10.02.2008 10:28 pm
432 WashU students make it in
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
What a coup! A WashU official tells me that 432 students were in the audience tonight.
The university wasn’t sure originally how many students would be able to make it in. But nearly 8,000 students entered a lottery to get tickets. The top 500 or so students were waiting in a remote location waiting to see how many tickets would be released. A couple hours before the debate, a WashU official told me that at least 150 students would get in. So I guess more students got the good news than they expected.
You could feel their presence, too. Many students with smiling faces jammed the hallways shortly before the debate.
In 2004, only 150 students were able to sit in the audience.
Kavita Kumar covers higher education for the Post-Dispatch. 
I sat there and watched the entire VP debates tonight and I cannot for the life of me find a reason for why all the major news media outlets call it a draw. Biden was the clear winner. He exposed Palin’s inexperience, forcing her to go off topic several times because she could not defend McCain’s positions on almost anything. She kept on going back to the same memorized speech over and over again and had no new information to share. I am quite frankly insulted that anyone could call this a draw. No way. Not a chance. She lost. Sorry Republicans, you’re aren’t the candidates for change. Did anyone hear Palin apologize to Biden at the very end when they were shaking hands? How odd.
More students should’ve been allowed in.
Hmmm, maybe the seats were available because the Republicans who were supposed to attend the debates were too busy shoving students out of the way in order to hold up McCain-Palin signs in front of cameras: http://studlife.com/news/middle-aged_republican_picketers_stir_controversy .
Well, arezendes, I was at the debate too and for the life of me, cannot understand how YOU think Biden won. He made wayyyy more misrepresentations than Palin, and kept rambling on and confusing everyone with his senate speak. Talk about old Washington elitism and class warfare. Patriotic to pay more taxes? Give me a break. This was CLEARLY, OBVIOUSLY, a win for Palin because she finally got to let her charm, wit, intelligence, and humor come through UNFILTERED and WITHOUT the help from your liberal cohorts in the media setting her up with gotcha questions. Nobody has EVER held Barry Obama bin Biden to the same standard, so you should be ashamed of your party’s involvement in the political process for not insisting on tougher standards for Obama. He and Biden continue to get pass after free pass for very radical and wrong headed positions which would have derailed any Republican thanks to the biased media. Wake up and smell the coffee, oddball.