ZHANG:
And yesterday, this year's first and only U.S. vice presidential debate was held in St. Louis, pitting Democratic VP nominee Senator Joe Biden against Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Here's a look at what they had to say.
STORY:
In the only vice presidential debate ahead of the November election, Republican Sarah Palin exceeded expectations and held her own while Democrat Joe Biden turned in a solid performance of his own.
The two vice presidential hopefuls clashed on the economy and Iraq but focused most of the criticism on their rivals at the top of the ticket.
[Sarah Palin, Republican VP Candidate]:
"Barack Obama, of course, he's pretty much only voted along his party lines. In fact, 96 percent of his votes have been solely along party line."
[Joe Biden, Democratic VP Candidate]:
"Two years ago Barack Obama warned about the sub-prime mortgage crisis. John McCain said shortly after that in December he was surprised there was a sub-prime mortgage problem."
With all eyes on Palin in her national debut in an un scri pted format, the Alaska governor turned in a steady and aggressive performance that featured repeated attacks on Barack Obama and his position on the Iraq war.
[Sarah Palin, Republican VP Candidate]:
"I know that the other ticket opposed this surge, in fact, even opposed funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barack Obama voted against funding troops there after promising that he would not do so. And Senator Biden, I respected you when you called him out on that."
Biden, who voted to authorize the war in Iraq, was in the unusual position of defending Obama's opposition to the war and his strategy for ending it.
[Joe Biden, Democratic VP Candidate]:
"Barack Obama and I agree fully and completely on one thing. You've got to have a timeline to draw down the troops and shift responsibility to the Iraqis. We're spending $10 billion a month while Iraqis have an $80 billion surplus."
Both candidates sought to connect with voters -- with Palin emphasizing her middle-class roots and maverick record as the governor of Alaska.
[Sarah Palin, Republican VP Candidate]:
"I want to assure you that John McCain and I, we're going to fight for America. We're going to fight for the middle-class, average, everyday American family like mine. I've been there. I know what the hurts are. I know what the challenges are. And, thank God, I know what the joys are, too, of living in America."
Joe Biden, meanwhile, had an emotional moment -- choking up when recalling having to raise his two young sons alone after their mother died in a car crash.
[Joe Biden, Democratic VP Candidate]:
"I am much better off now. But the notion that somehow, because I'm a man, I don't know what it's like to raise two kids alone, I don't know what it's like to have a child you're not sure is going to -- is going to make it -- I understand. I understand, as well as, with all due respect, the governor or anybody else, what it's like for those people sitting around that kitchen table."
Vice presidential debates are rarely game changers. But in a week in which Barack Obama has solidified his lead in national opinion polls, John McCain is hoping that the solid debate performance from his running mate could help slow Obama's momentum.
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