• by Wayne Friedman , October 7, 2008

In response to a real-time screening of the recent vice presidential debate, one CBS research survey says voters responded positively to Democrats' view on the Iraq War and the Republicans' when it comes to the economy.

At its live TV panel research facility in Las Vegas, CBS said the most positive response came from Democratic VP candidate Sen. Joe Biden talking about ending the Iraq War. The least? The comments by Republican VP candidate Gov. Sarah Palin about the war, who generally supports it.

Forty-four men and women panel members watching the debate live turned dials numbered 1 to 100 to indicate responses, with zero being the most negative and 100 being the most positive. Panelist responses were measured at CBS' TV City research area in Las Vegas, using Nielsen Media Research technology.

With the average being a 44 score for any specific issue, Biden's comments about the war hit around 76, while Palin's comments about the war hit around 37. Palin's best results came in talking about the economic bailout bill approved by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives last week, which hit a 69 score. Biden's low point came when talking about same-sex benefits, which received a 52 number.

However, panelists responded well when Biden talked about tax breaks for the middle class, Obama's rescue plan and warnings on the subprime crisis.

Using these results, CBS notes that in many cases, the panelists were "leaning" toward the Obama-Biden ticket.

In regard to age, CBS and Nielsen note that older panelists ages 55-99 were generally more positive that younger demos 18-34 and 35-54. Older panelists especially responded to Biden when he discussed his role if called upon to fill in as president, as well as his views on nuclear-weapons control.

Nielsen notes that the panel's results are not part of CBS' election polling.