Alaskan delivers folksy message

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By Stephen Dinan

ANALYSIS:

From her opening greeting to her Democratic opponent in the vice-presidential debate - "Hey, can I call you Joe?" - to her pledge to deliver "straight talk" to voters, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin never looked out of her depth.

After a month when she was at the peaks of stardom at the Republican National Convention and the depths of late-night comedic ridicule, Mrs. Palin said the face-off with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. was her chance to cut through the clutter and speak as plainly as she could.

"I like being able to answer these tough questions without the filter, even, of the mainstream media kind of telling viewers what they've just heard. I'd rather be able to just speak to the American people like we just did," she said.

She was stern, conversational and occasionally off-topic, but not flustered. She peppered the 90-minute debate at Washington University in St. Louis with colloquialisms such as "you betcha" and "darn right," and was never shy to confirm that she's been part of the national campaign for only five weeks, ever since she was Sen. John McCain's surprise pick for running mate.

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"It's so obvious I'm a Washington outsider and someone just not used to the way you guys operate," she told Mr. Biden.

That's not to say she kept up with her opponent, whose three decades in the Senate helped him frame long, complex answers steeped in Washington minutiae of legislative back-and-forth, amendments and votes on final passage.

He clearly controlled the debate when it came to foreign affairs and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and held his own in detailing the record of Sen. Barack Obama.

At times he was lecturing, though never overbearing, and he even appeared on the verge of tears when he talked about raising his children after the death of his first wife.