Yes. palin Tried to speak to the camera and yes she did better than in interviews but the answers to the questions was vital to making her case to the american people. but she did not want to answer something that she did not in over in debate camp. i want answers not rhetoric. get enough watching them on the news. i want to be clear that the questions need to be answered. point blank. so she gets a d. Good presentation but short on substance.

Empty is right.

She doesn't know what an "achilles heel" is. Watch the replay. She has no clue what the question is - that's why she avoids it.

"Achilles heel" is not an inside-the-beltway term. I am a rural, white, soccer mom and I can't - I won't - believe that someone with this little intelligence and education is qualified to be our next VP.

Nancy Yates

Nancy,

It's comforting to know that not all rural, white, soccer moms are not flocking to the McCain/Palin side just because she supposedly identifies with that demographic. During Palin's entire "Achilles heel" response my roommate and I were just shaking our heads out of embarrassment for her.

It was definitely a tie. If you turned from channel to channel after the debate each channel was different on who won. They were all going with what party they backed. On CNN they said Biden...they back Obama. On FNC they said Palin...they back McCain. There was no clear cut winner and that is why there are so many different answers on who won and why.

Cindy...Ga.

Who are you? Did you actually watch the debate? "It is Sarah Palin's world, Joe Biden just lives in it?" You have got to be kidding! Sarah Palin had no idea what she was talking about last night – she didn't follow the format of the debate (which was probably to her advantage) because she couldn't answer the questions! Joe Biden was extemely kind to her last night because he could have DESTROYED her – instead he nicely pointed out (to Gwen Ifill) that she didn't answer the question ... the bad news is that she didn't answer ANY of the questions – her babbling on and on about Alaska and the "energy" issue was extremely annoying and embarassing – let alone her winking to the camera – she is way out of her league – I'm only sorry the experienced, intelligent Republican women of this country aren't speaking out in total disgust for their party!

Biden could've really made Palin squirm the way Katie Couric did but he refrained because I'm sure he would've gotten flak for it since he is a man. Palin still gave non-answers to Biden's responses so it technically wasn't a debate since she never truly engaged in one other than to parrot her talking points.

Cindy...Ga:

Since when does CNN back anyone? CNN is by far the most unbiased news source I have ever tuned into. I truly appreciate getting the opinions from both sides of the aisle, which is why I watch the debates in the first place: to hear and understand the issues so I can decide which ticket closely resembles my own views.

Biden "won" the debate by his statesman-like demeanor and answering the questions in an intelligent manner. He "won" the debate by knowing the facts of McCains voting record, which Palin did not. He "won" by knowing the facts of McKeirnan's comments regarding Afganistan, which Palin didn't. (Palin called him General McClelland and according to FactCheck.org, a non-partisan organization, Biden was absolutely correct.) He "won" by knowing what an Achilles Heel is, which she didn't. He "won" by returning fire about being a single dad after losing his wife and daughter in a car accident when Palin attempted to skewer him about raising families. He "won" because the country has known for well over a month that the McCain/Palin accusations on raising taxes up are entirely false. He "won" because the country also knows that Palin's accusation regarding Obama's take on the surge in Iraq is (also according to FactCheck.org) blatantly false.

The only points you can give to Palin would be on not stumbling and stammering as she did in her now infamous interviews.

Joe Biden can look "vice-presidentiable" and Sarah Palin can wink at the camera as long as she likes but it wouldn't matter. People will be voting for the top guy and the veep is just there to tag along. If the Americans vote Democrat this November, stately Biden gets the seat. If Americans vote Republican, you got winking soccer mom Palin in the veep seat.

Top of the ticket folks, that's where the real fight is.

Did Sarah Palin "fake" her interview with Katie Couric?

I think she aswered Katie's questions poorly to throw off Joe Biden, hoping he would not prepare for the debate.

We believed Palin's "Oscar" performance with Katie Couric.
We set the bar way low for Palin and give her high marks just for showing up .

I believe Joe Biden saw through her "Oscar" performance, was very well prepared for the debate and was brilliant.
Biden – 100%
Palin – 0%

I'm glad this debate is over. Maybe, just maybe we can get back to real issues concerning everyday problems facing the majority of us. Palin did fine in the debate as a whole, but avoiding questions and running away from the repbulican party did not fare well for the party. While she may be likeable and your average person on the street, what we need are true leaders in the White House. We've had a President that alot of us might want to have a beer with and see where that has got us. Our future is to important.