Great Expectations

There was no knockout, so as announcer Michael Buffer says,  after 12 rounds, we go to the scorecards.

Sarah Palin did a lot better than expected, though I thought all along she would do well. It’s about what she did well at. 

She looked right into the camera; she spoke plainly and with energy, and she connected with her audience.

But she didn’t answer some of the questions – at one point, even downright refusing to do so. She relied a lot on sloganeering and talking about the subjects she was comfortable with – energy and corruption on Wall Street. But could we follow her arguments? I felt kind of like a hunter trying to chase a fox down a  long, twisty path. I never knew where the path led, but it didn’t matter because I knew I would never catch the fox. 

As for Joe Biden, he, too, did better than expected, with a clear command of the issues and his arguments. But I thought he spent too much time looking backward, as Gov. Palin said, and while his energy level wasn’t bad, it didn’t come up to hers. He won most of the arguments, but not necessarily the points.

I think it’s safe to say that if John McCain is elected President, Sarah Palin will be the reason.

Only, please, God, don’t let anything happen to him.

There now I’ve said it.