You don’t need me to tell you that the VP debate was a huge deal: it was more watched than the first Presidential debate between McCain and Obama.  Usually when we watch a Vice Presidential debate we do so just to cheer on our team - after all, these people aren’t actually calling the plays, they are just the cheerleaders. 

           (Note: the “cheerleader” metaphor has nothing to do with Palin being a woman.  After all, men can be cheerleaders too)

            The reason we all tuned into the VP debates is the same reason people tune into NASCAR.  Sure, as a regular Joe Sixpack (or to the elites: un Jacques Sixpaquet) you could sit yourself down in a lawn chair on your front lawn drinking a tallboy and watch reckless speeding down the street any day of the week but you make it an event at a NASCAR show because you go to see people crash into other cars while speeding… or into walls, or other crashable objects.  It’s the same reason people tune into pro-wrestling: you don’t want to see a competition of athletic prowess, you tuned in to see someone’s skull get smashed in by a steel chair inside of a 20 foot metal cage!

            So in the name of America’s insatiable appetite for watching public embarrassment, we kind of hoped to tune into a special episode of Biden hosting “Old Man Saying Things That Make Me Uncomfortable in My Living Room” or the rushed straight to video sequel of “Palin & Couric: BFFs”. 

            But the consensus seemed to be that we saw a more cordial, and perhaps tranquil, debate lined with laconic talking points. 

            It wasn’t though!  Don’t be fooled!  Not only did Palin egregiously not answer several questions, but also used questionable phrasing (“tolerates” gays?!).  When Joe Biden wasn’t addressing Sarah Palin but rather John McCain, he seemed to literally endorse John McCain at times with the constant appraisal.

Why was the debate seen as a success for both sides?

           The bar has been set embarrassingly low.  All the candidates had to do was not conform to their stereotypes as addressed by the moderator (“undisciplined” and “inexperienced” - I’ll let you figure out which one belongs to which).   All Palin had to do was respond, not necessarily answer, and she “exceeded expectations”.  All Biden had to do was grin and not try to seem like an angry old man who questionably has a MySpace account.

            Even the moderator Gwen Ifill said she felt she had little control over the VP candidates since they both already had pre-set agendas.  It is also possible that Ifill may have taken a more passive role in the debates since there was early criticism of her position by conservatives suggesting a possible bias before the debate even took place.

            Okay, so I said in the opening paragraph that Biden and Palin are more or less cheerleaders for the big guns, but that doesn’t mean that they are not important.  This whole argument might sound nauseatingly redundant but it’s time the media starts talking about real issues in a time of the biggest economic crisis in our time – talk about Sarah Palin the Governor, not Sarah Palin the “folksy hockey mom”.  Talk about Joe Biden the Senator, not the “scrappy kid from Scranton” (also avoid this label because then I get “The Office” theme song stuck in my head for the rest of the day).

           No, they are not running for president but they should be held to as much accountability as McCain and Obama are.  The first “executive decision” a presidential candidate makes is choosing their VP, this is the person that the future President wants in the room when they make decisions.  Also, God forbid something happens to McCain or Obama, but this could be the next president of the United States of America – and so far they have only been under the public’s scrutiny for five weeks.  Someone who was appointed could very possibly inherit the highest position of the United States government.  It is the media’s responsibility to hold these people accountable for what they say and what they have done.

“Gotcha-journalism”?  The media is not an infomercial!  It's their resonsibility to ask questions!

            So no, don’t go to the polls voting on Palin or Biden, but do consider the judgment made by McCain and Obama to choose these people as their second in command.