Liveblog: Palin Holds Her Own, But Biden Wins The Day

It's finally here! Tonight in St. Louis, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden will square off in the first and only Vice-Presidential Debate, moderated by PBS' Gwen Ifill who will clearly be completely biased when asking Palin fact-based questions that she is completely unable to answer. Apparently she was mean to poor Dick Cheney back in 2004, and since Ifill is a woman and Cheney is a man, obviously she was being sexist. Damn you, liberal elites!!!

Here is our liveblog!

Update: Cover It Live is having issues. Standby.

Update II: It's working hooray! Drill baby drill!

Update III: We lost some people, sadly, because of the tech difficulties. But I am leaving the bios in place, dammit. There are two more debates. We'll get 'em next time.

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[From earlier this evening]

Where was I? Oh yes. Tonight is the debate and we will be liveblogging it with a ridiculously star-studded cast of characters. I'm a little embarrassed by how good our slate is, frankly. Come back and watch this space tonight where we'll be kicking off probably before 9 p.m. because let's face it, this debate is a pretty huge television event. I am going to boldly predict a viewing audience in excess of 65 million people. And we will be there to liveblog it with gusto, and we hope you will join us when we do so.

So! Without further ado, here's our lineup, in alphabetical order because there's no way to rank them on awesomeness alone:

• Alex Blagg, former co-editor of Best Week Ever blog and about-to-start editor of a new pop culture site on MSN.com! He also has a lush, manly beard!
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• John Carney, Wall Street maven, managing editor of ClusterStock and former editor Dealbreaker, former corporate lawyer, and person who understands exactly what this whole bailout thing actually means!

• Ana Marie Cox, Time blogger, Radar Washington editor, crackerjack Twitterer and person with whom I have been in bed! I hope she doesn't hog the sheets during tonight's liveblog!

• Keli Goff, author of Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence, BET contributor, frequent cable commentator and HuffPo blogger!

• Seth Herzog, New York comedian and host of the wildly popular weekly show "Sweet," plus a regular funny-face on VH-1 shows and Comedy Central, plus appearing in movies like The Baxter and The Ten!

• Steve Krakauer, TVNewser scribe and person who will be faithfully reporting how different channels look during the debate, because tonight you get to choose! Also he will tell you about ratings!

• Glynnis MacNicol, FishbowlNY co-editor and perennial HuffPo debate liveblogger, and person who has also been in bed with me and Ana! But we're not using that to sell this liveblog! We swear!

• Kevin Madden, former spokesperson for Mitt Romney and current commentator on ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX and enough other networks to make up the entire alphabet, except maybe for Al Jazeera!

• Ari Melber, correspondent for The Nation and contributor for the Politico, the Washington Independent, and the Personal Democracy Forum, who actually just flew in on Obama's plane! And boy are his arms tired!

• Rachel Sklar, aka me, HuffPo's Senior Contributing Editor and writer/editor of "Eat The Press," which is where you are right now and which you immediately plan to bookmark! Also enjoys writing creative bios about people who may think twice about working with her again!

• Rex Sorgatz, multi-faceted web guy who blogs at Fimoculous, was formerly the executive producer of MSNBC.com, contributes to a wide range of magazines like New York and Wired, reported from the RNC for Radar, and has great taste in women!

Looking forward to seeing you later! Well, to you seeing us, and to all of us seeing Sarah Palin and Joe Biden battle it out to see who knows more about vice-president stuff! My money's on the guy with the mullet.

Comments

[MyThoughts2]

Palin's biggest and obvious gaffe was that repeatedly she wasn't answering the moderator's questions. Despite the questions, Palin talked about what she wanted to talk about. If she didn't know the answer to a question, she went back to what she knew about energy. If she were judged by a college debate coach she would have gotten a "D". Just because you start talking when a question is asked doesn't mean that you're answering the question. Her second biggest obvious gaffe-ACHILLES HEEL!!!!! She didn't know the meaning of the term!!!! . Joe Biden was intelligent, he didn't try to talk down to the American people, he gave facts to back up his statements, he was polite and very Vice Presidential. Palin was rude to the moderator and Biden. She is a dirty fighter who belongs more in a wrestling ring than anywhere near the Oval Office. Actually Palin reminds me of Tonya Harding. Palen dummies down politics to present it on a level that she understands. Most of America is smarter than she.

[krocklin]

Someday voices like those of Dennis Kucinich or Rachel Maddow will be the dominant voices and sanity will be restored.
Biden and Obama are great; but can you imagine how much more to the point Dennis and Rachel would have been in response to this pseudo folksy automaton?
She would have had no retreat. She just wouldn't have anywhere to go with REAL rejoinders that cut right to the hypocrisy and naked mindless ambition she represents.
The windup doll would be spinning there before our eyes.

[Gidster]

If Biden had hammered her every time she lied, or stated a false claim, or misrepresented McCain's position on an issue, it would have looked like Biden was being mean and condescending.
He played it the only way he could have. The McCain camp had been planting little nuggets of BS for the whole week, Ifill is biased, Biden is sexist and variations of that theme. They even tried to cover Palin's backside by having her say she may not answer the questions as asked.

No. Joe played it respectfully and honestly and did not treat the American people as children.

[willylingo]

Palin tells Biden he is wrong about what Gen. David D. McKiernan, the new top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, stated. Palin goes further and tells Biden that the Pundants will correct him tomorrow lol.
The McCain - Palin ticket is the "Blind leading the Blind"
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/02/mccain-mckiernan-afghanistan/

[Stephen308]

I agree with you. Palin held her own, which after the far left painted her as a buffoon, proved them wrong. But was holding her own enough to help? Obama is gaining fast. The country doesn't understand he's a politically correct progressive livberal and he's running away from that hard right now.

I fear for the nation and the world tonight. America is falling. I think the values of human rights, freedom, free enterprise will all eventually transfer to the far east, India, China, Japan, Taiwan, S. Korea....w­hile Europe becomes "Islamo-Europe and is conquered ultimately by radical Islam and America sinks into a socialist lethargy that brings the nation down to the second tier level. I fear many nations will lose their freedom when Obama pulls the US back from it's role as defender of the west and of democracy and we become the appeasement capital of the planet.

One nice thing for those of us who have spent a life time accumulati­ng...we can transfer asset easily overseas. I have moved 50% of my stock equity overseas and if the Democrats take the White House and 60 seats or close to it in the Senate....­I'm going to move another 10% overseas and more into bonds.

No need to go down with the ship. And no need to pretend that false patriotism demands me to keep my assets on a sinking ship.

[RobinL]

Don't let the door hit your sorry ass on the way out....

Biden was great. I thought he hit hard and did a great job by underscoring the differences between the two tickets. America's pretty stupid though. We'll have to wait to see how many were fooled by Palin's hammy performance. ("Joe Six Pack"? WTF??)

[Stephen308]

My ass is none of your business. Sorry you are not prepared to have a real discussion as opposed to insults.

[americanideal]

Oh my golly - you're ig nor ant...

Please leave. We'll all be one person closer to making things better.

By the way, if incessantly reading pre-scripted answers from notecards and being unable/refusing to answer more than 50% of the questions posed to a VP candidate qualifies as "more than holding her own", so be it. That's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. In my world, it barely qualifies you for high school debate camp. Any of us can read (well, after No Child Left Behind, that may not....I digress), but given that there was not one single original thought or idea offered by Palin that was her own, I'd say she bombed as expected.

You can call her a buffoon or a hero - I call her the single biggest fraud perpetuated on the American voter in the history of politics. Not a rationa thinker among us could possibly justify casting a vote for that ticket with the real possibility that Mrs. Palin could be assuming the highest office of the land one day with that little depth of working knowledge in ANY relevant area of politics.

Good day and enjoy your assets...

[Stephen308]

The moderator did not seem to permit my response but I'll try again. You accuse me of ignorance. I will not waste my time debating you until you can stop with the radicalized personal attacks and actually discuss an issue.

[Gidster]

You are no patriot. You have put your assets before your country.
Socialism is not anathema to democracy, just to unregulated capitalism. The Republicans would prefer capitalism to democracy. That is their message.
Remember, this financial crisis was caused by deregulating capitalism, by assuming greedy men will act with integrity.

[Stephen308]

That's nonsense. You own no foreign funds? Over half the economy of the world is OUTSIDE the us. It's foolish not to participate in the global economy.

Your false standard of patriotism is the same kind of false patriotism you accuse the other side of using.

The same simplistic radicalized mind-set functions on both sides of the political spectrum..­...both extremes use the same tactics.

[McBushMcSame]

The "far left" didn't paint Palin as a buffoon... she did that largely herslef, with a little bit of help from John McCain.

She did not hold her own. She just changed the subject when she was ignorant of it... which was often.

Take your money and go. I'm glad you recognize that after the republicans have dominated for 8 years that your money was in jepoardy.

[Itai]

To all the Huffington post readers and writers:
First I'll say that I'm not an American.
Let me tell you what I see from the side:
All users in this site are ALREADY OBAMA voters. We all have gone into a negative cycle of picking "Palin" which is what the republicans have wanted all along. We all know ALREADY she is not qualified.
.

Only a month is left, and the polls are notso good. Please, stop spending to much time on this solidarity, and go get new Obama supporters. Stop the negative straategy. This time might be one of the most important times of your life. If Mccain wins, I promise you you'll get 4 years of Tina Fey. If you prefer that then my lips are sealed. I doubt it. Think about all those who are really confused, and try to get reach them. Don't be cynical, explain, give only one month now of you life because this can be critical. Even if you're in sure Dem state, think what you can do do convince one more. Not by laughing at Palin, this doesn't reach these people.

Please go out there to save your country. Solidarity around here will not help anyone. No republican come in here and read you comments even though cool. We will have a lot of time to do this later.


If any of you share my feelings, just write in a sentence what YOU are going to do tomorrow..­.

[americanideal]

Um, yeah...

Itai - let me tell you something about American politics.

Most all of the "ground game" comes from volunteers and staffers that exert an endless amount of "spare" time and energy canvassing, calling, talking to voters, and the like. I have been doing those things and more for over three months. I canvass again tomorrow.

I come here for numerous reasons:

- it re-energizes me

- it helps me sharpen my message and soak in meaningful talking points and criticisms that can be effectively utilized when I am interacting with potential voters

- it helps me stay current on the bigger picture (like voter fraud issues and negative campagining tactics from the GOP, etc.)

- it offers me more "wind in the sails" to go do more and continue contributing my time, energy and money when I see others recognize the train wreck Sarah Palin was tonight, or John McCain's flips on the bailout, etc. This is VITAL for people to keep doing the heavy lifting you suggest for long periods of time.

Let me remind you -- I once visited here for the first time this year. I was NOT an Obama voter then, but finding such a wealth of viewpoints that mirrored my own helped me become one. That's ONE. This IS useful and meaningful, and I would ask you to find more important things to do than to judge from afar, which is no more relevant than that which you mock.

[dtd]

One thing that the George Bush has accomplished is creating a too easily impressed press corps. I defy anyone to tell me one coherent thing this woman said all night. You would think after all of the trouble that a folksy but stupid President has gotten this country into that the press corps would demand more.

[themoviepi1984]

Palin did nothing but wink and lie about how she wants sustainable "energy" ha... wtf. what a completely out of touch world this is! about the 4% of Oil in Alaska that would be a utter waste to dig up! what a joke! I wish Dennis Kucinich was up there, he would lit that whole place up. she will go back in 5 weeks to being the Alaska insider of watching a moose carcass.

[zoozey]

If I have to listen to the pundits say she did fine, I am gonna puke!

[Empowered2]

Now, Bolggers, Please, go out and VOTE. This is ABSOLUTELY the most important election. This is not about race and gender. This is about right and wrong, its about surviving the nxt 4 yrs.

[zoozey]

Uh Oh , there goes the old "freedom" speech, just a spin off of the "they hate us for our freedom...­"

[madinirose]

Please Palin!!! Go back to Alaska!!! But, then again, Alaska may not want you back!!!!

[pesquer54]

Thank you bloggers! I don't think I could have survived this without you! Love Ya all!

[Empowered2]

Thank YOU...

[Nataya]

Biden is the clear winner of this debate

[Empowered2]

Clearly... But she held her own at times

[zoozey]

Thank God that Biden was able to slip in the part about McCain NOT voting for the Violence against Women Bill NOR the bill about putting thousands more police on the street! Biden has done a phenomenal job! Thank you, Joe! You make me proud!

Why isn't Ifill following up some of this stuff, though--like Gov. Palin, "What ABOUT that vote against Violence against Women?"

[Empowered2]

McCain is NOT Change... He's more of the SAME. And enough with the Maverick. Thank you Joe. You didnt let her get away with it