Anticipating the Vice-Presidential Debate

Gwen Ifill, moderator of the Vice Presidential debate, welcomes the two candidates, and begins the questioning with Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.

Ifill: Senator Biden, you said during the primary campaign that Senator Obama was "the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. . ." Would you like to explain what you meant by that?

Biden: Sure, Gwen. Look, you're a good example of what I'm talking about, so you can understand. You're articulate, and you're African American. And that's storybook, man.

Ifill: You also said that the presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training. Can you also explain that?

Biden: Sure, Gwen. I was saying that someone who only has been mayor of a small town and governor for just a couple of years of a sparsely populated state really isn't ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Ifill: But she hadn't been chosen yet.

Biden: Oh.

Ifill: Let's turn to Governor Palin of Alaska. Governor, you've been criticized for saying that you said, "Thanks, but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere, when the record shows that you actually supported the project first, and then changed your mind. Could you explain that?

Palin: Sure. You know, the Alaska infrastructure is pretty important, and we needed to be shoring that up. But when those pork-barrellers in Washington got ahold of it, it just got to be out of control.

Ifill: But didn't you accept the money anyway, once the project was killed?

Palin: We accepted the money but not for a bridge.

Ifill: You've spoken out against pork-barrel spending. Isn't that accepting it?

Palin: I'm governor of the great state of Alaska. Not a Washington insider.

Ifill: Senator Biden, do you have anything to say to that?

Biden: Yeah, I supported that bridge. Didn't they build it?

(pause)

Ifill: Back to you, Senator Biden. You've been saying that you thought the recent ad put out by your campaign showing Senator McCain as computer illiterate was "terrible." Is it a problem for your campaign that you're criticizing it?

Biden: I'm sure you've misunderstood, Gwen. When I said it was "terrible," I meant that it's terrible that John is so out of touch with the American people. He hasn't joined the 21st Century. Heck, he hasn't even done anything the last 26 years he's been in Washington. I don't know where he's been. He's nowhere, man. John's just out of touch. He's lost his soul. He's a friend, but he's no friend to America. He didn't even mention the middle class the other night in that debate. Did you see it? Ninety minutes, and do you know how many times John mentioned the word "middle class?" Zero. Zero. That's John. So when I said it was terrible, I meant John is terrible. Terrible. That's what we Catholics like to call "an epiphany."

(pause)

Ifill: Governor Palin, do you have anything to say to that?

Palin: John McCain is the only person who's ever truly fought for you, and a true American hero. And a maverick. That time your wife was dancing on a tabletop in Greece he was there for her. And he'll hunt down Obama.

Ifill: Thanks, Governor Palin. Governor, here's another question for you. You fought making the polar bear a protected endangered species. Can you explain that?

Palin: Sure. There's a healthy population of polar bears now, and they're not really endangered. They're seven-hundred miles from where we want to drill, but protecting them would reduce our nation's ability to be energy independent.

Ifill: Isn't it true that your running mate, Senator McCain, doesn't agree with you on drilling in ANWAR?

Palin: I'm working on him, Gwen. (*wink*)

Ifill: Senator Biden, do you have anything to say to that?

Biden: I hope you have better luck with John than I did. I mean, the guy's been a friend for years. A friend. But John has lost his soul. His soul. He's out of touch with the American people. Not like Barack America, I mean Barack Obama. From main street to Wall Street, Barack is your man.

Ifill: Governor Palin, do you have anything to say to that?

Palin: Well, actually Senator, Todd, our "first dude," has always been my guy. But Senator McCain is a man of the people. And the only man who has truly fought for you. He'll end radical Islamic extremism. Make us energy independent.

Ifill: Senator Biden, one last question for this segment: Do you believe Governor Palin is ready to be "a heartbeat away from the Presidency?"

Biden: She's clean, bright, and articulate. Well, clean and bright, anyway. That's storybook, man.