Biden says election about Obama and McCain

Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, called his rival Sarah Palin a “tough, smart women”, but said the election will come down to the presidential candidates.

“You know, it's early in the process and the voters are going to make judgments about Sarah Palin and Joe Biden,” said the Delaware senator, making his 42nd appearance  Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’. “But the truth is they're mostly going to make judgments about Barack Obama and John McCain.”

{mosads}Biden said Palin delivered “a number” of great lines during her introduction at the Republican National Convention, but said Americans still don’t know her positions on a multitude of issues. He suggested that increased scrutiny of Palin’s policy positions on issues such as Iraq, the economy and healthcare could put an end to the honeymoon she is experiencing now.

“Look, she's a smart, tough politician, and so I, I think she's going to be very formidable,” Biden said. “But you know, eventually she's going to have to sit in front of you like I'm doing and have done. Eventually she's going to have to answer questions and not be sequestered. Eventually she's going to have to answer questions about her record.”

Palin passed on making the rounds on any Sunday shows this weekend.

Biden, the running mate of Sen. Obama (D-Ill.), also downplayed the impact Palin will have helping Sen. McCain (Ariz.), the Republican presidential nominee, court women voters who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) for president.

“You know, I think it's kind of demeaning to suggest that all women are going to vote for a woman just because she's a woman even when she's diametrically opposed to everything Hillary stands for,” Biden said. “I mean, I hear this talk about, you know, is she going to pick up Hillary voters? Well, I–so far I haven't heard one single policy position, one single position that she has in common with Hillary. So I, I just think, you know, all folks are a little more discriminating than just merely whether or not it's the same sex or the same ethnicity or whatever. But we'll see, we'll see. The truth is, I don't know.”

Biden also sought to take the focus of the race to the White House off of himself and Palin – who almost certainly contributed to the healthy bump in the polls that Sen. McCain and his running mate have received.

“Vice presidents are useful, but we're not, we're not determinative,” Biden said.