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Palin's Doggone Steady Debate Forces McCain To Be Maverick

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

On the biggest issue on voters' minds, the economic crisis, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spoke for most ordinary Americans when she blamed greed and corruption and said, "We need to stop that."

She held her own in the vice presidential debate with Sen. Joe Biden by confidently following her conservative instincts as a matter of basic common sense.

Biden tried hard to steer the conversation toward polarizing ideology and complex details, but was unable to draw Palin in. The Delaware Democrat also pounded President Bush and the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, for "letting Wall Street run wild" and giving the nation the worst economic policies in history.

Palin dodged blame by consistently calling McCain a maverick and referring to unspecified big blunders by the Bush administration. Consistently upbeat about the future despite the current downturn, she said, "We have an opportunity to learn a heck of a lot of good lessons..."

The follow-up questions that didn't get asked are what lessons and how should they translate into new laws? What will be the implications for Main Street? If mortgages are harder to get, what will be the impact on housing prices?

If taxes go lower and the war continues, what will happen to the budget deficit?

McCain should help voters understand how he would be different from Bush. And he should immediately unleash his running mate to do the same.

It's less of a risk now than a few days ago. Thursday night Palin proved herself more than an ordinary mom playing a scripted role on an extraordinary stage.

She surprised some critics by answering a question on gay marriage with a flexibility that puts her squarely in the mainstream, yet still in step with the religious right. She said marriage should only be between a man and woman, but made clear she is "tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners." By adding that she has "some very dear friends who don't agree with me on this issue," she shows a softer side that broadens her appeal.

She spoke directly to the TV audience, leaving them wanting to know more. And no new bloopers were offered to the comedian getting laughs by spoofing Palin with her own words.

Palin complained that "East Coast politicians" won't let oil-rich states produce energy for the oil-hungry public. So does she want to drill on Florida's beaches or 100 miles offshore?

She promised tax cuts, but it will be hard to cut taxes for nearly half the nation that pays little or no income taxes.

She called herself a Washington outsider who believes government can be the problem, not the solution. That position seems at odds with her resounding call for tighter oversight of financial markets.

Late in the debate, as Biden continued to link McCain to Bush, Palin lost patience and said, "Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future." Stop, she urged, "doing the blame game."

The scolding scored points with her base, but not with the undecided voters who will decide the election. Citizens want to know that before turning the page, lessons were learned to keep the Wall Street catastrophe from ever happening again.

It's late in the campaign season, and time to move past the political theater to deal with the sort of complexities Biden raised and Palin mostly talked around.

Unless the candidates get specific about what they think went wrong, voters can't know how they would make things right.

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