(CNN) -- Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden praised his Republican counterpart's acceptance speech as "incredibly well-crafted and delivered," but said Sarah Palin's rhetoric lacked substance.
"I didn't hear the phrase 'middle class.' I didn't hear a single word about health care. I didn't hear a single word about helping people get to college," Biden, a U.S. senator from Delaware, told CNN's "American Morning" Thursday.
He went on to list other policy areas the Alaska governor did not address Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"They don't have a single answer [for] how to dig us out of the hole we've been dug into the last eight years," Biden added. iReport.com: "Oh, we can play that game"
In her speech Wednesday night, Palin belittled Sen. Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago, Illinois, and remarked that the Democratic presidential nominee and senator had written two memoirs but no major legislation. 
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Biden countered by saying Obama had helped formulate "the most significant ethics reform bill since Watergate."
Biden said he would stick to policy issues when the two meet to debate on October 2 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
"When we debate -- and, boy, she's going to be a tough debater, she's going to be a skillful debater -- I'm going to try to talk about the differences of our worldview here and what we're going to do for the country," he said.
"If it's going to get down to who can deliver the toughest lines, then she's going to win the debate," Biden added. "But I'm not going there."
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