On Thursday October 2, 2008, vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin faced off at the only VP debate in St Louis, Missouri. As I see it, Joe Biden won, by a mile. The vice presidential debate was highly anticipated, proven by the viewing audience on the night when 70 million people tuned in to watch, the second most watched debate in history, following the face-off between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Biden impressed me with his knowledge of both Obama and McCain as well as his ability to stay calm and professional. Yes, I can remember Palin’s infamous sound bites such as ‘doggone it’, ‘say it ain’t so Joe’ and her third grade shout-out, but I remember them because they are so ridiculous. What I see as the difference between these two VP candidates is their knowledge of past failures and their motivation to support their running mate on the path to fixing them.

Biden’s performance was strong and convincing, displaying real knowledge of the issues in question. The candidates discussed issues such as the economy, education, taxes, war in Iraq, health care, foreign policy and climate change. Having known very little about Biden going into the debate despite his 35-year history, I am now impressed with the way he handled the debate.

Many news sources such as Time have congratulated Biden for resisting temptation to challenge Palin and condescendingly prove her wrong. I congratulate you too Biden, it must have been difficult! Palin’s knowledge was limited. Her answers to questions were obviously scripted and ridged. Palin on more than one occasion failed to answer questions asked by the moderator. For example, when asked about mortgages, she turned the conversation to energy policy. In fact, she admitted she was not there to answer questions, saying "I may not answer the questions the way you and the moderator want to hear, but I'm gonna talk straight to the American people." However, we did not see her as straight talking. She discussed her talking points. Palin’s goal was to improve her image. She drew on her usual talking points, saying she is a maverick hockey mom who is no Washington insider.

Coupled with Palin’s lack of knowledge, was her unprofessional manner in which she spoke. From the mispronunciation of military general’s name- calling him General McClellan instead of General McKiernan, to the insistent use of ‘darnit’, Palin’s language was inappropriate, folksy and gimmick loaded. And what about those winks! Many people might disagree with me and say Palin was the winner of the debate. “look at the polls and surveys.” I have, and they simply reinforce my argument. A CNN surveys shows Palin exceeded viewer expectations at the debate, with their poll showing 36 percent of those surveyed agreeing she did better than expected. However, how high were these standards set? So she exceeded a low expectation. Nothing to brag about. To call this a debate is using the term loosely.

So while I agree Palin resurrected her image, she did nothing for me. She did not inform voters of any policies or solutions to important issues such as the economic crisis we are in the midst of or climate change action. Biden surmised this during the debate when he said, “maverick he [McCain] is not on the important, critical issues that affect people at that kitchen table.” It is now up to McCain to pick up the pieces Palin left tonight and prove that he is a maverick as Palin says he is.