Palin Defies Critics and Delivers Punchy Performance in Debate Against Biden

Sarah Palin defied the critics who have been mocking her all week to deliver a punchy, down-to-earth performance in her clash with Joe Biden in the first and only vice-presidential debate of the White House campaign.

Although she frequently betrayed nerves, rattling through words and ideas at speed, the Republican vice-presidential candidate dealt with the Wall Street meltdown, climate change, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel and Darfur with more conviction that she demonstrated in recent, disastrous television interviews.

She grew in confidence during the 90-minute debate in Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, and held her own with Biden, who is one of the most knowledgeable politicians in Washington on foreign policy as chairman of the senate foreign affairs committee.

In spite of his experience, her folksy, populist tone may have given her the edge with viewers.

She began the debate with confidence, striding across the carpet, blowing a kiss to the audience and asking Biden 'Hey, can I call you Joe?" She portrayed herself as a White House outsider, an ordinary American mom, and sprinkled her comments with folksy phrases like "doggone", "betcha" and "it is about heck of a lot more than that".

Asked who was to blame for the Wall Street crisis, she stuck with the folksy tone: "Darn right it was the predator lenders." She said they had talked Americans into buying houses they could not afford.

The debate was more spirited than the one last week between the Democratic candidate Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain.

Throughout last night's debate, Palin tried to connect with viewers, looking directly into the camera when she spoke and talking about their own experiences, in particular over the economic crisis. "You know, I think a good barometer here, as we try to figure out has this been a good time or a bad time in America's economy is go to a kids' soccer game on Saturday and turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, 'How are you feeling about the economy?'," she said. "And I'll bet you you're going to hear some fear in that parent's voice."

Foreign policy provided the biggest flash point of the debate. After Biden made a case for early withdrawal from Iraq, Palin hesitated, as if caught off guard, but then made an inflammatory statement: "Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq."

She went on to tell Biden that she respected him and his family because, like her, he had a son in Iraq. "But Barack Obama…that is another matter," she said.

Biden remained polite throughout the debate, smiling at her, occasionally bemused, even as she goaded him. "We're tired of the old politics as usual," Palin said. "And that's why, with all due respect, I do respect your years in the US Senate, but I think Americans are craving something new and different and that new energy and that new commitment that's going to come with reform."

He remained cool almost all the way through but showed emotion when talking about being a single father, tears coming into his eyes.

Although there was a lack of conviction in the way she threw about the names of foreign leaders she only met for the first time last month, she got through the 90 minutes without any serious gaffes.

She acknowledged the ridicule and criticism she had suffered over the last week over her stumbling answers in television interviews. At the end of the debate, she implied she had been the victim of a media conspiracy: "I like being able to answer the tough questions without the filter of the media."

While the debate was relatively good for Palin, the more important question is whether she can help reverse the downward turn in McCain's campaign that on Thursday saw him abandon Michigan, a swing state. But that may be asking too much of her given the continuing uncertainty in Congress and on Wall Street.

During the debate, she was happier on energy policy than foreign affairs, even though her views are at odds with McCain. She continued to refuse to concede that climate is man-made. "I'm not one to attribute every activity of man to the changes in the climate," she said. "There is something to be said, also, for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet. But there are real changes going on in our climate, and I don't want to argue about the causes."

Biden shot back: "I think it's clearly man made. If you don't understand what the cause is," he said, "it's virtually impossible to come up with a solution."

Both Palin and Biden devoted most of the debate to talking up their respective presidential candidates. Palin portrayed McCain as a maverick who would shake up Washington while Biden claimed the Republican lacked a grasp of economics, saying a fortnight ago the economy was strong and two hours later that it was in crisis.

"That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch," Biden said.