The Vice Presidential Debate

As with the previous debate, here are my observations:

• Sarah Palin comes across as a high school debater. She seemed edgy, except for when she was laying the "I'm so gosh-darned charming and cute, *wink*" routine on with a trowel. Was it just me, or was she kind of hunched over?
• Joe Biden had the calm that Palin lacked. In spades. He could have done without the numerous heavy sighs (I assume they came from him, and not moderator Gwen Ifill), which felt dismissive. Granted, I'd have been doing a lot more than sighing, but still.
• It was actually kind of refreshing when Palin said she would answer the questions her way, not the way that Ifill or Biden or anyone that understands the concept of a debate would. That said, real answers would have been better.
• Kudos to Ifill for calling Palin out when she didn't answer a question. Negative kudos for not doing it again (and again, and again).
• Apparently a McCain administration will be different from the last eight years, and I now know how: this time around, it'll be the vice president that can't pronounce "nuclear."
• John. McCain. Is. No. Maverick. This bears repeating, Joe. 
• Nevermind, John McCain is too a maverick because Joe Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney like him. So there.
• Seriously, is it too much to ask for someone that doesn't say "noocyooler?" Really?
• I love Biden's looks of utter surprise when Palin makes questionable claims. I like to think it's his bullshit meter going off.
• "Paying taxes isn't patriotic. Democrats want you to pay more taxes, so they want you to be less patriotic. *Wink* Also, my flag lapel pin is so big it borders on tacky."
• I don't think I heard Biden say "literally" more than twice. I lost count of how many times he said "but the truth is..." Good trade.
• We need to cap our carbon emissions, and we need to drill more oil. Yeah, that'll work.
• Sarah Palin has a large, eclectic family of all sorts of differing views. They're pretty much all teachers. 
• How in blazes can she say "Ahmadinejad" and still say "noocyooler?" For crying out loud!

In the end, Biden looks like a real candidate, while Palin looks like she's totally out of her league but wants to make the grownups like her by talking very seriously and then charming her way into our hearts, *wink*. She did better than I thought she would, which is about as faint of praise as you can get. 

That's the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere,

Regis