For the partisans on both sides, post-debate analysis is all about spin.  But nonetheless, I’m going to try to give a fairly evenhanded reaction to what I saw in terms of the alignment of the two conversations, the verbal (content) and the non-verbal (body language).  I’ve been waiting until the passions cooled a little on the Palin-Biden debate, just because people are so unreasonable on that subject.  So here goes.  SPOILER ALERT:  I’m going to say tough things about all four candidates.  DON’T READ THIS if you’re a hopeless partisan who sees criticism of your candidate as unpatriotic or worse.

Joe Biden – on the plus side, he had good command of the facts, he appeared to take the debate seriously, and he was respectful to his opponent.  On the negative side, he kept his hand in his pocket too much, and when he registered passion (or at least pique) his voice went high and nasal, and stayed that way too long.  When you keep a hand in a pocket, we wonder what you’re hiding, and when your voice goes nasal, we find it irritating.  He needs to support with good breathing when he takes his voice higher, and keep his hands where we can see them.  NO WHINING, JOE! 

Sarah Palin – on the plus side, she appeared relaxed, after quite a bit of initial nervousness.  She has impressive poise for someone who has just been thrust onto the national scene.  That poise served her very well during her speech at the Republican convention; less well with Katie Couric because you could tell when she was trying to bull her way through an answer.  It would have been better to admit that she didn’t know.  She’s allowed; she’s only been ‘at this for five weeks’. 

In terms of content, she stuck to her prepared answers on taxes and energy, regardless of the questions.  Sometimes that worked, but often her bridging was weak and it was blatantly obvious she wasn’t answering the question.  Audiences don’t like people who don’t respond to the question; bridging is an important art and skill and she needs more practice. 

Her folksiness either grated on you, or you loved it.  All the shout-outs, the you betchas, and the say-it-ain’t-so-Joes – that either made you believe she was just like you, or it made your skin crawl.  Her winking and condescension toward Biden would have been outrageous if their gender roles were reversed; I found it off-putting.  But her main problem was an inconsistency in the two conversations – she smiled when she was actually angry.  That makes us not trust her.  DON’T SMILE WHEN YOU’RE ANGRY, SARAH!

John McCain – on the plus side, McCain sounded best when he was talking about his service to his country.  Then, his voice has the right timbre and gravitas.  On the negative side, when he was criticizing Obama, his voice went high and nasal, like Biden’s, and sounded condescending.  As a result, he was irritating.  If you watched the audience reaction meters on CNN, you saw that happening in real time.  Whenever he went negative, the dials went down, as much because his voice was irritating as anything else. 

But McCain’s main problem was happy feet, when he was talking, and when he was listening.  Once again, audiences look for alignment of the two conversations.  When they are not aligned, we believe the non-verbal.  So, when McCain says that he’s got the experience, a steady hand, and can handle our scary economic problems, but his feet are wandering all over the stage, we believe the feet.  Unconsciously, we think he’s wandering, mentally, just like he is physically.  PLANT YOUR FEET, JOHN!

McCain's wandering around when Obama was answering just looked rude. 

Barack Obama — the best debater of the four in terms of clarity, logic, and coherence of his answers.  He planted his feet when he addressed his audience, and so we believe that he has the mental solidity a president needs.  Obama’s problem is that when he tries to display passion, his voice goes up, but the rest of him stays cool.  He pinches his thumb and forefinger together when he’s making a point, regardless of how he feels about it, and the result is that he appears too passionless.  LOSE THE PRISSY GESTURE, BARACK!  Obama needs to let us see some real temper, or we’re going to think he’s aloof, and we won’t trust him.  We need to see that he’s got some skin in the game.