He also blasted McCain on his erratic response to the recent financial crisis, including the Wall Street meltdown and the proposed $700 billion dollar bail-out bill. "You know, until two weeks ago -- it was two Mondays ago -- John McCain said at 9 in the morning that the fundamentals of the economy were strong," he said.
"Two weeks before that, he said we've made great economic progress under George Bush's policies. Nine o'clock, the economy was strong; 11 that same day, two Mondays ago, John McCain said that we have an economic crisis. That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch," he added.
Because she was chosen just five weeks ago, and has only been a governor for less than two years, and that too of one of America's least populous and most far-flung states, American voters have yet to develop a fixed opinion of Governor Palin. After providing a marked boost to the sagging McCain camp in early September, the last two weeks have seen her approval ratings plummet.
Thursday' night's debate likely worked to improve her image with many Americans, particularly those firmly entrenched within the Republican Party base, but it'd be hard to score the debate a victory for the governor. While she managed the difficult feat of being critical yet likable, many of her answers painfully wanted in terms of substance and nuance.
On isuess of foreign policy, her answers -- though glittering with talk of 'maverick', 'hero', 'America' and other generalities -- seemed canned and rehearsed. For example, when asked about nuclear-armed Pakistan and a potentially nuclear-armed Iran, she robotically repeated a John McCain talking point, failing to ever acknowledge Pakistan: "Israel is in jeopardy of course when we're dealing with Ahmadinejad as a leader of Iran. Iran claiming that Israel as he termed it, a stinking corpse, a country that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Now a leader like Ahmadinejad who is not sane or stable when he says things like that is not one whom we can allow to acquire nuclear energy, nuclear weapons."
Photograph: Don Emmert-Pool/Getty Images
Also read: US economy: What Obama, McCain promise
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