Local reaction to the vice-presidential debate

Some saw "Sarah Barracuda," the tough debater with folksy charm. Others saw Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" caricature deadpanning about that "goofy evolution museum" in New York City.

Local reaction to the most anticipated vice-presidential debate ever, and particularly to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, pretty much followed partisan loyalties.

People all over the Seattle area packed homes, bars and restaurants for "watch parties." More than 300 Women for Obama squeezed into Sport Restaurant and Bar near Seattle Center, standing along walls, sitting on the floor and spilling into the lobby.

Cara Chamberlin, 28, a nanny and student, said she felt ambivalent about Palin.

"I'm back and forth," said Chamberlin, a Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter during the Democratic primary. "As a Democrat I want her to fail, but as a woman I want her to be awesome."

Over 100 people came to a Republican party at Seattle's Sixth Avenue Bar & Grill, decorated with cardboard cutouts of the candidates. They basked in the camaraderie they said was hard to find in Democratic-leaning Seattle.

Thomas Holz, 33, a computer programmer who lives on Queen Anne, said he put up a McCain-Palin sign in his apartment's sixth-floor window. "I wouldn't dare put it in my car," he said.

Throughout the debate, Palin drew repeated cheers and Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden, several jeers.

When Palin said she may not answer questions the way Biden or the moderator wanted her to, but that she was going to talk straight to the American people, huge cheers and clapping erupted. "You go, girl!" one woman exclaimed.

At La Hacienda restaurant in Renton, the debate drew a largely Democratic crowd. Leigh Lennox, 47, a South Park janitor, said she feared Palin's charm and ability to win people over. But she admitted to a bit of bloodlust. "I hope she flubs it," she said.

The crowd played bingo cards with favorite Palin phrases like "hockey mom," "lipstick" and "bridge to nowhere." They checked off the boxes during the debate as Palin uttered the phrases.

"Oh, God, she did not say 'Joe six-pack,' " one woman exclaimed. Others yelled "drill, baby, drill" derisively after Palin said she did not want to discuss the causes of climate change.

About 50 students packed Ian's Domain, an Internet cafe in the basement of McCarty Hall at the University of Washington. Most were Obama-Biden supporters.

As students gulped microwave dinners and sodas, they laughed at, not with, Palin's colloquialisms.

Biden disappointed them in spots, as well. Students booed Palin's definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman, but the room went quiet when Biden opted not to support gay marriage.

"Palin's better about using the stories and anecdotes, and she's hitting the talking points," said Zach Ruby, a leader of UW Students for Barack Obama. But "Biden's got the facts on her, and the substance."

Jenny Revak, a sophomore and Obama fan, said she thought Palin's folksy phrases fell flat. "I'm sorry, we've had the president you can sit down and have a beer with, and we don't need that," she said.

At Mulleady's, an Irish pub in Magnolia, there was no mistaking who Mrs. George Stuart's candidate was. The 72-year-old Magnolia resident, who says she always uses her husband's name, led the cheers when Palin said she intended to talk straight and let people know her track record.

Despite having a Republican in the White House, Stuart, a retired teacher and former Democrat, holds the Democrats responsible for the recent economic fallout. "She's wiping him out," Stuart said of Palin's performance against Biden.

The atmosphere after the debate at Sixth Avenue Bar & Grill was ebullient.

Republicans spoke of how Palin seemed to speak from the heart and directly to the audience.

"I was stunned by how well she did," said Julia MacLauchlan, 52, a community volunteer from Redmond. "You got the feeling she was an open person you could talk to," whereas Biden came across as a person who would lecture you, she said.

Back at Sport, Chamberlin said she was frustrated by Palin. "I don't think she's ever had to be intelligent. I think she's gotten along by being cute and sassy, and I think that sets back women. I think she is intelligent. I wish she would show that.

"I say that as a woman, not a Democrat."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com Seattle Times reporters Nicole Tsong, Will Mari, Charles Brown and Janet Tu contributed to this report.