Top 10 Things 'Overheard at Palin Debate Camp'

Ready to lead with 'unnerving mix of cutesy platitudes'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin worked her perky just-plain-folks act to the nauseating end in yesterday's debate, Dana Milbank grumbles in the Washington Post. It promised to be "long night" when Palin, "wearing a glittery flag pin, blew a kiss to the audience." But Palin "had no problem meeting exceptionally low expectations" at her "public IQ test," notes Milbank. More»

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden will trump Sarah Palin tomorrow night with facts, analysis, and a senatorial track record that leaves her looking green. In other words, he doesn't stand a chance. Take it from Andrew Halcro, a former Alaska state rep who debated Palin dozens of times. "She's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality," he writes in the Christian Science Monitor. 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»

GOP running mate seeks relaunch after disastrous interview

(NEWSER) - Things don't look good for Sarah Palin: her popularity is slipping, conservative columnists are turning on her, and in two days she faces Joe Biden in a debate she is widely expected to lose. After her roundly derided interview with Katie Couric, Palin has been awake into the wee hours cramming for the debate, reports the New York Times, and yesterday she arrived at John McCain's ranch in Sedona for intensive preparation. More»

Letterman veers from apolitical-leaning-right to full-on liberal

(NEWSER) - The most telling thing David Letterman has said in a while may have been a brief comment he made last Monday, as he wrapped up an hour with President Obama: "I can't tell you how satisfying it is to watch you work," the famously crotchety Late Night host said matter-of-factly. George W. Bush lies behind the transformation of Letterman from a Clinton-bashing admirer of Bob Dole and John McCain to an unabashed Obama fan, Brian Lowry writes for Variety. More»