Friday Morning: VP Debate Hangover; House Bailout Vote Take 2; and Happy Anniversary You Crazy Kids!

Gooooood morning.

Well, the long-awaited Vice Presidential debate took place last night, and while it probably didn't change any minds, it may have (and you can take a shot of espresso -- or, the hell with it, bourbon -- for every time you read or hear this today) "stopped the bleeding" in the McCain campaign. Sarah Palin didn't directly answer the questions as asked by moderator Gwen Ifill (as she warned early in the debate that she wouldn't) but she certainly won a Michael Phelps-eque rack of gold medals for folksiness, you betcha! Joe Biden, in contrast, came across as remarkably sober and reserved, with responses so fact-laden they almost touched the earth.

But -- and this is the crucial thing -- last night was not a referendum on Biden, who merely needed to avoid making a major gaffe (he succeeded). It was a referendum on Palin. And as long as the Republican ticket is dominating the discourse, every time Palin exceeds expectations (no matter how low the bar) it provides a measure of sorely-needed good news for them. Here's the New York Times lede, courtesy of Mr. Adam Nagourney:

Gov. Sarah Palin made it through the vice-presidential debate on Thursday without doing any obvious damage to the Republican presidential ticket. By surviving her encounter with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. and quelling some of the talk about her basic qualifications for high office, she may even have done Senator John McCain a bit of good, freeing him to focus on the other troubles shadowing his campaign.

It was not a tipping point for the embattled Republican presidential ticket, the bad night that many Republicans had feared. But neither did it constitute the turning point the McCain campaign was looking for after a stretch of several weeks in which Senator Barack Obama seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the race.

NYT Television critic Alessandra Stanley wrote up the candidates' performances as performances -- which, for the large percentage of the viewing audience that does not religiously follow politics, is exactly what they were.

Mr. Biden made few mistakes; he appeared more measured and thoughtful on substance, and made forceful points that contrasted with Ms. Palin's slogans. But she provided the more vivacious, visceral television performance: it was a 90-minute sprint to reclaim her identity as a feisty, folksy frontierswoman ready to storm Washington. And she did it like a reality show contestant -- broadly, with stagey asides to the camera, including an assurance to some third-grade students, in what she called a "shout-out," that they would get extra credit for tuning in.

But partisan politicos from both sides (i.e. those who tuned into the debate with clear loyalties) largely saw victory for their own favored candidates.

To wit: liberal Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne (also an NPR analyst) acknowledges that Palin cleared the bar, but nonetheless gives Biden the upper hand.

Expectations for Palin were so low that the mere fact that she managed to keep talking and to keep assailing Obama will be rated as a great victory by McCain's lieutenants. But it was Biden who knew what he was talking about, who could engage in argument and who showed he actually understood the issues.

And conservative Peggy Noonan crows in her WSJ column that Palin kicked you-know-what:

She killed. She had him at "Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?" She was the star. He was the second male lead, the good-natured best friend of the leading man. She was not petrified but peppy.

Elsewhere, CBS continues its drip-drip-drip of VP interview tape, with last night's excerpts from the number twos including their takes on the current Vice President's job performance. Couric asked them about the best and worst things Dick Cheney has done in the past eight years. To sum up: Biden said he admires Cheney's "willingness to take positions that are completely contrary to popular opinion" but says the Vice President "done more harm than any other single high elected official in memory in terms of shredding the constitution." Palin said the worst thing Cheney has done was "the duck hunting accident" and the best is that "he's shown support, along with George W. Bush, of our troops."

Over in bailout land, the House is set to vote today on the financial rescue package the Senate approved Wednesday night. But even as Congress rushes to take bad debts off the Wall Street books, the Little Mary Sunshines at the Washington Post share this sobering concern:

Some analysts say the economy will not pick up until the middle of next year, even if the Bush administration succeeds on Capitol Hill today. And even if Congress approves the bailout, it may be too little, too late to unfreeze global credit markets. The package might not do much to help offset shrinking bank balance sheets or free up capital for nonfinancial companies, experts say.

Today's jobless numbers aren't likely to buoy that sour economic mood.

And finally, today is Barack and Michelle Obama's 16th wedding anniversary. Via AP's lovely and talented Nedra Pickler, Obama made the following gift request to his traveling press corps:

"You know what you guys could give us for our anniversary?" he said, turning to the television reporters. "Not have a camera pool outside of the restaurant, so that everybody knows that we're there."

Wouldn't that be nice? But, as the Brits would say...not bloody likely.

-- Evie Stone

10:30 AM ET | 10- 3-2008 | permalink

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