Sarah Palin did not crash and burn, and probably played well to her right-wing base. But she was painful to watch. Rarely answered the questions. Whenever in doubt, she talked about energy or being a maverick. You could see her trying to figure out which rehearsed attack line to use.
Joe Biden was very effective in tying John McCain to the Bush Administration. He answered all of Palin’s attacks. He was very good. Biden showed just the right amount of emotion when he talked about losing his wife and taking care of his sons as a single parent.
Last Friday, I thought McCain was the better debater. Obama came across more presidential, but McCain was effective in driving home Obama’s inexperience.
Tonight, Biden was the better debater. Palin had no major gaffes, and her folksiness may have worked with some. She definitely repaired some of the damage from the Katie Couric interviews. However, she didn’t help John McCain tonight. She never really responded well with facts to counter Biden’s attacks.
Biden defended Obama and took the attack directly to McCain.
Biden won the debate. My guess is that the McCain-Palin will not get much of a positive bounce from tonight.