debatin(g)

Okay so we can all admit that Sarah Palin did not fall on her face the way we expected her too. Although I did throw up in my mouth each and every single time she winked, pronounced words ending in "ing" without the "g" and any of the other cutesy bull that flowed from her mouth..."joe sixpack" and a "shout-out"...really?

I also think it is fair to say she had a pretty low bar set for her in the first place.

I am so proud of Joe Biden...I think he did an amazing job of staying on topic and sticking to the plan of going after John McCain. CNN & all the respectable news networks are claiming he won the debate hands down.

I always like to see how the right perceives things so I went to Fox New this morning and here is what the other side is saying...other than the first guy she didn't exactly receive a glowing report even from her own peeps.

Christopher Coffey
Republican Political Consultant

Governor Palin won the debate. Many expected her to fall flat, but she defeated expectations and in the process, beat Senator Biden.

Sarah Palin was sharp, earnest, informed and articulate. She spoke with authority on tax relief, education, energy, the environment, international affairs and health care. She jealously defended the top of the ticket, and best of all, she ceded absolutely no ground to Senator Biden.

Joe Biden was the smooth Beltway veteran — as expected. Though he showed command of the Democratic message, he talked about the middle class, not to the middle class with heartfelt understanding. Sarah Palin did the opposite. In fact, Biden seemed to become increasingly frustrated as the debate continued.

Attention McCain Campaign: If you want to win this one, we will need to see more of Governor Sarah Palin.
Ellen Ratner
Bureau Chief, Talk Radio News Service/FOX News Political Contributor
Gov. Palin was clearly prepared by sticking to her script and not answering direct questions. It will make her and Senator McCain’s base happy but I think that it will not move the middle. Most Americans are wise to avoiding answers. Senator Biden was smart, cool, very human and direct.

Call me an elitist but her use of folksy English drove me crazy. I think a potential Vice President should be a model with their speech.
James P. Pinkerton
Writer/Columnist, The American Conservative magazine/FOX News Political ContributorPalin hit energy hard, but probably not hard enough.

Biden was full of facts and figures, and hit the Bush administration
hard.

Interestingly, Palin mostly agreed with him.
Bill Kristol
Editor, The Weekly Standard/FOX News Political Contributor

It was match point against Sarah Palin and she won the set and kept the race alive.

Lanny Davis
Former White House Special Counsel/FOX News Political ContributorAgain we see two impressive performances — with Joe Biden clearly more substantive, more presence as a vice president ready to assume office, and as a sympathetic, gracious and likeable man. Sarah Palin achieved her goal — to rehabilitate the rough spots from her Katie Couric interview to the “Saturday Night Live” satire. She avoided a train wreck, and that means she had a good night.
Cal Thomas
Syndicated Columnist/FOX News Political Contributor
Governor Sarah Palin did not lose the debate and neither did she appear confused as she has in some recent interviews. She was mostly positive, upbeat and seemed happy (even privileged) to be on that stage. Joe Biden did what vice presidential candidates do: attack the presidential candidate of the other side.

While Biden attacked the judgment, policies and beliefs of John McCain, Governor Palin missed many target-rich opportunities, including her failure to attack Congressional Democrats, including Barack Obama, for their role in helping to create the mortgage crisis. Biden made several factual misstatements regarding McCain’s voting record and some of his positions, but don’t look for the mainstream media to correct them.

What the debate lacked was an overarching philosophical vision. Both candidates seemed committed to avoiding mistakes. Biden indulged in the usual class warfare and envy culture and mentioned Exxon-Mobile several times. There’s an answer to that, but Palin didn’t even try to defend the oil companies and what they spend in order to produce the fuel that drives our vehicles and heats many of our homes.

Palin could have defended success and the hard work that produces it, while Biden dwelt on the needy. She did use a phrase one almost never hears Democrats utter: personal responsibility.

I thought Biden demonstrated more authority, but that might be a function of his long time on the public stage, his height advantage and, yes, testosterone. But Palin, I thought, demonstrated an ability to speak in ways that probably connected more with middle America and these are the voters who ultimately will decide this election.
Kirsten Powers
Columnist/FOX News Political ContributorBiden did what he needed to do. He needed really to do no harm. He didn’t really take the bait too much.