent of the sort of Friday night news dump in terms of what else is going on, obviously with the debate. But Michigan is such big news. It doesn't really matter about the general population, it's what insiders think. It's what the strategists on both campaigns know and understand from this. Now, it's true that the Obama campaign has dropped out of certain states, but they're much smaller -- North Dakota, Alaska, Georgia. But Michigan was really key here to the McCain strategy to take a Democratic state away. ... [The question was] whether they could pick up Clinton voters. ... If it doesn't work in Michigan, it isn't likely to work in Pennsylvania or Wisconsin and it throws Ohio up into question as well" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 10/2).

POLITICS AND A MOVIE

And in the second part of the series "Vice Presidential Questions," Biden and Palin answered the same set of questions on the "Evening News."

CBS's Couric: "What previous Vice President impresses you the most and why?"

Palin: "Oh my goodness. It would have to be -- Vice President -- just a candidate, and that would have to have been Geraldine Ferraro, of course. That's an easy one for me because she's the one who first shattered part of that glass ceiling anyway in American politics. So it would be she as a candidate."

Couric: "What about as an actual Vice President if you had to name one?"

Palin: "My goodness. I think those who have gone on to the Presidency -- George Bush Sr., having -- kind of learned the ropes in his position as VP and then moving on up."

Biden: "Lyndon Johnson. For all the foibles he had as President -- in people's minds -- he really knew how the system worked. He was able to be a significant facilitator of a new frontier. New policy. People in the Congress knew him, knew he knew a lot. And so I hope one of my roles as Vice President will be as the person actually implementing Barack Obama's policy. You gotta get the Congress to go along with it. And presumptuous to say, but I know it pretty well. And I think I am fairly respected on both sides of the aisle."

Couric: "What do you think is the best and worst thing that Dick Cheney has done as Vice President?"

Biden: "I'm not being a wise guy here about I don't know what he's done. I mean, there's not many things I'd pick that I thought he's done that have been good. But I admire his strength. I admire his willingness to take positions that are completely contrary to popular opinion. ... I don't think Dick Cheney trusts that the American people can make judgments that are in the interest of the country. ... I think he's done more harm than any other single elected official in memory in terms of shredding the constitution. ... Condoning torture. Pushing torture as a policy. This idea of a unitary executive. Meaning the Congress and the people have no power in a time of war. And the President controls everything. I don't have any animus toward Dick Cheney but I really do think his attitude about the constitution and the prosecution of this war has been absolutely wrong."

Palin: "Worst thing I guess that would have been the duck hunting accident. ... That was an accident. And I think that was made into a caricature of him. And that was kind of unfortunate. So the best thing though, he's shown support, along with George W. Bush, of our troops. And I've been there when George Bush has spoken to families of those who have suffered greatly, those who are serving in the military. I've been there when President Bush has embraced those families and expressed the concern and the sympathy speaking for all of America in those times. And for Dick Cheney to have supported that effort of George Bush's, I respect that."

Couric: "What's your favorite movie and why?"

Biden: "Chariots of Fire, is I think probably my favorite movie. But the truth of the matter is the thing about it there it's a place where someone put personal fame and glory behind principles. And you know, that to me, is the mark of real heroism, um when someone would do that.

Palin: "I love those old sports movies, like Hoosiers, and Rudy, um, those that show that the underdog can make it and it's all about tenacity, and work ethic and determination, and just doing the right thing, so it would probably be one of those two old sports movies."

Couric: "Do you have a favorite scene from either of them?"

Palin: "At the very end, the victories!" (CBS, 10/2).