Where's John McEnroe When You Need Him?

Had John McEnroe been moderating the vice presidential debate, he would have taken a more, let's say, aggressive approach than did Gwen Ifill. When Sarah Palin expressly ignored the moderator's questions and chose simply to participate in her own debate, McEnroe would have exclaimed, "ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!" And if she continued to duck the questions, "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!!" Now that would have been entertaining television.

Early feedback from voters responding to who won the debate answered yesterday's question regarding what standard the public would set in evaluating Sarah Palin's performance. It's clear that they wanted to see if she were up to the job. And to be convinced of that, they wanted answers rather than rehearsed monologues. No knockout, but Biden clearly won on points and on substance.

The McCain debate prep team apparently operated under the time-honored philosophy that "spontaneity has its time and its place." The Rehearsed Talk Express continues - at least for another 32 days.

Pal-in Comparison

Well, the Dow is falling again today, but considering that the Senate didn't do anything that was unexpected, last night's vote had little effect on the reaction of Wall Street and companion global exchanges. We'll have to wait for the House vote for that. Of course the big story today is the Biden-Palin or Palin-Biden debate - depending on your political persuasion.

It will likely draw a bigger audience than Obama-McCain 1. First of all, it's not taking place on a Friday night, and second, people will be watching this for the same reasons they watch NASCAR or the Indy 500. People want to see the crash. They'll be watching and listening for the gaffe, stumble, or clever one-liner. Between the two candidates, the viewing audience likes the odds. Look for big numbers tonight.

Much has been made of the McCain campaign's efforts to lower expectations for Sarah Palin. Of course, recent Palin interviews have helped that cause as well. But tonight, it will be interesting to see what standard the viewing audience chooses when it comes to judging her performance. Does Palin have to be more substantive than Biden? Up for the job as Vice President? Show she has the capacity to step in as President? Of just perform better than she did during the Katie Couric interviews?

Given that we're a nation at war and confronting the most daunting economic crisis of our generation, I hope we set the bar high for both of them. I hope neither crashes. It would be terrific if we could simply hear 90 minutes worth of sound debate over issues that will shape America's future. Let's watch and see!