The Sarah Palin high-wire act continues. She did a brilliant job, and the viciousness against her will ramp up yet again. Biden proved an extremely effective attack dog against McCain at several moments, speaking gently and urgently. Who would have thought that this race would feature a sensational presidential debate between two indifferent debaters and a terrific vice-presidential debate between a blabbermouth and an inexperienced provincial?

…of Bob Bork. Then he praises himself, in effect, for establishing the principle that judicial nominees should be subject to Senatorial litmus tests. Amazing.

Tears sunk Ed Muskie, but Biden will probably get a pass. Were the tears real? I assume he was thinking of his tragic family loss, but it seemed a bit contrived.  If Palin cried it would be a disaster, but Biden may actually benefit from it.

So says Biden. What a strange line of argument! McCain has spent much of the past decade as a Republican pariah, and everyone knows that. This argument of Biden’s is about as persuasive as his earlier attempt to tell everyone that McCain really voted against funding the troops.

This whole dual-maverick talking point line, with its silly generalities gets very stale very fast.

Instead of answering another slimy Ifill question about her weaknesses, she launches into the case for Sarah Palin; if only she had shown the same cleverness in handling Katie Couric. She will now.

Biden has given a lame and boring litany of what he’ll do, while Palin gave a substantive response on issues that she can actually lead on, including energy independence.

This is a major cultural divide. Her humor is entirely bereft of irony, of the attitude that dominates on “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show.” It is kinda slangy, pokey, tease-y, and mostly self-mocking. It is like nails on a blackboard to those for whom humor is a watermark, a form of cultural tattooing. Another Red/Blue split.

Her charming answer and shout out to her brother’s students drove the CNN pulse monitor up off the charts. First time I’ve seen it that high in this otherwise pulse-killing debate.

Is “Bosniac” spelled with a “c” or a “k”?

“Ah, doggone it. There you go looking back. And bless your wife, a teacher for 30 years. “I am thinking she has figured she’s going to show up everyone who dissed her. Every single one of them.

Biden says the folks in his neighborhood get it.  Which neighborhood would that be? Capitol Hill?

What’s he doing there — trying to find someone to deliver a lecture to?

Joe Biden says. Was that when FDR had been on TV for three years?

We need some “reality brought from Wasilla main street.” That’s what she has to offer. I think she won that round.

This is a far better performance by Biden than I ever would have anticipated.

Palin has deftly handled this question on her differences with McCain.  She’s scoring well with those undecided Ohio voters being tracked on CNN.  And she’s now doing better with women than men.

Keep bragging about how he predicted that American soldiers wouldn’t be greeted as liberators? Even if true, this is something to revel in? This is something to bring up repeatedly? Bizarre.

She calls Biden out on voting for the war before he was against it. Biden has only himself to blame for setting Palin up with a meek explanation of why he authorized the war without (supposedly) supporting it. This is the knockout punch of the night thus far.

She just socks it to him — you voted for the war. Just don’t get his Washington insiderness. Unreal. She agrees nicely and kindly on Darfur and points out her own disinvestment proposal.