Many corporate media pundits seemed to grade the Biden/Palin debate on a rather extreme curve; if Palin could manage to show up and not embarrass herself, the event could be deemed a "tie"–as in the AP analysis headlined "Palin Tops Debate Expectations."
In USA Today, Susan Page wrote, "Both candidates exuded confidence and determination–a victory of sorts for Palin, the first-term Alaska governor performing on equal terms with the six-term Delaware senator."
On ABC World News (10/3/08), Time magazine's Mark Halperin described as "brilliant" Palin's argument that for Biden to criticize the Bush administration was "pointing backwards," going on to say: "Look, is she a great policy expert, no. Is she a great communicator, like a Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, we're learning that she is."
And on Meet the Press, NBC's David Gregory weighed in on Palin's debate performance:
She chose to ignore a lot of the substantive aspects of the debate and speak right to the American people. Thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s where sheâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s winning. She has a lot of charm, a lot of charisma, and thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s working for her.
Someone should let the American public in on the idea that Palin is unusually charming, since they don't seem to realize that.
About Peter Hart
[...] onto the public– let's call it Pundit Projection Syndrome–is affecting David Gregory's ability to come to grips with the fact that the public just wasn't as into John McCain's and Sarah Palin's debate [...]
[...] MSM style. If you get good access, your stories get good placement. So if, like Scherer and Halperin, you decline to tell the truth about McCain, you get access to McCain and your career benefits. If [...]
[...] http://www.fair.org/blog/2008/10/06/pundits-and-palin/ 10/5 [...]