Veep Debate Bound to Be a Hit

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»

Exuberant speaking style, experience could turn into liabilities at debate

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden is a skilled and captivating speaker but his inability to stop speaking at the right time could turn debate victory into defeat, Katherine Q. Seelye warns in the New York Times. Biden's "gusto and exuberance" could make him seem to be bullying Sarah Palin if he's not careful, and his bluntness could spawn a headline-making gaffe, Seelye writes. More»

VP debate against 'unserious' opponent is minefield for Democrat

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden has only one prayer of winning the vice-presidential debate: He has to pretend Sarah Palin’s a man, Dahlia Lithwick writes on Slate. Biden has the experience and knowledge to crush the Alaska governor, but that’s precisely his problem. Palin’s not a serious candidate, but if Biden lectures or condescends to her, he’ll look like “a sexist bully.” More»