This is what I took from what I saw:
- Biden is experienced and has a rational head on his shoulders
- Palin has worked out that if she keeps smiling, winking and using that cutesy voice people may not notice she what she is saying doesn’t make sense or doesn’t answer the question.

- Biden understands that for every action there is a reaction. Or a consequence.
- Palin doesn’t.

She’s just too green.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosniaks

William
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In my mind, Biden clearly won this debate. He made specific points and actually answered the initial and re-directed questions.

Palin tried to gloss over too many questions and talk about energy and taxes instead. Her strong suit is reading a teleprompter and delivering a prepared speech. I feel that is what she did last night. She read the teleprompter in her head and gave several rehearsed mini-speeches. If there was a topic/question that she had no material on, she could not think on her feet or even try to BS her way through an answer. She would just change the subject to something that she could brain read.

In comparing the two, here is what I see. Biden writes/conveys policy. Palin can only read it.

I highly recommend playing debate bingo - did it last night, it was quite exciting.

They both seemed pretty stiff to begin with, with Palin especially seeming like she was giving rehearsed pieces. They both relaxed partway into the debate, though, which was good.

Palin seemed to stick to her talking points and stuff she’d memorized, including at times when she was passing up an opportunity to counter something that Biden had said. It seemed that an actual debate with points and counterpoints wasn’t in the cards — well not on the cards she had in front of her, at least.

Biden did well, seemed relaxed and to the point (most of the time) without being long-winded and avoided making any memorable gaffe. There were a few times — including right at the beginning during the question about how the country’s economy was going down the toilet — that he had his inappropriate smile. Not quite the McCain creepy smile, but still a minor faux pas.

Ifill was decent, if boring; I nearly screamed at the TV when she gave them a softball “If you were to become President, what would you do differently?” Like either candidate is going to actually say “Well I wouldn’t implement my running mate’s health care plan…it’s crazy!” I guess in the end I was just glad that Biden didn’t ask her to stand up

The outcome was a tie, which (as I suspected) translates into a minor Palin win due to non-meltdownitude. I think both parties will be happy with the way things went; though McCain still has to worry about Palin’s one-on-ones with the media as they will probably ask tough questions. Like, I don’t know, “What magazines or newspapers do you read?” Of course, that was just a below-the-belt question typical of the MSM!

On another note, after listening to a radio shows based out of Maine this morning, many men that called in now think they have a personal relationship with her & that she was winking at THEM!

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an electro-optically guided U.S. air-to-ground tactical missile for destroying tanks and other hardened targets at ranges up to 15 mi. (24 km)…that is separated from its mother.