And the winner of the debate?
Insomniacs.
I hope you recorded it. Play it over and over when you need some sleep.
Mostly, nothing was learned. Well, we did learn one thing.
Sarah Palin is capable of speaking in complete sentences. She did a wonderful job reading her notes and regurgitating the talking points she learned in debate camp. Republicans will spend the next few days bragging about it. Will it affect the outcome of the election? It would be a sad day in America if it did.
If you believe the CNN focus group trend line, you may have learned something else. Men seem to like Palin more than women. All night the men scored her higher. Although, women seemed to respond to her folksy comments "at ya." Or, more likely, you learned that what 30 "undecided voters" in a room think tells us nothing.
There was one significant moment in the debate. Only one moment. But it was riveting. When Joe Biden talked about losing his wife and daughter and the meaning of being a father. When he talked from the heart about how you don't have to be a soccer mom to know the meaning of family. For a few seconds, I thought he might actually lose it. It was moving.
His comment about Dick Cheney being the most dangerous vice president in history came in a close second.
Now it's in the hands of the pundits. For the next few days they'll tell us what we're supposed to have seen and thought. Ed Rollins, Republican consultant, thought Sarah Palin won big. So big, in fact, that he suggested they don't let her do any more interviews. That's how confident he is.
Back to sleep....