Gwen Ifil

ST. LOUIS - Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin are facing off in the only vice presidential debate.

The first question was on the economy. Biden criticized the Bush administration, saying the country has suffered "the worst economic policies we've ever had."

Palin said one way to gauge how bad the situation is would be to attend a child's soccer game and listen to parents. Palin said, "I betcha you're going to hear some fear."

The 90-minute debate was held at Washington University in St. Louis.

First off, I hate Sarah Palin with a fiery passion. She did perform well, but the emphasis is on performance. She has a deliberate folksy quality that she deploys to her advantage, partially to cover up her lack of ideas and ability, but moreover to increase her appeal as a common-sense, everyday mom. Her weaknesses are her strengths; her very 'averageness,' her deliberate removal from 'Washington insiders' (AKA her political idiocy) works to her advantage, and it's terrifying that people would find that appealing.

I watched the vice presidential debate in a ballroom at the Four Seasons hotel in Aviara, just north of San Diego, along with a couple of hundred women attending Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit -- a receptive audience, you would think, for a debate featuring a woman who might become the most powerful in the land. It was an ideologically mixed crowd, including representatives of ExxonMobil, a major sponsor of the conference.

Throughout the entire 90-minute debate, Palin came across as an over-wound windup doll, sporting a pasted-on-smile expression that never varied, except when she winked. Which she did repeatedly -- and pathetically. It was the folksiest appearance since Hee-Haw went off the air.

The Huffington Post and Arrianna Huffington Post ridiculed Sara Palin's debate performance. I watched the debate, and I wonder if Arrianna Huffington watched the same debate.

i hailed palin's dazzling emergence at the rnc. a star was born, said i. i thought her electric articulation of the classical conservative/gop ethic, and her witty and deft slaps back at the unpleasantries hurled by the 0'eg0 campaign, rendered her reagan's true and natural heir.

tonight, that star wasn't shining.

i found palin's performance to be sub-par, and i'm being moderate in expression. this isn't to say i found no value in her whatsoever, or that i'm going to vote 0'eg0/biden. (i'm not.) but i call it like it i see it, and palin seemed barely to have participated in a debate.

Here in Moscow, 4 (well, technically 3 with 1 person passing into and out of consciousness) people sat watching the vice presidential debate between Biden and Palin broadcast live. We stayed up until 5 am to see if anyone would make a large enough fumble to decide the race. 1 American, 1 Chinese, 1 Filipino, and 1 German (the one semi-passed out during the debate). We watched, disappointed as nothing happened. No surprises, no mistakes, nothing that would change uninformed minds. Excuse my pessimism, but I doubt that the average American would notice the holes left in Palin's arguments

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The vice presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, debated in St. Louis, Missouri, Thursday night. Gwen Ifill of PBS was the debate moderator. Here is a transcript of that debate:

ST. LOUIS — Students attending a vice presidential debate watch party at Washington University approved Democrat Joe Biden's remarks on ending the war. They also liked what he had to say about climate change and supporting benefits for same-sex couples.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin got a trickle of applause for her stand on Iran. But booing broke out when Palin said Republican presidential nominee John McCain supports women's rights, and there were lots of polite snickers.

With expectations so low for Gov. Sarah Palin, she did better than many probably thought she could. But in the second half of the debate, it was as if she ran out of things to say. Her performance was very uneven, particulary on foreign policy.

In contrast, Sen. Joe Biden got stronger as the debate went on. He showed he has the best debating skills on either ticket. He was particularly strong in defending Sen. Barack Obama and strapping Sen. John McCain tightly to President Bush. Biden handily won this debate.

Other reactions:

Well, I have just finished watching the vice-presidential debate - and I must admit I feel a bit cheated. I didn’t tune in because I was hoping for enlightenment. I wanted car-crash television: gaffes galore, the implosion of Sarah Palin, something weird from Joe Biden. But judged by those standards the debate was a huge disappointment. Palin was, of course, profoundly unimpressive. But she didn’t mess up - she even managed to say “Ahmadinejad”, without stumbling or hesitating. And Biden also avoided any of his trademark gaffes.