page_title: 2008 United States presidential debates
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 United States presidential debates / October 2: Vice presidential debate (Washington University in St. Louis) / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Reporter Gwen Ifill at a rally in Erlanger, Kentucky.
context_page_description: The United States presidential election of 2008 was sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a bipartisan organization that sponsored four debates that occurred at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008. Three of the debates involved the presidential nominees, and one involved the vice-presidential nominees.
  Republican Party nominee John McCain and Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama did not agree to additional debates; however, each was interviewed at the Civil Forum on the Presidency, held on August 16, 2008, and at the Service Nation Presidential Forum on September 11, 2008. Their respective running mates, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, did not participate in any additional debates.
context_section_description: Much interest leading up to the debate stemmed from Governor Palin's poorly handled interviews conducted in the weeks leading up to the event; many of her responses were the brunt of severe criticism, and a poll in early October from the Pew Research Center showed that the number of people who believed Palin was qualified to serve as president had dropped to 37% from 52% in early September. Consequently, the vice-presidential debate was largely seen as an opportunity for further destruction or redemption on Palin's part. Several polls suggested that Biden had won the debate; although, many observers were surprised by Palin's speaking abilities and knowledge of John McCain's policies. CNN polls found Biden won 51 to 36. It is widely agreed that both candidates accurately followed the "do no harm" guideline of vice-presidential debates. James Taylor, professor of political science at the University of San Francisco commented, "[Palin] resuscitated herself, but I'm not sure she did quite enough to do anything for John McCain." He added "Biden demonstrated he knows John McCain better than Sarah Palin does. She couldn't offer rebuttals during the depth of discussions. She read the Cliff Notes on McCain, and Biden has known John McCain."
  According to a poll of uncommitted voters conducted immediately after the debate by CBS News and Knowledge Networks, 46% thought Senator Biden won the debate, 21% thought Governor Palin had won, and 33% thought it was a tie. Fox News Channel held a poll regarding the performance of each candidate, with 51% of the votes in favor of Biden, and 39% in favor of Palin. The Opinion Research Corporation's poll on the debate revealed that 51% of viewers felt Biden had won, while 36% were in favor of Palin. In the same poll, 87% said Biden was capable of fulfilling the duties of the vice presidency, while 42% said Palin was capable. Palin was considered more likable however, scoring 54% to Biden's 36%. Mark Halperin of Time graded both candidates' performances a B.
  
  The event overall was widely described as having little effect on the 2008 presidential race, although a CBS News poll found that the presidential race tightened following the vice-presidential debate, with the Obama-Biden lead falling from 9 points to 4 points.
caption: Gwen Ifill served as moderator of the debate.
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