McCain Campaign Press Release - What They're Saying About Governor Sarah Palin On Wash U. Debate: Volume 4

Governor Palin "Ended Up Dominating" The Debate, As She "Seemed To Hit Her Stride"

Politico's Roger Simon: "Sarah Palin was supposed to fall off the stage at her vice presidential debate Thursday evening. Instead, she ended up dominating it. She not only kept Joe Biden on the defensive for much of the debate, she not only repeatedly attacked Barack Obama, but she looked like she was enjoying herself while doing it. She smiled. She faced the camera. She was warm. She was human. Gosh and golly, she even dropped a bunch of g's." (Roger Simon, "You Betcha Sarah Palin Can Debate," Politico, 10/2/08)

Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody: "Combining a happy warrior spirit with a home-spun style and some substance thrown in to boot, Palin proved that she belonged on that stage with Joe Biden tonight." (David Brody, "Palin Hurdles Over The Bar In VP Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File," 10/3/08)

Brody: "As for Palin, she seemed to hit her stride tonight. She offered more substance on issues like healthcare, energy policy, taxes and even Darfur by explaining how her role as Governor played a part." (David Brody, "Palin Hurdles Over The Bar In VP Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File," 10/3/08)

The Washington Post's Dan Balz: " In a fast-paced exchange about a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, she was the aggressive campaigner who in the first weeks of her candidacy had so energized the Republican faithful." (Dan Balz, "Palin Delivers, But Doubts Linger," The Washington Post, 10/3/08)

ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "From the minute Palin walked onstage and said, 'Nice to meet you, Joe -- can I call you Joe?' she had her performance down. It was very winning and very appealing and we saw that throughout the debate." (George Stephanopoulos, "Stephanopoulos: VP Debate Report Card," ABC News, 10/3/08)

National Review: "Gov. Sarah Palin, once again, confounded her critics with a strong performance. She did it at the Republican convention, and she did it again last night in her debate with Sen. Joe Biden. She performed with poise and charm. She effectively made the case that Senator Obama would be nave in foreign policy and harmful to economic growth, and that Senator McCain would be a common-sense reformer." (Editorial, "Palin's Triumph," National Review, 10/3/08)

National Review: "She handled questions about Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran well. She connected domestic-policy arguments to the lives of average voters. Anyone who hoped -- or feared -- that she would fall flat on her face was proven wrong." (Editorial, "Palin's Triumph," National Review, 10/3/08)

National Review's Byron York: "Palin delivered a strong and sure performance Thursday night." (Byron York, "Sarah Palin, The Winner By A Wink," National Review, 10/3/08)

New York Post: "Eight real-life 'hockey moms' plucked from the ice to watch the vice-presidential face-off last night said their high-profile counterpart from Alaska dealt her critics a bell-ringing body check." (Brendan Scott, "Sarah Scores!" New York Post, 10/3/08)

New York Daily News: "Sarah Palin gave as good as she got in her televised faceoff with Joe Biden Thursday night - and by that measure she shored up her standing as John McCain's vice presidential running mate. Palin sailed through the 90 minutes with none of the unsteadiness she had shown in TV interviews. She was both assured and down-home folksy in arguing the case for McCain and against Barack Obama." (Editorial, "Sarah Palin Scores," [New York] Daily News, 10/3/08)

Dick Morris & Eileen McGann: "Palin Wins Big With A Reagan-Like Flair." (Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, Op-Ed, "Palin Wins Big With A Reagan-Like Flair," New York Post, 10/3/08)

Dick Morris & Eileen McGann: "Last night was a big, big win for Sarah Palin. She showed originality, charisma and sass - a style that is refreshing and different in our politics. She didn't just win the vice-presidential debate, she showed that she belongs with Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as among the best communicators of our modern political times." (Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, Op-Ed, "Palin Wins Big With A Reagan-Like Flair," New York Post, 10/3/08)

The Wall Street Journal: "A confident, folksy Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attacked the Democratic presidential ticket Thursday over tax hikes and partisanship, holding her own against her vice-presidential rival, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden." (Laura Meckler, "Biden, Palin Clash On Taxes, Iraq In Sharp-Edged Debate," The Wall Street Journal, 10/3/08)

The Weekly Standard's FredBarnes: "Was she capable of being vice president? Based on her debate performance, the answer was yes." (Fred Barnes, Op-Ed, "Comeback," The Weekly Standard, 10/3/08)

The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes: "She won because to a vast majority of those who watched the debate tonight she likely came off as a plausible vice president. And that was all that mattered." (Stephen Hayes, Op-Ed, "A Plausible Vice President," The Weekly Standard, www.weeklystandard.com , 10/3/08)

Anchorage Daily News: "But Palin kept her cool, stayed on her game and lived up to her reputation as a spirited debater. She played to her strengths -- her ability to connect with people like a neighbor and her resilience. Despite the contempt and criticism she's endured in recent days, she walked onto the stage like a candidate on top of the world. She shook hands with Biden and said 'Hey, can I call you Joe?' That opening line was friendly, down-to-earth and said, 'We're equals.'" (Editorial, "Palin Hits Her Stride," Anchorage Daily News, 10/3/08)

Denver Post: "This thing's not over yet. She held her own. In what was likely one of the most-watched vice presidential debates in the country's history, Sarah Palin went in as the underdog Thursday night and came out of it with nary a scratch." (Editorial, "Palin Has Fun, Holds Her Own In Tepid Veep Debate," Denver Post, 10/3/08)

Denver Post: "In her opening answer to a question about the troubled economy, Palin spoke with clarity and confidence and got to the heart of the matter with the kind of populist candor she displayed at the Republican National Convention. 'Go to a kid's soccer game on Saturday and ask any parent what they think about the economy, and I betcha you're going to hear about fear,' Palin said. 'Our economy is hurting.'" (Editorial, "Palin Has Fun, Holds Her Own In Tepid Veep Debate," Denver Post, 10/3/08)

Governor Palin Turned Biden's Words Against Him

New York Daily News: "Most effectively, perhaps, she turned Biden's past criticisms of Obama's plans for Iraq against Biden, adding, 'John McCain knows how to win a war.'" (Editorial, "Sarah Palin Scores," [New York] Daily News, 10/3/08)

New York Post: "Sarah Palin used folksy language, winks, smiles and sharp elbows to try to put seasoned rival Joe Biden on the defensive in last night's vice-presidential debate." (Geoff Earle, "Pit Bull Sarah Shows Her Bite," New York Post, 10/3/08)

The Weekly Standard's StephenHayes: "Palin surfaced issues that put Joe Biden on the defensive or, at the very least, made him uncomfortable. And she had several moments where she scored clean hits on Biden and Barack Obama: on clean coal, on the patriotism of raising taxes, on Obama saying one thing to one group of voters and something different to another, on Biden criticizing Obama for his vote on troop funding in Iraq, when she reminded Biden that he himself said that he'd be privileged to run on a ticket with John McCain." (Stephen Hayes, Op-Ed, "A Plausible Vice President," The Weekly Standard, www.weeklystandard.com , 10/3/08)

Hayes: "When Biden complained that Republicans have taken to repeating the 'drill, drill, drill' mantra, she owned it and gently corrected him. 'I think the chant is drill, baby, drill.' It was a clever turn, and judging from virtually every poll on the issue, it was politically very smart." (Stephen Hayes, Op-Ed, "A Plausible Vice President," The Weekly Standard, www.weeklystandard.com , 10/3/08)

Chicago Sun-Times' Steve Huntley: "Appearing assertive and confident in her national debate premiere, Palin battled Sen. Joseph Biden on a broad range of issues -- the Wall Street meltdown, taxes and spending, Iraq, foreign relations, which candidate best represents change -- and more than held her own." (Steve Huntley, Op-Ed, "Palin Eases GOP Jitters, You Betcha," Chicago Sun-Times, 10/3/08)

Huntley: "On international issues, the area where she has been considered to be weak, Palin appeared to get under Biden's skin when she criticized Barack Obama for saying he would meet without preconditions with some of the world's worse dictators. Biden's face turned grim, and he went so far as to deny that Obama had ever said he would meet without preconditions with the president of Iran, when in fact the Democratic presidential nominee said that during the primary." (Steve Huntley, Op-Ed, "Palin Eases GOP Jitters, You Betcha," Chicago Sun-Times, 10/3/08)

Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody: "Oh, and by the way, she morphed into 'Sarah Barracuda' tonight by using Biden's past statements on Obama against him. She had it all working tonight." (David Brody, "Palin Hurdles Over The Bar In VP Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File," 10/3/08)

The Wall Street Journal: "The Republican nominee more than held her own on foreign policy in general, and in our view won on points at least on Iraq and Afghanistan. She didn't let Mr. Biden get away with interpreting the comments of a U.S. general in Afghanistan as a rejection of Mr. McCain's strategy. And on Iraq she exposed both Mr. Biden's change of heart on the war, and his change of heart on Mr. Obama's views on the war. At times Mr. Biden even looked a little frustrated -- as if he couldn't quite believe he had to share the stage with someone who hasn't hung out with Dick Lugar or . . . Mike Mansfield back when the Senate was still a civil place. Or someone who says 'doggonit.'" (Editorial, "Free Sarah Palin," The Wall Street Journal, 10/3/08)

Joe Biden Gets A Key Fact Wrong

The Washington Times' Stephan Dinan: "Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. appeared to incorrectly outline the constitutional role of the job he's seeking in Thursday's debate. In attacking Vice President Dick Cheney, Mr. Biden said the vice president's only role is to support the president and to preside over the Senate 'only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.' The Constitution, though, actually says the vice president is always president of the Senate and legal scholars say he has the right to preside at any time. Early vice presidents, such as Thomas Jefferson, actively exercised that role, the vice president still keeps offices at the Capitol, and scholars say it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that the vice president had an office at the executive office building." (Stephan Dinan, "Biden Gets Veep Role Wrong," The Washington Tim es, 10/3/08)

In The Headlines:

Anchorage Daily News: "Palin Hits Her Stride"
(Editorial, "Palin Hits Her Stride," Anchorage Daily News, 10/3/08)

Christian Broadcasting Network: "Palin Hurdles Over The Bar In VP Debate"
(David Brody, "Palin Hurdles Over The Bar In VP Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File," 10/3/08)

Denver Post: "Palin Has Fun, Holds Her Own In Tepid Veep Debate."
(Editorial, "Palin Has Fun, Holds Her Own In Tepid Veep Debate," Denver Post, 10/3/08)

National Review: "Palin's Triumph"
(Editorial, "Palin's Triumph," National Review, 10/3/08)

[New York] Daily News: "Sarah Palin Scores"
(Editorial, "Sarah Palin Scores," [New York] Daily News, 10/3/08)

New York Post: "Pit Bull Sarah Shows Her Bite"
(Geoff Earle, "Pit Bull Sarah Shows Her Bite," New York Post, 10/3/08)

New York Post: "Sarah Scores!"

(Brendan Scott, "Sarah Scores!" New York Post, 10/3/08)

The New York Times: "The Palin Rebound"
(David Brooks, Op-Ed, "The Palin Rebound," The New York Times, 10/3/08)

Politico: "You Betcha Sarah Palin Can Debate"
(Roger Simon, "You Betcha Sarah Palin Can Debate," Politico, 10/2/08)