A Debate Where Everyone Won.

What a strange debate.

Everyone was so nice to each other.

Gwen Ifill knew that she was under a microscope because of her book deal, so she was overly nice to the candidates and especially Sarah Palin.

Joe Biden couldn't attack Sarah Palin because he might come off sexist or condescending or both, so he was all smiles an niceties (except when he attacked John McCain.)

And Sarah Palin had to not make any major mistakes and prove that she was competent and not the woman attacked by the media or portrayed as a ditz on Saturday Night Live.

Since they all achieved their agenda, they all won.

Ifell was fair. Biden was a gentleman. And Sarah Palin held her own.

Because the expectations were so low for Sarah Palin you could argue that she won the debate because people probably did not change their opinion of Biden, but may have much more respect for Palin.

The McCain campaign thinks Palin did well. They have released a new one-minute ad that will start playing on TV in key battleground states tomorrow. Here it is:



A couple of debate observations: Sarah Palin's best moments were when she talked about the personal lessons families should learn from the financial crisis and her story about all the teachers in her family. She also did well when she said, "Say it ain't so Joe" because he kept harping on the past and not the future.

I actually thought her very best moments were at the beginning and end of the debate when her mic was up and you could hear what she was saying to Biden, Ifill and her family. "Can I call you Joe?" "Mom, Dad, come on up here." And the thank yous she showered on Biden and Ifill were the things that made America fall in love with Palin at the convention. She is just likable.

Biden was strong throughout and respectful. I was touched when he started to well up thinking about his son who died in a car accident. His attacks on McCain were sharp and constant. "That's a real bridge to nowhere" was a great line in talking about McCain's Health Care plan. Palin did not do enough to defend McCain. It will be interesting to see if anybody was keeping a time clock because it seemed Biden got a lot more time than Palin.

But here is what hurt Biden, many times when he was speaking the two were shown on a split screen. Love her or hate her, it was difficult to keep you eyes off of Sarah Palin. She is new, attractive and, as they pointed out on Saturday Night Live, often adorable. When they went to the split screen when Palin was speaking, one did not have the same urge to look at Joe.

It was striking how different the stage was at the end of this debate as compared to the end of the Presidential debate. The Biden and Palin families intermingled, talked an laughed. Children, Grandchildren and Parents were on the stage from both sides and you could easily imagine them all going out to a restaurant afterwards. The candidates, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden spoke at length. Last week, McCain and Obama were cold to each other and stood with their spouses at the opposite ends of the stage.

To sum it up, because it was her night to rise or fall, Sarah Palin probably won more than anyone else tonight. But, clearly, no one lost.