I'm up to that too.

You'll do fine Steve...
As for Sarah......??

But tonight, I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Let's just keep expectations low, shall we?

:)

So what's the key phrase/word that will make you pick up the alcohol?

Let's just keep expectations low, shall we?

Relax. We're not expecting you to post anything about Dred Scott or the newspapers you read.

You're a leviathan of forensics Steve. What could possibly go wrong? :-)

My keyword will be maverick. I expect to be blitzed by the end of the debate.

Fellow members of the reality-based universe, we will travel this journey of nonsense together.

Can I call you Joe?

Palin's flag pin? Tack-eeeeeee!

She's starting it off folksy.

Neither of them answered the question!

New drinking word, "ALSO"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qophEpQuC9E

Joe, don't forget to look at Sarah when you're talking...

Ah, he brought up violence against women-good.

Oh, he's responding to McCain's flip-flopping now..

"He's (McCain) out of out of touch"

No punch in Palin's lines, it sounds like she's trying to say all her points before she forgets them.

Please please fix the retention of personal info.

"A team of mavericks" - gagg.

She sure has a nice smile on her face while she makes up a different past for McCain.

Palin is talking to the camera, Biden is talking to Ifill.

Just like Obama and McCain, respectively.

Good Ford, her voice is awful. "heckuva lot" -- snort!

Geez, her name should be Sarah Patronizing,you betcha, yes indeedy!

Get her on the tax increase lie Joe!!

9:10: "Never again." It's a little jarring in this context.

I had the same reaction: kind of banal, really.

McCain voted for the tax increase on 42000 earners?

She's actually not doing a bad job, so far.

Government growth we've seen today? That'd be under Bush, right?

She also repated the $42,000 tax increase lie, and Biden called her on it. Good.

And pointed out that using Palin's standard of accusing Obama for raising taxes 92 times, McCain raised taxes 400 times. Heh.

She claims to lower taxes as mayor -- will he hit her with the debt she left?

ah, Biden is staying cool as a cucumber--fantastic

but she is attacking him and dissing the moderator:

I'm gonna talk straight to the American people"

insisting on speaking on taxes

Ifill setting limits: Your time is up--

I like the way Biden smiles at her. It even seems pretty genuine.

Joe should say the Alaska economy is more like Saudi Arabia's than the US.

Is it me or does she look like a nervous wreck? I am waiting for her voice to crack from nerves.

Sweet Jesus, Ifill just asked Biden why the proposal to raise taxes on the rich isn't class warfare!!!! I need another drink...

Biden's running the show.

When is this "redistribution of wealth" crap going to stop? Can someone call out the huge redistribution upwards of the last 8 years please please please?

She claimed to be middle class.

She mentions the health care tax credit, without noting that he'd tax health care benefits as income.

She's just full of lies tonight -- but nothing new. Biden must be prepared for these!

Well, she's certainly doing a good job. I have to say. She's got well-rehearsed statements, she's been well prepped.

Is it me, or does it look like there's a wire over her right shoulder?
And a bulge toward the upper part of her back?

My wife, a small business owner is railing against her! Regurgitating Reaganism - trying to be a Federalist/anti-federalist.

If any other thing I have seen with her was accurate, she is on uppers....no question.

She obviously doesnt know anything about McCain's or Obama health care programs.

5000 credit - tax neutral? Obama mandates gov't program?

Bridge to nowhere! Drink!

Me: Biden must be prepared for these!

He was -- he nailed them on the health plan, and the audience reacted, despite they weren't supposed to.

She says McCain doesn't tell one thing to one group and another to another group? Is she kidding?!

She probably scored on claiming to "take on the oil companies."

No wonder the McCainiacs fought for this trading-talking-points-only "debate." She's got her points memorized well. She comes across well (unfortunately). The "deer in the headlights" isn't there.

"Bridge to nowhere! Drink!"

Oh, I am

"kinda undo." I think kinda should be a definite drinking word.

She probably scored on claiming to "take on the oil companies."

Not according to CNN's ticker.

Palin: "How long have I been at this? Five weeks?"
----------------------------------------------

Say what?

She is trying pathetically to defend all her gaffes..

Yes! Point out her windfall oil tax profits! Yes yes.

I'm watching the approvallines on CNN with the sound off--too nerve wracking. They've split out women and men instead of Dems, Rethugs and Ind as they did in the pres. debate. Why? You be the judge. Right now, thank god, she seems to be kind of flatlining but earlier she was scoring well. Women seem to like Biden more at times. But the response to him seems pretty middle of road most of the time. . I'm hoping he'll get stronger as the novelty wears off.

Yeah, she seems to be flatter. And what's up with that enormous flag pin? Bet they can see that in alaska...

Joltinn Joe- manages to tear down McCain and compliment Palin.
Nice!

"Main streeters like me" I call BS! SHe lives on a lake! has two airplanes!

Joe finessed the bankruptcy response pretty well there.

LOL!!

Palin slams "East Coast Politicians"--gee, that's a lot of people!

Climate change...what the hell did she just say???????

Um.. if you don't know how climate change is caused, how are you going to fix it?

You can't fix a problem without understanding.

You can't fix a problem without understanding.

Field dress her on GW, Joe!

The expectation game will probably work -- she isn't drooling on herself.

She's winning! She's winning! I'm so afraid we Democrats are going to lose in November!

East Coast politicians. Yeah, all those senators and representatives from California and Utah and Montana.

I can barely watch her, she is such an effing b*tch.

did she just say "Senator O'Biden"?

Oy.

9:17: She's not middle class. She's a millionaire.

If you count the value of her house, which is large but not exactly a mansion. She's middle class-ish, given the flexible upper boundary to that category.

What she ain't, at least not while she's pulling down $125K as governor, is "Joe Sixpack."

She doesn't support gay marriage, but says she is tolerant. Yeah.

Grumpy - the Palins pull down $250K/yr, net worth $1.2 million.

Not bad for Wasilla.

She keeps saying she will be "straight up" with the American people. Her reputation for evasiveness must be hurting her.

hey, but she did study up on English grammar! There are actual sentences coming out of her mouth!

Seriously, it's more difficult to see from the front, but when the camera's at her back, it's clear there's something that looks like a thick black cord.
Does nobody else notice this?
I mean, maybe it's just a clump of hair.
Nobody?

OMFG: "O'Biden and Nuculer"!!! M'kay?

as Steve pointed out, she's hitting the same phony talking points that McCain used in the first debate. She just said Obama voted against the funding for the troops, when Obama explained it to McCain in the first debate. And Biden is cearing it up now.

Still, those lies must poll well with the base.

Biden just nailed her on the civil rights for same sex couples issue. He clearly defined the issue and said we agree on this.. no? and she had no idea what he was saying and could only say I don't support same sex marriage. that was good by biden to politely put her in a corner she had no idea how to get out of.

is it to her credit that she at least recognized she was cornered?

Well, she bombed on her Iraq strategy. Biden's doing better predictably.

before everyone goes all ape-caca over "she has two airplanes!" - Todd (not her) only has one, and a 1958 Piper Super Cub is not a big deal. It's what is known in Alaska as a "bush plane." A 50-year old Super Cub (a darn good, reliable airplane) probably goes for around $30-35K, which is not a big deal as airplanes go. The airplane may be the most "working class" thing they have, with things the way they are in Alaska. It's the equivalent of an SUV actually used for serious off-road work.

If we're going to attack her, we shouldn't attack her on things that make us look like the kind of latte-sipping lefty who doesn't know that - on airplanes - the pointed end goes in front.

We have the quote of the night:

PALIN: "It's a toxic mess on Mainstreet that's affecting Wallstreet."

Sorry, but has Palin spent any time looking at Senator Biden while he's been talking?

The CNN ticker shows people are definitely not interested in McCain/Palin's position on the surge. They want out of Iraq. "White flag of surrender" was not a hit. They're also not sold by the "cutting of funding" crap.

"helping Maliki and the Talibani??????

What?
Did I hear her say Taliban?

my heart is sinking
through my throat
she uses words
to cross the moat
the castle walls
are within her reach
lets hope the arrows
stop the breach

Okay--she just got really mean to Obama--indicated he has no right to make decisions about the war because he has no direct contact or family member in the war?

She also accused Obama/Biden of waving the flag of surrender....

------------------------------------------

She doesn't look at him even while praising him and his son in the National Guard

----------------------------------------

What's the link to the cnn audience response?

Why can't Republicans say "nuclear" correctly? Seriously, do they do it on purpose?

Seriously -- are "the Castro brothers" DANGEROUS? She's f!@#ing insane.

Does she have a cheat sheet?

At the Rep Convention Palin had cue the word nuclear spelled phonetically on her teleprompter. She needs it today. Nucular?

Now she's on the meet-with-preconditions thing. What did they, sit her down like Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange in front of the McCain/Obama debate? She keeps using the exact same points that bombed the first time!

She has got to be playing to the base; this bullshit didn't work coming from McCain the first time.

My wife who although a Barack supporter is a blank slate when it comes to the inside baseball of the debates and the Gwen Ifill controversy thinks Ifill is favoring Palin.

Gregory: Still, those lies must poll well with the base.

A-yup. But nobody else.

This year, only the 27-percenters are buying what she's selling.

In the little bit that I watched, both Palin and Biden seem respectful of each other, unlike McCain. She's looking at him, and he at her.

John N - the CNN ticker is on the bottom of the screen on TV.

My wife who although a Barack supporter is a blank slate when it comes to the inside baseball of the debates and the Gwen Ifill controversy thinks Ifill is favoring Palin.

I agree with kfh, but "what has Bush done right and wrong with Israel" is a tough one.

She brings up how proud she is that America stands against the evil Iran and other countries who hate us, our democracy, our tolerance, our supporting womens rights and yet--McCain/Palin are the most intolerant ticket I'm ever aware of!

See--there is no time, so she can just toss that...

Gregor, you beat me to the punch! I noticed her looking down a lot during the Iran/Pakistan question and was wondering the same thing, cliff notes or her own notes that she has been writing.

That leads me to another question. Does someone check the podiums to make sure they do not have cheat sheets out there? Though I suppose they could sneak something out of the pocket when the camera was not on them.

But she is just so cute. As cute as a shiny button. So well scrubbed. What a nice young lady. Gosh, what do you people want?

Gregory -- yes, that is a tough question, which is why Palin didn't answer the question at all.

Ifill has always been a reliable patsy for Republicans.

What the hell? She said you can't look at the mistakes of the Bush Administration to bring change?

Poor Joe, he's biting his tongue...

She just writes off the past as 'blunders' that will change.

Oh--GREAT--he's hitting hard now--'Past is Prologue'

Biden's response to Palin's claims about change was strong, focused, and lovely.

Go Joe Go!! That was great-hammer the comparison!

Wha hoppen? She couldn't speak coherently in sentences during soft interviews. But tonight she's talking in complete sentences and is essentially coherent.

If I took a shot every time Palin said 'maverick,' I'd be completely plastered by now. And we've still got 30 min. left.

And I've had to reassess Palin somewhat. I used to say that she was Caribou Barbie. I was wrong. Listen to her: she's the Caribou Valley Girl. Gag her with a spoon!

Please!
-Z

I will consider contributing $5 to the McCain campaign if Palin will pronounce "nuclear" correctly just once tonight.

We aren't killing civilians in Afghanistan, we're killing terrorists?!?! She said we're building schools?!

Biden said facts matter. Except to the dead-enders, but Palin's message is aimed at them and no one else.

They're still rallying their base in October.

question -- lying or truth aside, who's more listenable? And how much does it matter? I think it might matter more than actual content.

And why do the women on the CNN ticker swing so much higher and lower than the men do? And why does that annoy me to no end? And why do Palin's Rs make me nuts?

"I'm so encouraged we both love Israel." wtf?

My husband lived in Alaska for a couple years and wonders whether her accent might be a fundamentalist accent rather than an Alaskan accent, because he never heard such there.

And I think Ifill is doing okeedokee, so far.

Freaking repeated "nucular." Argh.

Rephrase: Who's more listenable to the great unwashed masses? And how much of the great unwashed masses will vote?

mossie - Yep.

I think those "nightly-for-six-months" Democratic debates last year are helping Biden out here tonight.

Yes he fucking did say the surge would work in Afghanistan -- I listened to him say it, you dimwit!

I'm confused. Biden said commander in Afghanistan said a surge strategy will not work. But a couple days ago, didn't he ask for more troops pronto?

And who is McClellan? Is she thinking Civil war?

Joe D,

I don't have video of this, but Palin has a nervous habit of counting points off on her fingers.

"We should rally the world to act.." --Joe. But just not in Iraq. What?

"We should rally the world to act.." --Joe. But just not in Iraq. What?

He did just tell you why he voted for AUMF, cow.

Every time she says "nuke-u-lar," I want to scream and through things at my TV. But I like my TV too much.

This is degenerating into a competition to see who can say Ahmadinejad correctly the most times. Sarah's successes with that are somewhat spoiled by alternating 'Ahmadinejad' with 'nucular'.

She's repeating her Alaska gubernatorial debate: looks & sounds pretty good as long as you don't think about content and context, and give her a pass on her evasions and lies.

Biden needs a notecard that says "TALK TO THE CAMERA".

Gregory - They're still rallying their base in October.

Yeah - seems the strategy now is to get out enough votes to hold on to Texas.

Palin: "Boy, it's so clear I'm a 'Washington Outsider'"

I quit at her third "nukilar" which, I think, is even worse than Bush's "nucular." I already had problems with her "I-wreck" pronunciation and this was just too much to stomach.

Remember November @21:44

I think she got "Talibani" (Iraqi Prime Minister) and "the Taliban" (the bad guys in Afghanistan) all mashed up into a single unit. Not surprising.

Biden is truly impressive; even better than Obama, given how short a time they have to "digest" a question and respond to it. And he listens well to her blathering (poor guy) and manages to shoot down most of her crap on the rebuttal, while all *she* has for rebuttal is to hark back to some point she hadn't managed to make earlier, whether it's relevant or not.

If people decide she's ready to step into Presidential stilettos at a moment's notice, I will give up on US. Honest.

Oohhhhhhhh, she should not have thrown the "we'll know who was telling the truth tomorrow" gauntlet.

Hey, did you know that John McCain was in a war?

Oh, Joe, tell them you'll continue Obama's policies because you're both Democrats.

Let Palin say they're both Republicans, I dare her!

They're MAVERICKY!

McCain knows how to win a war? When was that?

And he "knows what evil is"? Sounds to me like he's finally sold his soul to Lucifer . . .

They're MAVERICKY!

The Palin rope-a-dope: flirt, ignore difficult points, parrot sound bytes.

I can't wait to see Tina Fey mug to the camera as Palin as doing.

"There you go, doggone it, looking back at the Bush administration..."

Because McCain supported Bush, you twit!

She's become completely incoherent. And the winking at the camera is just disturbing.

Gregory - Yes. That was a Big Mistake.

Biden's doing much better now. Even the boys are cooling to Palin now... Oh, god, they like her description of a Palin administration. I guess there's always suicide...Jeez, they like her, they really like her...or they don't...can't tell.

Wasn't the "Maverick" the Mercury version of the Ford Pinto, which frequently exploded when its gas tank was hit? If not, my mistake. But if so, what'll happen to these two so-called "Mavericks" when they are hit? Hee hee! ;-)

Palin just got her best response from the CNN ticker people for saying No child left behind isn't working.

Well, doggoneit, Joe!

*puke*

Extra credit for the third-graders--good linem, though. Would resonate with me if she weren't so smarmy folksy.

Palin: "Say it ain't so, Joe" No wonder she asked if she could call him Joe...and now she is going on about education and praising Joe's wife while at the same time putting him down.

I'm going to be sick--did anyone see her wink a few minutes ago?

For people who are asking about cheat sheets. I think both of them have some kind of cards with notes. And I saw Biden *taking* notes while she was answering, getting ready for his rebuttal.

She agrees with Cheney that the Veep is the fourth branch of government. Heh.

Palin did OK. Not much material that can be added to the Couric/Gibson highlight clip.

She hammered Biden pretty well about his 2002 Iraq vote. I kept hoping Biden would call her a liar, when she brought up the troop funding, but he settled for the same refutation.

She made me gag, but "low information" voters would probably go for most of it. She was mostly pretty genial, while Biden was getting heated at times.

Well, she's leaving them cold now, stone cold. But Joe's scoring! Will this ever be over?

Most Dangerous Vice President in American History (especially when he's hunting!) Otherwise, more Joe Hyperbole about Chaney. Gag

I'm sure that other people have noticed Palin's habit of simply ignoring Ifill's question and saying whatever she wants.

And, to be honest, I'm kind of concerned about Caribou Valley Girl. I think she may be retarded.

-Z

Is it just me, or does this feel like a speed date?

So have we heard all six of Palin's talking points now?

Did she just flub the "Reagan-moment" with the "There you go, doggone it"?

Her handlers must be just chugging the Jack Daniels about now.

"Equal rice"

Biden on Cheney: best answer yet.
(SP on the vice presidency: gag me with a moose.)

Perfect? No one is perfect, hon, especially not you & McLame!

she's twinkling all over the place. I'm gonna hurl.

Yay team! Team team team! Twinkle aggressively!

Oh man. I know what it's like to be a single parent ... I love Joe! Who wouldn't after he tells his story.

Equal opportunity at work!

I don't think she didn't hear Ifill; I think she doesn't know who the hell Achilles was, or what was wrong with his heel...

It's the Achilles' heel question--they loved Joe; Sarah, not so much. The guys are starting to see her as that pretty, pretty girl who wouldn't go out with them.

She said McCain took on his own party when the time is right...and Biden is hitting her on the claim that McCaim is a maverick. Good.

Joe just effectively smacked down the John McCain the Maverick.

Ha! Biden said he changed his mind on judicial ideology, and she said she didn't veto budget as mayor -- completely whiffing on Biden's point on judicial ideology!

She's regurgitating, not responding to the actual debate.

Passing a budget you don't like is a far cry from changing your entire legal philosophy based on years of observation.

How do you build up infrastructure and reign in spending?!?!

Palin isn't making any sense!

She also just hit out at "the mainstream media".

Of course, playing to the base doesn't have to make any sense.

Strong closing from Joe. Was he in an advantageous position--Palin got the first question, and he the closing? Closings are what people remember most. Hopefully.

CBS is saying the headline will be Palin didn't embarrass herself. Oh, boy!

Bob Schieffer just pointed out Palin didn't answer the questions but repeated talking points.

Oh, god, here come the kids. Why is she patting Trig so hard--he's sleeping. I think she's trying to kill him...

cutting taxes at this point is like cutting fuel costs out ofbthe family budget. You're still going to have to pay for it.

They brought out the baby prop again.

OK, it's over. As a whole, I think that Biden won on points, so to speak. However, I suspect we'll see something of the GWB effect in the MSM tomorrow. If you recall, expectations of GWB were so low coming into debates against Gore + Kerry that, when he merely avoided drooling on himself, the MSM was ready to declare him the winner.

Well, the Caribou Valley Girl didn't make a compete idiot of herself- perhaps half an idiot, or even 90% an idiot, but not a complete idiot- I suspect some in the MSM will spend more time saying how good she was than they will pointing out that Biden actually made more sense.

-Z

Biden played the gravitas card.
And he knocked it out of the park at the end.

I'm happy.

Paling didn't have what Jeff Greenfield called "a Tina Fey moment," and she came off as folksy, but she didn't seem Presidential -- she seemed like a last-minute substitute. Biden appeared Presidential but managed to put in his won connections to middle America time and again.

This debate will not move the electorate toward Obama -- how could it? She was playing to the base.

debate = boring

we've been had

Zorro, I agree that the expectations game favored Palin, but CBS pointed out how scripted she was, and that she didn't answer questions -- she didn't respond to almost anything in the debate.

She just recited talking points, and the electorate yawns.

That was a great debate!

I've never felt better about Joe Biden for VP.

As for Sarah Barracuda, she's roughly as bright as a fish so I guess the name fits.

Palin's flirting, winking, and aw shucks attitude may work for catching the HS QB, but it is not going to go over well with many, especially women who take themselves seriously. Caribou Barbie, she absolutely is.

"My keyword will be maverick. I expect to be blitzed by the end of the debate."

Has anyone called 911 for Margaret?

If the real thing don’t do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn burn burn burn it to the wick
Ooooooh, barracuda

Gregory @ 10:30,
How do you build up infrastructure and reign in spending?!?!

Be Alaska.

I absolutely love what Rachel Maddow just said about the debate--every single word. And Steve--thanks so much for the live blogging--great job!

I too noticed that Palin just kept going like an automaton robot after Biden grew extremely tearful.

She was indeed cartoonish.

Did anyone notice she indicated that this venue much more , this 'speaking directly to the American people' versus speaking to the mainstream media?

That was not what I'd call 'speaking to the American people'. That was an amazingly rehearsed, rather coldish and mocking speech essentially.

I lost her at that wink.

A few questions:

1) Can I hold the Palin baby? Trig would have been in my arms by now.
2) Could I adopt Joe Biden as a surrogate grandfather?
3) Could we please agree that formulating complete sentences is not the only qualification for being VP?

Did she really tell Joe Biden, whose first wife was killed in a car wreck, that his second wife's "reward will be in heaven" because she's a teacher???

Really???

Sarah Palin was about what I expected: babbling bumper sticker phrases and spewing lies. If there was anything that surprised me, it was the laughably phony quality of her facial emoting. She came off as someone doing a parody of Tina Fey doing a parody of Sarah Palin.

What surprised me was that Joe Biden was awesome. He was a rock star. He was Jimmy Stewart. He was a sage. It was probably the most powerful performance in a VP debate since Al Gore in 1992. I was much more impressed by Biden than I expected to be.

Sarah Palin was a scripted phony. Biden is the real deal. This country will be extraordinarily fortunate -- probably more fortunate than we deserve -- if we get an Obama/Biden administration. A Palin/McCain administration will be a tragic catastrophe for the entire planet.

OK, it's over. As a whole, I think that Biden won on points, so to speak. However, I suspect we'll see something of the GWB effect in the MSM tomorrow. Posted by: Zorro

Based on what little I've heard on television, the reaction has been that she had nothing to say. Biden knows his stuff and she's repeating talking points.

Geraldine Ferraro just said she was pulling for Palin to do well "as a woman."

WTF?

Palin represents women like Clarence Thomas represents blacks.

"She's not middle class. She's a millionaire." You're a little behind the times. See how much annuity income you can buy with a million and whether that would take you out of the middle class.

You can go vote on the NBC website for who won the debate.

Very strange...
Scanning up thread I saw this from Tina:

she's twinkling all over the place. I'm gonna hurl. Yay team! Team team team! Twinkle aggressively!

Strange because the "twinkle" word was my internal descriptor for her performance too. I don't suspect her bright-eyed bullshit is going to sway Joe Six-Pack one iota.

Note to Geraldine Ferraro: If winking at the camera is doing well as a woman, I'm ashamed for her.

A lurker here ...

What'd you think?

I think you did a great job live blogging this, Steve. Thanks.

I thought there were a number of points in which Palin actually spoke against the base. She talked about increased teacher pay, essentially more funding for public schools. THAT won't go over well with her base. She also seemed to support equal treatment for same-sex relationships, though not specifically supporting gay marriage. THAT is certainly against her base.

Not that any of this makes me want to vote for her. But it may turn OFF some of her base support actually.

A Palin/McCain administration will be a tragic catastrophe for the entire planet.

And yet, there are tens of millions of people eager to vote for that pairing, along with a goodly number ready and more than willing to cheat to win it for them.

I fear for the future of our beloved country.

-Z

Biden did well. Palin held her own. No surprises. Palin started strong but Biden closed even stronger. His talk about his sons at the end was really moving. THe kicker is... I don't think this will change much in the end. Does anyone know a campaign where the veep debate performance actually made a difference? Not so sure.

She wasn't the cartoon of the Couric interview. She was the constant reflexive liar of her first couple of weeks. And yes, Biden was superb. I think he did better overall than Obama. I think she stopped the talk of booting her off the ticket, but I don't think she swung many needles towards people voting for McCain.

I hope somebody makes Biden's "McCain is not a maverick' answer into an ad.

Jeff II wrote: "Biden knows his stuff and she's repeating talking points."

That's a good concise summary of the whole debate.

There are two dimensions to such a debate: the substantive dimension and the affective dimension.

In the substantive dimension, Joe Biden was authoritative, experienced and wise, and in the affective dimension, he was a real, warm, compassionate human being.

In the substantive dimension, Sarah Palin did nothing but spew a stream of jumbled, incoherent scripted, bumper-sticker phrases -- they didn't even rise to the level of "talking points" -- which were often completely unresponsive to the moderator's questions, and recite equally scripted, and despicable lies; and in the affective dimension she came off as a smirking, winking, animatronic robot.

Clearly, the initial impression is no change.

But I think to any but the most partisan Republican listener, it was a clear Biden win. Were it high school president, Palin would be a shoo-in. Potential President of the U.S.? That nervous, fast-talking, winking, spunky, social-climber attitude is impressive, but not what you would call a "command" type.

Boy, she really didn't want to talk about the past eight years, did she? Wonder why?

Steve my thoughts are that you have a problem with hate.

You're a little behind the times. See how much annuity income you can buy with a million and whether that would take you out of the middle class.
Posted by: skeptonomist on October 2, 2008 at 10:53 PM | PERMALINK

NOBODY I know is a millionaire, not one person. If you consider millionaires as middle class, you are as out of touch as McKeating.

I'm a political junkie & a yellow dog democrat like all y'all, but I'm afraid Sarah's friend, Joesixpak, who pays almost no attention to politics, will think she's a regular gal & will bring some good ole American common sense to DC & straighten out those ole pols who been ruinin our country! They are wrong when they say this is the most important election - that was in 2000 when all this pain could have been avoided. If the voters is this country voted for W cause they'd like to have a beer with him, I bet they'll vote for her cause they'd like to go hunt with her. God help us.

Who remembers this?

Sarah Palin: "Senator O' Biden."

"oil producing state of alaska" and I'm blitzed

I really like what the senator from Missouri noticed
that Palin never was able to say how McCain is different than Obama.

Indeed, all she was willing to speak to was what she had rehearsed. She dodged the rest and refused to speak to it.

No wonder she loves this format over speaking to the mainstream media!

She controlled the whole thing to the extent she could.

Thanks, Steve, for the great live-blogging and for hosting the conversation.

So, I went scrounging for non-pundick reactions to the debate and came across this one, on the NYT website:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/debate-watch-student-view-veep-edition/
Seems like all of them liked Biden better. And, if those kids don't show up on Nov 4th, to vote for Obama, I'll be very, very surprised. I think those under-polled kids are likely to do us proud this year.

If I'd taken shots every time she said "also", I'd have alcohol poisoning.

Biden clearly won, but Palin didn't do badly.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind is, "Can I go back to energy?" cuz I can't rebut Joe's last point.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

And I agree with the posters above, she clearly had NO CLUE what an Achilles heel is. How does one get to the age of 44 and not have any idea what such a common phrase means.

A sober debate punctuated by brief moments of hilarity.

biden won

biden won

biden won

biden won

Biden was superb.

Palin, Whats with the winks!!! Bush and Company signals, come on people, Palin had no clue on what the Vice President does. What just consider pushing legislation for McCain, Biden said it correctly Cheney was the most dangerous VP we ever had. Palin, not even refer to the Constitution guidelines for the Vice President. Sheesh.

And the push back in answering questions the way she wanted too. Here America got a dose of Palin’s deliberate ability to use her sexuality here in this position charming dictating and a super foul, the attitude of a cold fish to move with the exact mean spirited crap America does not need any more. Lies. A whole host of lies. The Republican base loves it because they have to lie there i