Vice presidential nominees' impact overrated

When it comes to presidential elections, one of the most interesting aspects of the race is the role the vice presidential nominees play.

After all, depending on who wins in November, Joe Biden or Sarah Palin will only be one heartbeat away from being president if something unfortunate should happen to the president.

However, the ironic aspect of this is that I believe very few of us take their qualifications into consideration when casting our votes.

Think about it: Will the choice of Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate make anybody more or less inclined to vote for Obama? Probably not.

I believe the same applies to John McCain. While Palin has brought some much needed sizzle to his campaign, I believe she will be a minor factor as voters consider voting for McCain.

While it's true Palin may help McCain attract some disenchanted voters who voted for Hillary Clinton during the primaries, this impact will likely be minimal.

However, Palin's emergence during the campaign has been fascinating. After an electrifying speech at the Republican convention, she regressed somewhat as was documented in her lackluster interview with CBS's Katie Couric.

Even some conservatives were debating whether she was the right choice and whether she was experienced enough for the big stage of a presidential election.

She put those fears to rest during her debate with Biden in which she clearly gained confidence as the event unfolded. The same snap, crackle, and pop she displayed at the convention were on display again.

Palin is a lot like Obama in that they both possess a tremendous amount of charisma that plays well on television. Both have been blessed with great communication skills that touch the hearts of people.

While the substance of what a candidate says should be most important, the style in which they present it is quite important.

During my lifetime, the two best communicators involved in politics on the national level have been Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Setting aside their political ideologies, their personal charisma was a big reason for their success. Both not only understood issues, but knew how to present them to citizens.

However, letting personal charisma impact how a person may vote for a president can be a tricky thing. Let's face it; it is easy to be mesmerized by the messenger while losing track of what he or she is actually saying.

As we enter the campaign's final weeks, it is important that voters demand specifics from the candidates regarding how they will tackle the important issues of the day.

When listening to Obama, McCain, Biden, and Palin, it often seems they are satisfied to say they will be an agent of change in Washington without elaborating on what that change will be.

The debates that have been held so far have allowed more specifics to be discussed, but the majority of voters don't tune in to these events. I fear most voters will take the easy way out and form their opinions through the tightly-controlled ways candidates prefer to present themselves.

From here to Election Day, carefully crafted commercials and personal appearances in front of friendly crowds will be how the candidates want to present themselves. Of course, this makes sense because both sides are deathly afraid of making any kind of mistake so close to the end of the campaign.

So, my challenge to you all is to not be satisfied with sound bites from the candidates that are designed to be the quote of the day.

Do your own work and study the issues.