Chris Matthews made an interesting point this afternoon, asking his guests
What college student couldn't have pulled off that same performance with a week and a half of coaching?
I had the same impression that I know was shared by most of us on dKos - she dodged every question that required any real knowledge. Particularly when it comes to the middle east, she isn't well versed in the politics, history or geography.
With a few weeks of coaching, there is a limit to how much knowledge of current events she could absorb. Joe Biden knew this would be the case, and he used a brilliant strategy to put her off guard. Knowing her tendency to give vague answers and repeat the question, Joe refused to prompt her with the information she would need.
Joe Biden:
The fact is that our commanding general in Afghanistan said today that a surge -- the surge principles used in Iraq will not -- well, let me say this again now -- our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan, not Joe Biden, our commanding general in Afghanistan.
He said we need more troops. We need government-building. We need to spend more money on the infrastructure in Afghanistan.
In a normal debate a candidate will name drop as much as possible. Biden refuses to use the name. Three times he refers to the commanding general in Afghanistan and never uses the name. It was a perfectly executed answer.
Governor Palin took a shot in the dark. She was close but called him McClellan, Bush's first spokesman, not once but twice in her answer.
Well, first, McClellan did not say definitively the surge principles would not work in Afghanistan. Certainly, accounting for different conditions in that different country and conditions are certainly different. We have NATO allies helping us for one and even the geographic differences are huge but the counterinsurgency principles could work in Afghanistan. McClellan didn't say anything opposite of that. The counterinsurgency strategy going into Afghanistan, clearing, holding, rebuilding, the civil society and the infrastructure can work in Afghanistan. And those leaders who are over there, who have also been advising George Bush on this have not said anything different but that.
It is correct that Scott McClellan has not said definitively that the surge strategy would not work in Afganistan.
General Dave McKiernan, on the other hand, had this to say:
Afghanistan is not Iraq.
Even in his follow-up, Biden continued to call him the commanding general in Afghanistan without using his name. I know his goal for the debate was to look genial and confine his digs to McCain and the Bush administration, but I would have been happier if he had called him General McKiernan the second time around.
Of course the press characterized it that Palin mispronounced the name. She mispronounced it by treating the 'r' and one of the 'n's as silent consonants and pronouncing the three 'l's, which are invisible consonants.
Or she used the wrong name because even a quick study can't prepare to debate Joe Biden on foreign policy in less than two weeks.