Debate Reactions

Conor Friedersdorf

To put a finer point on this, I ask the following of everyone who watched tonight’s debate — were John McCain assassinated at his inauguration by terrorists, even as two American cities saw buildings partially blown up by truck bombs, and Vladimir Putin used the opportunity to move troops into a former Soviet Repulic, would you trust that Governor Palin would have the knowledge, credibility, bearing and calming influence on the country to handle the situation? Or would having her in the Oval Office freak you out in a deep way? I’d be frightened, and I expect a lot of people now supporting Governor Palin would think, "Oh God, what have I done."

Ezra Klein:

One more point worth making on last night's debate: Give Joe Biden props for restraint. Again and again, Palin would say something atrocious enough that the room I was in would quiet. Here it comes. "White flag of surrender." Here it comes. "She'll get her reward in heaven." Here it comes. "I respect your experience, but I think people want new energy." Here it comes. But it never came. Biden just smiled, looked down, and quietly choked a puppy or something. He'd leave the attack sitting there, twitching before the audience.

This was clearest when, in one answer, Palin accused Obama and Biden of waving the "white flag of surrender," called Biden was a McCain supporter "at least until you became the VP pick here," and said that when it comes to treating the military with honor, "Barack Obama though, another story there."

Here it comes.

But what was supposed to be Palin's crowning line -- what would have been a powerful attack for a Republican to make in 2004 -- was her lowest moment. And Biden let her keep ownership of it. He didn't fire back, or accuse McCain and Palin of being the real surrender-monkeys. He just...let it go. Let the mayor of Wasilla accuse the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of betraying his country and deserting our troops. It was a part of his performance that only came clear in the aggregate, but was probably harder to master than all the other answers and soundbites and rejoinders combined. The discipline on display -- particularly for someone with Biden's character traits and self righteous tendencies -- was really remarkable. He followed the plan rather than listening to his own instincts. In a way, last night he proved more than that he was a good choice for VP. He proved himself willing to earn the spot.

Steve Benen:

The McCain campaign needed Palin to come out and speak in complete sentences. She did. They needed her not to humiliate herself as she did with Katie Couric. She did that, too. But given the recent trajectory of the campaign, the campaign also needed this debate to help turn things around for John McCain. And that clearly didn't happen -- Biden wouldn't let it happen.

I get the sense the entire Republican world exhaled last night, around 10:32 p.m. eastern, when they realized Palin had gone 90 minutes without making an obvious fool out of herself. But their relief should be temporary -- the race looks no different now than it did 24 hours ago. Republicans were losing then, and they're losing now.