Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin brought their own opinions to the table in the first and only vice presidential debate Thursday night.
However, they spent the most time defending the stances of their respective running mates, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, while attacking the policies of the opposing presidential ticket.
The war in Iraq was a hot topic during the debate, as well as the economy and the presidential candidates’ tax policies.
According to Biden, McCain is “out of touch” when it comes to the economy, but Palin said she and McCain promise to fight the “greed and corruption on Wall Street.”
Biden said McCain’s tax proposal would not help the middle class and would give over $300 billion in tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, but Obama’s plan would not raise the taxes of anyone earning less than $250,000 a year.
Obama’s tax proposal would affect small businesses, according to Palin, because they would fit under the category of those making $250,000 or more a year.
“In the history of vice presidential debates, they very rarely made much of a measurable impact,” UW-Madison professor of political science Charles Franklin said.
However, he said this particular debate was important because it could cause voters to determine if Palin, who has been criticized for her performance in recent interviews, is qualified for the job of vice president.
Students gathered at Memorial Union for a debate-watch party co-sponsored by Project Youthanize and The Society and Politics Committee, campus groups that promote political involvement.
Mark Korshak, recent UW grad and founder of Project Youthanize, said he thought both Palin and Biden did well in the debate, but thought Biden, who sighed and laughed while Palin spoke, was beat by the Alaska Gov. in poise.
Several attendees, such as UW-Madison student Madeline Nordholm, were not necessarily McCain-Palin supporters, but thought Palin did better in the debate than expected.
“I think Palin did better than I thought she would but I’m a Barack supporter, and I think Biden made great points,” Nordholm said.
