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Put aside the "Joe Six-Pack" and "Can I call ya Joe?" common-speak (and unfortunately it's tough to do so, because many a voter likes that) and Joe Biden won the debate.
It's hard for me to quite understand -- though I guess I do -- the "American Idol " type of politics we're getting to. With 24-hour television news coverage and total-access Internet, the slightest smirk or untimely smile, or the sweet but really meaningless expressions or comments that come from candidates, can decide an election. I heard one voter be interviewed after the debate who said she was "all for Barack Obama" until she heard Sarah Palin say that the federal government has to spend its money like we spend ours, being careful where every dollar goes. As if that's an original thought. But this woman said, "She's right!" So now she'll vote for John McCain. Go figure.
Another voter, who observed she's fed up with political double-talk, said Palin "speaks to the common person," and she'll vote for her because of that. My goodness. "Thank ya," I'm sure Palin would tell her.
"Likeable" has always been a factor to measure in a campaign, but now with television news replaying and replaying and replaying and replaying and replaying edits from speeches -- oh do we all remember Howard Dean -- elections are won or lost in the seconds it takes to put together half a dozen words. Or even just a scream.
I do think Joe Biden won the debate, but I also think Sarah Palin did "better than expected." Will enough American voters in marginal states be swayed by her friend-next-door, folksy I'm-just-like-ya demeanor? Or do we want and expect more from our leaders? After all, she could be -- COULD BE -- President of the United States in about 115 days.
With the nuclear codes in a bag nearby.
We're not choosing a TV star who we want to see on a weekly sitcom. We're deciding our future.
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