Blogging The Veep Debate

The Briefing Room will liveblog the vice presidential debate, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.

Republican veep nominee Sarah Palin goes into the debate amid criticism over her readiness for the national stage. The criticism, which has come from both liberal bloggers and conservative writers, stems largely from her incomplete and inconsistent answers in recent interviews. Look for Gov. Palin to try to allay those concerns with forward-looking, can-do rhetoric.

Democratic veep candidate Joe Biden has more experience with debates. He earned rave reviews for his terse and witty responses while debating last year as a candidate for president. But Sen. Biden (D-Del.) also has a reputation for being too loquacious and gaffe prone. Watch to see which Biden shows up tonight.

The liveblog starts just before the debate, which is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and will be moderated by PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

8:59 p.m.: Welcome to the liveblog. The debate is just one of several nuggets of news in the presidential race on Thursday. The McCain campaign earlier confirmed that it’s pulling out of Michigan, which was considered one of the prime opportunities for McCain to pick up a state won by Democrats in 2004. The decision underscores the state of the race heading into the debate. Polls show Barack Obama pulling ahead of John McCain in both the national vote and in the key swing states.

9:03 p.m.: The candidates come out on stage. When they greet each other, Palin is heard asking Biden, “Can I call you Joe?” Biden appears to say yes.

9:06 p.m.: The first question is, unsurprisingly, about the economy. Biden says that the focus needs to be on the middle class and that Republicans haven’t done enough of that.

Palin uses a more personal approach. She talks about talking to parents and asking them if it’s a good time or a bad time for the economy. The approach is quintessential Palin.”I betcha you’re going to hear some fear in that parent’s voice,” she said.

9:11 p.m.: Palin and Biden debate over whether McCain has supported regulation and oversight, which is a debate the Obama camp would clearly like to have.

Palin says that McCain has represented reform and sought for more oversight of troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“People in the Senate with him his colleagues didn’t want to listen to him,” she said.

Biden brought out the fact that McCain said recently that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong,” only to say hours later that there was an economic crisis.Biden then suggested that McCain didn’t do much to prevent the crisis in supporting deregulation.

9:20 p.m.: Palin shifts the debate to taxes, and says that Obama voted 94 times in the Senate to increase taxes.

Biden came prepared, saying that the charge wasn’t true. He added that McCain, using Palin’s standard, voted more than 400 times for tax increases.

9:25 p.m.: Biden scores a soundbite.

He found himself trying to defend Obama’s plan for universal healthcare from Palin’s attacks. She suggested that it wasn’t a good idea to have the government take over anything, especially in light of the government’s performance recently.

Biden turned the tables by launching into an explanation of McCain’s healthcare plan. He noted that McCain’s plan to give a healthcare tax credit to individuals would lead to taxes on the currently untaxed healthcare benefit that Americans receive from their employees. He added that the credit would be less than the cost of a healthcare plan.

Then, talking into the camera, he unleashed his line: “I call that the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere.”

9:31 p.m.: In a bit of an upset, Biden so far is the less loquacious debater.

Palin has shown a tendency to repeat her point and her phrases. She was also the first candidate to be cut off by moderator Gwen Ifill for going over the limit. The tactic of repetition has worked before; George W. Bush was criticized by the pundits during his presidential debates for repeating his point, but it arguably served to get his message across to voters.

Biden, stylistically, is trying to keep things subdued and somewhat friendlier than one would expect during a high-stakes debate.When Palin talks, Biden carefully listens to her. Sometimes, it’s with a big smile on his face.

9:41 p.m.: The candidates come to an apparent agreement on the rights for homosexual couples. Both candidates said they oppose marriage. When Biden pressed Palin to say that she disagreed over whether to provide the same benefits to same-sex couples that heterosexual couples receive, she demurred. Ifill took that to mean she agreed and moved on.

9:47 p.m.: Biden and Palin have their most personal exchange over the Iraq war.

Palin noted that Biden and Obama had once disagreed over voting for a bill funding the troops when they were primary rivals. Biden backed the bill while Obama did not, because it failed to include a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops.

“I respected when you called him out on that,” Palin said.

Biden parried Palin’s attack by noting that McCain also voted against a bill that would have funded the troops, one that did include a timetable.

Biden then said that Obama and him would end the war.

“For John McCain, there is no end in sight to end this war,” he said.

Palin replied, without missing a beat: “Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq. That is not what our troops need to hear today.”

9:55 p.m.: There’s a flash of frustration and near-anger from Biden in response to a remark from Palin about Israel.