Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has steadied Republican nerves by delivering a confident and folksy performance in her much-anticipated vice-presidential debate with Senator Joe Biden.
John McCain, the Republican nominee, has been slipping behind his Democratic opponent Barack Obama in the polls and his running mate’s steady and spirited showing was a much-needed fillip.
Mrs Palin, 44, who had been facing increasing doubts about her readiness for high office after a string of uncertain interview performances, held her own against Mr Biden, 65, a foreign policy specialist who has been in the Senate for 36 years.
Smiling and winking at the camera, Mrs Palin, a moose-hunting mother of five who was a small-town mayor until two years ago, sprinkled phrases like “I’ll betcha”, “darn right”, “heck of a lot” and “doggone it” throughout the debate at the University of Washington in St Louis, Missouri.
Mrs Palin repeatedly portrayed herself as a maverick outsider and friend of “every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation” who wanted to bring the values of “Main Streeters like me” to Washington.
Pitting herself against the “mainstream media”, Mrs Palin cheerfully announced she wouldn’t play by the debate rules and proceeded to talk about what she wanted to talk about.
“I may not answer the question the way you want to hear, but I’ll talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also,” she said.
As she strode onto the stage, waving and blowing a kiss at the moderator, Mrs Palin, told her opponent: “Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?” But she didn’t hesitate to skewer him. “I do respect your years in the US Senate, but I think Americans are craving something new and different,” she said at one point.
She teased: “It’s so obvious I’m a Washington outsider. Someone not used to the way you guys operate. Because here you voted for the war and now you oppose the war.”
On the Obama-Biden proposal for a 16-month timeline to withdraw US troops, she said: “Your plan is a white flag of surrender.”
Mr Biden, who seemed nonplussed at times, avoided the trap of seeming condescending or overbearing and concentrated his fire against Mr McCain, repeatedly linking him to the unpopular President George W. Bush.
“Look, past is prologue,” he said. “The issue is, how different is John McCain’s policy going to be than George Bush’s? I haven’t heard anything yet.
“I haven’t heard how his policy is going to be different on Iran than George Bush’s. I haven’t heard how his policy is going to be different with Israel than George Bush’s. I haven’t heard how his policy in Afghanistan is going to be different than George Bush’s.”
Mrs Palin, who said she and Mr McCain represent “positive change”, chided Mr Biden for looking backwards. “Say it ain’t so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You prefaced your whole comment with the Bush administration.
“Now doggone it, let’s look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education and I’m glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and God bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right?”
