Political Discussions

Early Polling: Biden Takes Debate

Posted by Wisco • 10/02/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Barack Obama, Debate, Joe Biden, john mccain, news, poll, sarah palin

CBS Poll: More Uncommitted Voters Saw Biden As Winner (www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/02/politics/horserace/entry4497035.shtml):

Forty-six percent of the uncommitted voters surveyed say Democrat Joe Biden won the debate, compared to 21 percent for Republican Sarah Palin. Thirty-three percent said it was a tie.

Eighteen percent of previously uncommitted percent say they are now committed to the Obama-Biden ticket. Ten percent say they are now committed to McCain-Palin. Seventy-one percent are still uncommitted.

Both candidates improved their overall image tonight. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed say they now have a better impression of Biden. Five percent say they have a worse opinion of the Delaware senator, while 42 percent say they debate did not change their opinion.

Fifty-five percent say they now have a better opinion of Palin. Fourteen percent say they have a worse opinion, while 30 percent say their opinion hasn't changed.

After the debate, 66 percent see Palin as knowledgeable about important issues – up from 43 percent before the debate. But Biden still has the advantage on this – 98 percent saw him as knowledgeable after the debate. That figure was 79 percent before the debate.

It's still early, but this same CBS poll gave the last debate to Obama; a result that later polling verified.

Discuss...

User Comments

10/02/08

cooper

But she was animated and very attractive, lively and full of pep.

Both sides declare victory but those who like cheerleaders who answered only one or two substantive questions will love her.
I appreciated that Biden did not correct her when she got the general's name wrong - he was at his best behavior tonight. I'm disappointed Gwen did not follow up for the most part on her questions, and let her keep saying Maverick and talking about her energy work even if the question was about Iran.

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10/02/08

cooper

Seriously though she'd be a great photography subject.

[reply]
1. 10/02/08
  
  clioandme
  
  Did you read that piece about her in the Style section of the Washington Post yesterday? Great analysis of her mannerisms, gestures, intonation, accent, and so on. Talked about how it works for part of this country and doesn't work for others.
10/02/08

satijournal

Biden has a goofy smile and haircut. What's the deal with that duck-tail?

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10/02/08

csiunatc

What a surprise, CBS gives it to Biden...

over a million polled on FOX and they say Palin won 86 to 24. 0% Statistical Tie.

Now, Unless you want to argue that CBS is the pillar of independence, I'm just going to leave you with Benjamin Disraeli.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics"

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1. 10/02/08
  
  Wisco
  
  Another self-selected web poll? Yeah, those things don't mean jack.
2. 10/02/08
  
  omiller
  
  Unlike the numbers from CBS, which was a real poll, the people on Fox weren't polled--they were asked to text their winner. Fox News viewers are more conservative, so obviously this is the result. They got the same result with the Obama-McCain debate.
3. 10/02/08
  
  clioandme
  
  Text their winner? Is that anything like American Idol?
  (Yeah, I really have never seen that show.)
10/02/08

clioandme

Thanks for the link, Wisco. Dunno how to read these things without polls, since people seem to be seeing different things when they are watching the same thing.

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1. 10/02/08
  
  Wisco
  
  I know, I was pretty sure Biden took it and I was trying to be as fair as I could. Maybe I overcompensated, but I figured it'd poll as a near-tie.
10/02/08

cooper

This from "The Stump" and I'm out.
"I've heard a lot of cooing about Palin's folksiness on MSNBC and CNN this last hour-and-a-half (though not from everyone--Rachel Maddow has been appropriately skeptical). But the polls suggest that most Americans, however much they might like her, don't want her to be vice president"

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1. 10/02/08
  
  satijournal
  
  Yeah, I think McCain's ratings are going to continue to sink.
2. 10/03/08
  
  xmarks
  
  Honestly I'm nervous that Palin stepped over the low expectations bar enough to reenergize her base. I was listening to right wing talk radio this morning and they seemed pretty pumped up. Of course, that is to be expected.
10/02/08

Wisco

CNN's in and gives it to Biden, 51%-36%.

politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/02/poll-biden-wins-debate-palin-excee...

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10/03/08

faithsju243

I think it was clear Biden won this debate. While I do think that Sarah Palin is intelligent, I think her hometown style (for lack of better description) only works on certain folks. Me not being one of them I didn't find anything stellar about her performance. In true politician form she answered the questions she heard in her head & practiced with her handlers not the ones the moderator asked nor the ones directed at her by her opponent.

The debate did help highlight her work as the Gov of Alaska but little to tell me if she understands the national level problems. And I'm left uneasy thinking about the state of a nation possibly left in the hands of Sarah Palin who refers to middle class Americans as joe six-packers. I'm curious to know who that phrase really resonates with?

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10/03/08

Anok

I think Biden took it on substance and knowledge - but I'm surprised the polling numbers weren't/aren't closer.

She exceeded expectations, and dodged questions like an old Washington insider pro.

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1. 10/03/08
  
  clioandme
  
  You might be overcompensating, Anok, Her Katy Couric interview really helped to lower expectations. The mere fact that she could put three sentences together made her look capable.
2. 10/03/08
  
  Anok
  
  I have to give her more credit than that, though. She isn't actually dumb - she's just not qualified...at all....she's good at debate and politics as far as using buzzwords, catchphrases, and dodging bullets goes.
  
  But, we all know she was heavily primed, and I think that showed during the debate. She responded to questions with her experience and generalities, and when was pushed she retorted, rather than responded, information that she had just learned, or was unfamiliar with.
  
  Kinda like when someone just learns new info or has recently become an "expert" on a subject - there' a stiffness to the response and little comprehension beyond certain talking points.
  
  She did exactly what she needed to do - reaffirm her base votes.
3. 10/03/08
  
  clioandme
  
  I never said she was dumb, though I would venture to say that, like Bush, she lacks intellectual curiosity.
4. 10/03/08
  
  Anok
  
  I just think she lacks ability and understanding.
  
  I mean, she barely was able to answer what her role would consist of as VP - and didn't even know what a VP did until she was already nominated. *egads!*
  
  She did manage to squeak out an answer - but lacked a few basic functions that Biden cleared up for her
10/03/08

MidwestMom

As I said on another thread, I think all Palin was able to do was to stem the groundswell of Republican support for her ouster in favor of Romney.

Biden, on the other hand, was genial, coherent, and knowledgeable. He showed he is ready for leadership.

I blogged this morning on this topic:

"Thoughts on the Biden-Palin debate"
ilfamilypolitics.blogspot.com

[reply]
1. 10/03/08
  
  Wisco
  
  I liked your close. I'm looking forward to the SNL Biden-Palin debate too. Who will play Biden?
  
  Anyhoo, here's my take:
  
  griperblade.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-even-bump-in-road.html
  
  I make it a big nuthin' -- no change in the campaign, which is what Obama-Biden were probably shooting for.
2. 10/03/08
  
  MidwestMom
  
  Good post, Wisco.
  
  I visited and commented with appropriate sarcasm.
  
  Sometimes I wonder whether this can all be real. Truly, are we at a point as a nation that she is the best we can do?
  
  [shakes head and walks away from keyboard]
10/03/08

cooper

A friend of mine just made an interesting post, but it makes sense. If you listen to the debate as he did, without the visuals, her performance is very poor. It goes to show clearly how visuals affect the perception of the debate. One guy on the National Review actually wrote this:

"I’m sure I’m not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, “Hey, I think she just winked at me.” And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can’t be learned; it’s either something you have or you don’t, and man, she’s got it"

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1. 10/03/08
  
  Wisco
  
  Sounds like one guy at the National Review needs a girlfriend...
2. 10/03/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  Well, I think that quality can be and is learned, but it's done from a very early age.
  
  I worked with a former Miss America once on a project. And it was eerie how that very same effervescently robotic personality came out the moment the cameras went on. In a room of regular joes, as she'd say, when the cameras start up, you become very aware of the unnatural and calculated shift that occurs.
  
  She could recite the same talking points backwards and forwards for different takes, without even having much of a grasp about what she was saying.
  
  I can see directly where those presentation skills were being applied in the debates last night.
10/03/08

lisamcglaun

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/oct/03/sarah.palin.debate....

The above link is my favorite take on the debate so far. I agree with Goldberg on every single count.

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1. 10/03/08
  
  clioandme
  
  Thanks for the link.
2. 10/03/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  That was much the take I had on it. That bit of transcript the author included was a spot that stuck out to me, too, at the time as being virtually incoherent-- and not addressing anything on-topic.
  
  But I suppose that's acceptable when you're a "maverick."
3. 10/03/08
  
  xmarks
  
  It's a good article. I don't have faith in the voters ability to see through Palin. I huge percentage of Republicans and a not dismissible percent of independents and democrats thought she actually won.