Sharply divided over the financial rescue package, the American vice-presidential candidates agreed on Pakistan during a feisty debate with pundits giving veteran Democrat John Biden the first round against his novice rival, the glamorous Sarah Palin.
The two rivals described an "unstable" Pakistan as "extremely dangerous" for the world, but Biden went a step ahead saying its tribal areas and Afghanistan were the "central front" of the war on terror and not Iraq as projected by the Republicans.
The 65-year-old, known for his deft understanding of international relations especially in his capacity as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that the next attack on the US is "going to come from al Qaeda planning in the hills of Afghanistan and Pakistan" and declared that he "will go after" terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden if there is "actual intelligence".
Palin, a 44-year-old former beauty queen and Alaska governor, accused Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama of raising the a "white flag of surrender in Iraq" and called him naive and "dangerous" for saying he was willing to engage the leadership of Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
"This is beyond bad judgment. This is dangerous," Palin said.
Palin's nomination as the first woman Republican vice presidential nominee a month ago electrified the John McCain camp but the enthusiasm gradually waned as her weak responses in television interviews exposed her inexperience.
Though her performance during the 90-miniute debate surprised many who were hoping for some gaffe, but a CNN poll showed that debate had done little to help her image with only 36 per cent of respondents favouring her against 51 per cent for Biden.
The first question was posed on the US $ 700 billion bailout package which prompted Biden, a 35-year veteran of the US Senate, to blame Bush administration for the current economic turmoil.
Biden accused McCain of misjudging the severity of the financial crisis only two weeks ago and said he was "out of touch". "Until two weeks ago, two Mondays ago, John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy were strong," Biden said. "It doesn't make John McCain a bad guy. It does say he is out of touch."
Biden defended Obama's plan to hike taxes to raise US $ 250,000. "The economic policies of the last eight years are the worst we've ever had," Biden said.
"We're going to fundamentally change the focus of economic policy, we're going to focus on the middle class. Because when the middle class prospers the whole of America does too," Biden said.
Palin said Americans were full of "fear" over the state of the economy. "The federal government has not provided the oversight we need. John McCain has been the one representing reform," she claimed, accusing Obama of promoting "redistribution of wealth" which would lead to decline in jobs and revenue.
Asked which was the greater threat, a nuclear Iran or an unstable Pakistan. "They're both extremely dangerous. Pakistan already has nuclear weapons. Pakistan already has deployed nuclear weapons. Pakistan's weapons can already hit Israel and the Mediterranean. Iran getting a nuclear weapon would be very, very destabilising.... So they're both very dangerous. They both would be game changers," Biden said during the debate at Washington University in St Loius, Missouri.
The US media said that Palin was impressive, but only by her own standards.
The New York Times said the debate did not change the "essential truth" of Palin's candidacy. "Mr McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. After a series of stumbling interviews that raised serious doubts even among conservatives about her fitness to serve as vice president, Ms Palin had to do little more than say one or two sensible things and avoid an election-defining gaffe" in Thursday's debate, it said.
"By that standard, and only that standard, the governor of Alaska did well," the Times said. The Wall Street Journal was more generous. It said Palin "more than held her own" in debating foreign policy and had "shown herself worthy of the national stage".
Both the camps, however, claimed victory. "While Governor Palin blindly supports John McCain's plan for more of the same policies that have devastated Main Street and let Wall Street run wild, Joe Biden spoke clearly and strongly about Obama's plan for a tax cut for the middle class, health care that is affordable, and an end to the war in Iraq," the Obama camp said.
The McCain campaign said Palin was "direct, forceful and a breath of fresh air." "Tonight, Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as Vice President of the United States. She won this debate, putting Joe Biden on the defensive on energy, foreign policy, taxes and the definition of change," it said.
© 2026