Out of the Spotlight, Biden Battles On

Party faithful split on politics but united in distrust

(NEWSER) - Vastly different crowds appear at the rallies of the candidates who started their campaigns calling for bipartisan unity, a roving New York Times reporter finds. Republican rallygoers shout to a country-pop soundtrack; the Democratic faithful dance to folk and Motown. Flag pins, pompoms, and patriotic songs define GOP gatherings, while Dems favor buttons and the word "change." More»

Palin didn't lose, didn't win

(NEWSER) - Think Sarah Palin's performance was folksy and colorful last night? Pundits reached to do it justice:

• "I always wondered what a wolverine would sound like chewing through plywood," writes Howard Fineman of Newsweek. "Now I know: like Sarah Palin 'debating' Joe Biden."
• “Somewhere in heaven, Norman Rockwell is smiling,” writes David Brooks in the New York Times.

Noonan: She's a little transparent but still very effective

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin starred in her own political "infomercial" last night and once again revived John McCain's flagging campaign, writes Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal. Palin looked "not petrified but peppy," her style far more suited to a debate than a cerebral interview. Biden seemed to be waiting for her to make a fool of herself. She didn’t. Instead, she talked straight to the people in a baldly populist, if transparent, pitch to “soccer moms” and “Joe Six-Pack.” More»

Proving herself hampered her ability to attack Obama

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin acquitted herself at last night's debate with her charm and a show of basic coherency, writes Adam Nagourney in the New York Times. Her face-off with Joe Biden didn't prove to be a point of no return for the faltering McCain campaign, but neither was it the decisive blow against Barack Obama that McCain needed. More»

Poor by Senate standards, VP candidate lives large

(NEWSER) - On the campaign trail, Joe Biden gives the impression that he’s a normal, middle-class guy taking the train to and from work each day. But the home he’s commuting to happens to be a four-acre estate worth almost $3 million, the New York Times reports. Biden isn’t precisely wealthy—especially by Senate standards—but his high profile has given him access to resources and relationships beyond the grasp of most Americans. More»