Liveblogging the debate with #1 son

Jay's also doing it, only without his son (and with some bourbon).

Before we start it seems fair to post the dumbest comment from each of the candidates.

Palin:

COURIC: But what [newspapers and magazines do you read] specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

Biden (boy howdy, was it hard to pick only one):

When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.’

Actually, Lissa says that was Gov Palin - after reading 30 years of Biden gaffes, I confess to being a bit discombobulated ...

OK, Hole in the Wall just finished - it's show time!

9:00 - Older brother went to Washington University. Me, State U. Not a mystery which of us got the brains in the family

9:01 - I see Gwen Ifill is moderating. It will be interesting to see if she plays it straight.

9:02 - Candidates introduced.

9:04 - Biden: Congress can't pass a bailout, so George W Bush is to blame.

9:05 - Palin: Go to a soccer game. OK, that's snarky.

9:06 - Palin: Good mention of McCain's bipartisan background.

9:08 - Biden gets a good shot on McCain as out of touch.

9:09 - Palin winked! ;-)

#1 son pointed out Biden is talking about McCain, but Palin isn't talking about Obama.

9:10 - Palin: hockey moms. No more than one sports parent reference per quarter hour, Governor!

9:11 - Biden just lied about Obama's and McCain's history warning about the sub prime mortgage problem!

9:12 - Biden: I don't believe that "Joey" at the gas station called him "Joe". Biden needs to lose the Aw Shucks Down On The Farm thing.

#1 son thinks that Biden's expression was "I really wish she hadn't brought up that we raised taxes."

9:15 - Palin: "I'm still on the tax thing." I think she enjoyed that. She said that she cut taxes.

Gwen Ifill cut her off as out of time.

9:16 - Ifill challenged Biden that he voted to raise taxes. Biden is trying to change the subject. No surprise.

9:18 - Palin: You said paying higher taxes is patriotic. First blood of the night! And she grinned the whole time she said it.

#1 son says that Biden talks like a politician, while Palin talks like "one of us."

9:20 - Biden is accusing McCain of planning on taxing company health benefits. Not sure I believe him (this would be huge).

9:21 - Ifill asks an interesting question: which of your campaign promises will you not fullfill? Biden says "McCain's" Actually a good answer.

9:23 - Palin: McCain doesn't tell one thing to one set of folks and another to a different set. I think that this is a swipe at Obama, but she didn't offer anything specific. She does talk about breaking the Oil monopoly in Alaska, so tax breaks went to the citizens. Obama voted for Oil Company breaks.

Ifill goes after Palin to answer the question, but didn't go after Biden.

9:25 - Biden: Obama voted to Big Oil to support alternative energy. Weak.

9:26 - Biden: I want to do what Palin did in Alaska. McCain's campaign is fixin' to use that in a commercial.

Jay's on a roll. Wonder if he has bourbon?

Biden looks old - it's his eyes. Palin is (as always) a fox, in a naughty librarian sort of way.

9:31 - Ifill asks about climate change. Palin: "I don't want to argue about the causes." What do we do to clean up the planet? We need other countries with us - they pollute more that we would stand for.

9:33 - Biden: Clearly man-made. McCain's campaign should crucify him about $8/gallon gas. Clean coal, though (good answer). Chinese building dirty coal plants. 10 years to get oil.

9:35 - Palin: "The chant is 'drill baby, drill." Smiled when she said it. Youse guys called drilling "raping the environment." And OBTW, you said there was no such thing as clean coal. Palin wins this round on points.

9:36 - Biden: Can't stop talking about carbon going into the atmosphere. Not sure how he reconciles that with clean coal.

9:38 - Both tollerate same sex couples. Palin talks about the definition of marriage as a man and a woman. Biden does not support same sex marriage.

9:40 - Palin: On Iraq exit strategy, surge was critical. She compliments Biden for opposing Obama's Iraq strategy in the primary. Need more troops in Afghanistan. Need to grow the military. Have to win.

9:41 - Biden: Obama has plan, McCain is odd man out? McCain voted against funding, so neener neener. Iraq needs to do more. We'll be out in 16 months.

9:43 - Palin: "Your plan is the white flag of surrender." We'll know when we can leave because the Iraqis can handle things there. OBTW, you said you'd be proud to run with McCain. Biden laughs. Give him points for that.

9:45 - Biden: McCain voted against funding because the bill had a timeline. Sounds like he's making McCain's argument for him.

Ifill asks good question: Nuclear Iran or unstable Pakistan - which is worse? Well done!

9:47 - Biden: If an attack comes against us, it will come from the hills of Pakistan. Good answer. Will go after bin Laden if we have actionable intelligence.

9:48 - Palin: She pronounces it NU-klee-arr. Folks will miss old George W. Talks about crazy Iranian president Achmenijad (whatever his name is). Dictators hate us and what we stand for, like women's rights. Diplomancy is hard work, and you need to back you up.

9:50 - Biden: This is his second blatant lie: "Obama never said sit down with Iran." The McCain camp must be fixin' to do another ad here - Biden and Obama.

9:52 - Palin: Isreal is our strongest ally in the middle east. Want those Florida electoral votes!

9:53: Biden is Isreal's best friend, and wouldn't have joined the ticket if Obama wasn't. And Bush screwed up everything. Should have sent NATO in to Lebanon (!).

#2 son stopped by, and thinks it's a draw so far, on the part he's seen.

9:55 - Palin: McCain is a maverick, change is coming.

9:56 - Biden is specific on agreement between Bush's policies on Iran, etc and McCain's. It was more effective than I made it sound.

9:56 - Palin: unstable regimes shouldn't have nuclear weapons. We need to surge in Afghanistan. Obama said what we're doing there is bombing villages - we're building schools.

9:58 - Biden: Afghanistan commander said surge won't work there. Instead, he said we need more troops, infrastructure. Sounds like a surge to me. Obama talked about keeping nuclear weapons away from terrorists, or something. He was really confused.

10:00 - Palin: Afghanistan commander didn't say that. She knows his name, too.

Glad that both want more troops in Afghanistan.

#2 son is going to bed. He says he'll leave deciding between the two candidates to the grownups.

10:02 - Biden: I voted to let Bush invade Iraq, but didn't think he would. Sounds like John Kerry. Oh, and he hates the Darfur situation. He doesn't talk about Bruce's bumper sticker, though!

10:04 - Palin: She's not a Washington insider, or something.

Ifill - When should we intervene in Darfur?

10:06: - Biden: McCain's been wrong about Iraq. WFT?

10:06 - Palin: McCain was right on the surge. Nails Biden on that one, yessiree.

Boy, this is tiring. Bourbon would help!

Ifill - what if, God forbid, your president dies and you become president? What don't you agree on with your running mate?

10:08 - Biden: blah blah blah. I agree with Obama's policies.

10:10 - Palin: John and I are both Mavericks. I'll bring him around on ANWAR. Heh. Lots of boring policy stuff.

10:11 - Biden: Come with me to Willmington and go to Home Depot. Gahhh! Pleasepleaseplease don't let us have 4 years of this sort of blather.

10:12 - Plain: "There you go, Joe" - did she really say that? He was blathering, tho. She winks at her dad. I'd rather have 4 years of that, if I have to choose between the two foibles.

And year, she probably said a lot of policy stuff, too. Education, I think.

Ifill had a gotcha for each of them. Palin says they were both joking. Biden laughs. I see why a lot of folks like him, even with his gaffes and leftie policies. He comes across as likeable when he's not on the attack.

10:15 - Biden's back on the attack. Not so likable now.

10:17 - Stuff about Cheney. Gah. Biden seems to think the VP isn't president of the Senate or something, and that Cheney had something to do with it. He really doesn't make sense some times.

10:19 - Palin: Todd and I are normal people, who didn't have health insurance sometimes. Nation isn't perfect, but is a shining city on a hill. We're a force for good.

10:20 - Biden: I've been here for 30 years, so you know who I am. And we're a catalyst for change. He really doesn't listen to himself. He really is passionate talking about having a common man's roots.

10:22 - Palin: McCain is a maverick, as is she. Leberman supports him. Looking for Florida electoral votes. She really hits entrenched partisanship.

10:24 - Biden: McCain is no maverick. Sorry, Joe, that dog won't hunt.

Final question. Yay! What have you changed your mind on?

10:25 - Biden: Judiciary committee, changed from "is he qualified" to ideology. Way to cross the aisle and get all non-partisan! Unforced error.

10:26 - Palin: Sometimes didn't veto a budget but didn't have the votes to back it up. Worked with the opposition party in Alaska or something.

Ifill - how do you change the tone in Washington DC?

10:27 - Biden: I worked with Mike Mansfield, who said don't be mean to Jesse Helms or something.

10:29 - Palin: You do what I did in Alaska and appoint people without regard to party. Sounds good, but I wonder if this will be an Obama commercial?

Summing up.

Palin did well tonight, nothing obviously dumb. Wonder how the media will spin it, tho. MSM narrative in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Biden blew it a couple times, and had at least two blatant lies.

No knockdown, but the win is to Palin on points. (and I actually wrote that before Biden's knockdown story).

This is hard work. Next time, maybe I'll bring bourbon.