SLIDESHOW: A nervous Obama
Obama's campaign has released exclusive photos of his family and friends' anxious election-night wait.
Fashion's First Lady
Demure dresses, bright colours, flat shoes and that red and black dress. Take a look at her campaign style.
Search News24
     World : US Elections 2008 Get News24 on your mobile Terms & conditions 
Homepage
World
News
South Africa
Africa
Sport
Entertainment
Sci-Tech
Finance
Health
Galleries
 
SA Politics
Zimbabwe
Aids Focus
More...
 
MyNews24
Columnists
Sports Columnists
Feedback
 
National Lottery
UK Lottery
Travel
Competitions
Horoscopes
TV Guides
Classifieds
Currie Cup game
 
Sudoku
Aces High
Silly Solitaire
Word Cube
Make 24
Golf Solitaire
Battleship
More games
 
Stidy
The Biggish Five
Treknet
 
Newsletters
Weather

Cape Town:
17-24°C

Durban:
19-23°C

Johannesburg:
13-28°C

Weather Page

Traffic
Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Eastern Cape Western Cape
All regions
Indicators
Rand/$ 10.4500
Rand/£ 15.5900
Rand/€ 13.1300
Gold/oz $799.25
Gold Mining 1604.63
+0.00%
All-share index 18066.38
+0.00%
 
How do you rate?
More than 15 000 people filled in the first-ever broad-based online Health of the Nation survey. Here's what we found out...

 
Afrikaans
English
 

Biden, Palin go head-to-head
03/10/2008 06:47  - (SA)  

Want to know more?
Answerit can help.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin shake hands at the conclusion of the vice presidential debate. (Tom Gannam, AP)
  • 'She's not prepared at all'
  • Biden 'in difficult situation'
  • VIDEO: VP debate
  •  US Elections Special Report
  •  SPEECH: 'Yes we can'
  •  TIMELINE: Key events in Obama's life
  •  SLIDESHOW: Waiting for results
  • St Louis - Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden clashed on the economy and Iraq during a lively but polite debate on Thursday, but aimed the most criticism at their rivals at the top of the ticket.

    In the only vice presidential debate ahead of the November 4 US election, Biden accused Republican presidential contender John McCain of being "out of touch" on the economic crisis and said he was "no maverick" on crucial issues facing Americans.

    Palin said Democratic White House candidate Barack Obama was too partisan to work across party lines to accomplish change and was waving a "white flag of surrender" in Iraq.

    Both camps claimed victory in a debate unlikely to dramatically change a White House race that Obama leads. Two polls taken after the debate, by CNN and CBS News, judged Biden the winner, but the CNN poll found a big majority thought Palin did better than expected.

    With all eyes on Palin in her national debut in an unscripted format, the 44-year-old Alaska governor turned in a steady and aggressive performance in which she repeatedly attacked Obama and pledged she and McCain would work for the middle-class.

    She frequently displayed the folksy style that has become a favourite target of late-night comics. "Aw, say it ain't so, Joe," she told Biden at one point, adding a "doggone it" for good measure.

    Biden, 65, also had an emotional moment, choking up when recalling having to raise his two young sons alone after their mother died in a car crash.

    'Something new'

    As the two strode on the stage, Palin greeted Biden, saying: "Nice to meet you. Can I call you Joe?"

    The debate came as Obama solidified his lead in national polls and gained an edge in crucial battleground states as the Wall Street crisis spread.

    Biden and Palin said they would work to change current US economic policy to make it more friendly to middle-class workers, but Biden noted McCain had called the fundamentals of the economy strong as the Wall Street crisis broke out.

    "That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch," Biden, a Delaware senator, said in the debate on the campus of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.

    Palin said McCain had been talking about the American workforce and said Obama would raise taxes on American workers and small business owners. Obama in fact has called for a middle-class tax cut and would raise taxes only on those making more than $250 000.

    "I do respect your years in the US Senate, but I think Americans are craving something new and different," Palin told Biden.

    Biden pledged he and Obama would end the war. Obama is an early critic of the Iraq war who has called for a 16-month timeline to withdraw US troops. "Your plan is a white flag of surrender," Palin told Biden.

    The highly anticipated match-up promised more than the usual drama because of curiosity about Palin, a relative unknown who was thrust into instant celebrity when she was selected as McCain's number two in August.

    A team of mavericks

    The encounter may have drawn a larger television audience than the 52 million who watched last week's first debate between the presidential candidates.

    Biden said the $700bn bailout of Wall Street he voted for, along with Obama and McCain, might force the Democrats to reconsider their promise to double foreign aid.

    "The one thing we might have to slow down is a commitment we made to double foreign assistance," he said when asked what programmes might have to be jettisoned because of the financial risis.

    Palin said there was nothing she and McCain would have to forego. "There hasn't been a whole lot that I've promised, except to do what is right for the American people," she said. "I don't believe that John McCain has made any promise that he would not be able to keep, either."

    Palin's lack of national experience and her hesitant performance in rare media interviews had raised doubts about her readiness and prompted criticism even from some prominent conservatives.

    But she said her experience as a governor and as a mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, was her strength as a candidate for vice president. She frequently said she and McCain were a team of mavericks who could change Washington.

    "John McCain has been the consummate maverick," she said. "Barack Obama, of course, he's pretty much only voted along his party lines."

    Biden said McCain had not been a maverick on the vital issues facing the United States from health care to Iraq. "He's not been a maverick on virtually anything that people talk about around the kitchen table," he said.

    - Reuters



    What is this?
    Yahoo Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Brought to you by OUTsurance Car Insurance
     
    News24 Headlines on your Facebook profile News24 on mobile  


     
         
      Palin???
    03/10/2008 08:49
    Not sure who's all following the US elections, but Palin doe seem like she is completely out of her depth. And think again, don't think McCain... the guy is too old to be president and too much of a war stuck idiot!! - Eh pa
     
      Scarier than it looks
    03/10/2008 13:37
    The scary thing about the republicans is that if they do (by some otherworldly miracle) win the election, Sarah Palin, way too inexperienced, is one hear failure away from becoming pres. - TJSE
     
         
    This comments facility is now closed.
     

     

    About us | Advertise | Contact us | Job opportunities | Press Releases | Site map

    Back to top
     Jobs
    Document Process Writer
    Gauteng - Centurion
    IT / Telecomms
    Systems Analyst
    Gauteng - Pretoria
    IT / Telecomms
    Software Developer
    Gauteng
    IT / Telecomms
    1st Line Service Desk Analyst Technician
    Gauteng - Johannesburg
    IT / Telecomms
    DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR
    Gauteng
    IT / Telecomms
     Sponsored links
    Life Insurance
    Car Insurance
    UK Lottery
    First for Women
    Your Homeloan
    Bid or Buy
    Medical Aid
    Education
    Best Car Deals
    Loans & Credit Cards
    Compare Quotes
    Life Insurance for Women
    Audio, TV, GPS & PS3 etc
    Car Servicing & Repair
    Win up to R1000 free!