The Repubs are not making the debate seem fixed, they are, like so many other lame attempts during this campaign, TRYING to make the debate seem fixed. Just as those other attempts backfired, this will fall flat when Ms. Ifill does her typical generic, soft toss job as commentator. I think it’s standard technique at PBS to not be very aggressive so as not show bias. I have no problem with it, they trade sound bite journalism for lengthy discussions.

The only way this will have any sticking power is if the media repeats it enough, so thanks for that, Alan. I know you’re only trying to heighten the drama, but I’m not sure that needs to be done. Sarah Palin has, from her previous intrvws, lowered the bar to such a ground sweeping level, that all the dirt may be gone! I think that she may have no where to go but up.

I would have been willing to listen to your thoughts on Biden if you’d given a reasonable argument for his high school plagiarism somehow linking to a debate forty years later.

One of the things I like about this site is that people generally have respectful conversations. I for one have been focusing on Palin’s public experience and appearances, not resorting to name-calling and epithets – tempting as they might be to use.

Grow up.

(and John, don’t take the bait.)

It’s common for journalists to author books. Their personal opinions may come through in the text. This does not render them incapable of remaining any more or any less objective during a debate than they would have been had they not written a book. It is preposterous to put forward the idea that journalists can’t do their jobs because they have their own personal opinions.

And I think the Obama bin Biden bit is ridiculous. I hope you didn’t choke on your chaw Billy-bob.

Up until a few weeks ago, I had been inexplicably saying “if worst comes to worst.” Only when I saw it written did it occur to me that “if worse comes to worst” makes way more sense.

The best thing we can all do is judge Palin on whether or not she shows poise and both depth and breadth of political understanding. I think Ifill ought to recuse herself, for the sake of appearance and subtracting the potential for making excuses.

But I won’t consider it an issue unless IFill shows herself to be blatantly unfair. Palin must show herself for who she is and what she stands for. Even if Ifill is in fact an evil orchestrator of partisan bias, Palin still MUST show that she has the poise and competence to overcome that. Because it’s what she’d face every day were she to become President.

I am uninclined to listen anyone making post-debate excuses for Palin that suggest she only looked bad because some mean people were against her.