Vice Presidential Debate 2008 Sarah Palin Joe Biden

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U.S. vice-presidential candidates had their highly anticipated showdown Thursday night as opinion polls suggested the Democrats are pulling ahead in the race for the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, and her opponent Joe Biden, the Democratic senator from Delaware, met for the first time on the debate floor at Washington University in St. Louis.

"Nice to meet you," Palin said as the two shook hands on stage. "Hey, can I call you Joe?"

The candidates faced questions about a wide range of issues, including the economy, same-sex marriage, the environment and foreign policy, including the war in Iraq.

The kickoff question was about whether the current negotiations over a $700-billion US financial bailout package have showed the best or the worst of Washington.

As dictated by a coin toss, Biden answered first by saying the current situation was, more than anything, evidence that the economic policies of last eight years were the worst "we've ever had.

"As a consequence, you see what's happened on Wall Street," Biden said.

Palin took on her trademark colloquial tone for her first response of the night, suggesting the best barometer of public sentiment on the economy could be found on the sidelines of a children's soccer match.

"Turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, how are you feeling about the economy?" Palin said. "And I'll bet you'll hear fear in the parent's voice."

Palin decried the "greed on Wall Street" and noted Republican presidential candidate John McCain had sounded the alarm years ago about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two now-disgraced mortgage industry giants, but other lawmakers had ignored his warnings.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin speaks during the vice-presidential debate. (Ron Edmonds/Associated Press)
Biden, 65, blamed the problem on the belief that Wall Street could regulate itself, something he said McCain has supported "across the board."

When given the chance to defend her running mate, Palin said she would prefer to talk directly to the American people about her own track record, describing cuts to personal property, small business inventory and state fuel taxes.

The 90-minute televised exchange is expected to attract more viewers than last week's presidential faceoff between McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

While 44-year-old Palin was under pressure to present herself as a knowledgeable and articulate speaker, Biden needed to dodge the gaffes he's known for — including a recent statement wrongly citing Frankin D. Roosevelt as president of the U.S. during the stock market crash of 1929.

Palin has taken a public relations beating following recently broadcast interviews in which she offered vague, rambling answers on a variety of topics, including the U.S. economy and foreign policy. The interviews have been used as fodder for sketches on the comedy show Saturday Night Live.
Vice Presidential Debate 2008 Sarah Palin Joe Biden
Both, however, gave confident performances during the only vice-presidential debate of the campaign.
Vice Presidential Debate 2008 Sarah Palin Joe Biden
On the issue of climate change, Palin said she didn't want to quibble over the causes as she wasn't "one to attribute every activity of man to the changes in the climate." Instead, she said she preferred to focus on solutions that included co-operation with other nations

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