Live-blogging the VP debate

UPDATE: Looks like people are calling it a tie. Some people say a tie is really a win for Sarah Palin based on the lowered expectations. I'm starting to think the McCain campaign pulled the wool over our eyes by making her look like an idiot in the Katie Couric interviews, only to emerge as semi-coherent during the debate. Now she can go back into her no-questions-please comfort zone from here to November. Joe Biden never got too rough on her, as some pondered. All the TV pundits I heard today suggested undecided voters and registered independents favored Biden over Palin based on the debate, but how that translates into how much they like John McCain or Barack Obama, respectively, remains to be seen in my mind.

8:30: Biden says America's been "dug into a very deep hole" and that Obama-Biden measures progress based on everyday folks, not CEOs.

8:29: Palin says the debate lets her speak straight to the American people, unfiltered and free to the mainstream media's bias.

8:28: Palin says we should work for "the greater good." Add that to the bailout bill, and some folks will start think we're turning into a Leninist state.

8:27: Biden questions judgement, not motives.

8:26: Palin says her biggest regret was not cutting taxes more.

8:25: Biden says he had to change his view on judges based on partisanship... that gives the GOP plenty of ammunition to say Obama/Biden supports "activist judges."

8:22: John McCain something something maverick. Alaska something maverick.

8:19: Sarah Palin says her executive experience and connection to "the heartland of America" will help her be a good vice president — but her ability to quote Ronald Reagan might be her best asset when it comes to winning votes.

8:15: Palin as VP would lead on energy and government reform. Biden as VP would be the cracking whip on Capitol Hill and an adviser.

8:12: Palin just tried to score the memorable line of the night: "Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again." How long do you think she was waiting to spring that one on the world?

8:07: Palin says "John McCain knows how to win a war." I hope she's not referring to Vietnam.

8:04: Palin invokes John Kerry's flip-flop on the authorization of force in Iraq in attack on Biden.

7:55: Palin acts surprised to hear Biden is a supporter of Israel, and she was just *tickled pink* about that development.

7:54: To both trained and untrained ears, Palin is doing hundreds of times better than her interviews with Katie Couric.

7:51: Half of the e-mails sent out by the McCain campaign to our newsroom during the vice presidential debate... well, our spam filter labeled them as "Junk." Tough critic, these computers, eh?

7:49: Palin says Obama's stance on diplomacy with dictators is "dangerous."

7:48: Sarah Palin just said Gen. Petraeus and the leader of al-Qaida should be trusted equally.

7:47: Biden says Pakistan is the immediate threat, not Iran, then says McCain believes Iraq is more important in the war on terror than Afghanistan and Pakistan.

7:44: Palin is repeating the Biden sound bite about being proud to serve on a McCain ticket and using it as if it's a point of policy debate.

7:43: Palin says the Democrats' plan is "a white flag of surrender."

7:41: Asked about the US exit strategy in Iraq, Palin only attacks Obama's opinion on the troop surge and troop-funding votes, although she does hint the exit plan is to move troops to Afghanistan. (Biden says he "didn't hear a plan" in Palin's response).

7:39: "I'm being as straight-up with the American people as I can." — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

7:37: Biden says Obama administration will grant same-sex benefits, invokes constitutional right. Palin says she would not support expanding Alaska's same-sex benefit policy to the rest of the United States.

7:34: Biden attacks McCain's record on alternative energy votes, while Palin counters that "Drill, Baby, Drill" is the GOP's rallying cry.

7:31: "We're not giving oil companies tax breaks." — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

7:29: Biden somewhat dodges the bankruptcy bill question, but still touches on it before moving into talking about the subprime crisis. (DIRECT QUOTE: "Your ticket's energy ticket." — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin)

7:27: Sarah Palin just answered a question about bankruptcy laws without mentioning bankrupty laws at all.

7:24: Palin claims Obama helped pass the energy bills with tax breaks for Big Oil, then goes through her record as a regulator and governor in Alaska (Says she had to "undo" the damage).

7:21: Biden lays out the McCain healthcare credit plan, namely the $7,000 divide between the credit and the average cost of a healthcare plan — then caps it with a "bridge to nowhere" jab at Palin, which the crowd audibly reacts to.

7:19: Sarah Palin, whose familial assets total $1 million, just claimed she's middle class.

7:17: Biden says middle class will be focus in new tax system, while McCain would boost corporate tax breaks.

7:15: Does the Alaskan government do anything? Because it sounds like Sarah Palin cut every tax known to man. Look out: Gwen Ifill cuts Palin off and Palin doesn't keep talking.

7:14: Palin says "the people's side" is tax cuts and that government must learn to "live with less" — and that Barack Obama votes to raise taxes (Biden calls her on it).

7:12: Biden hits on McCain's deregulation philosophy and ties it to healthcare — Joe's sounding very reserved and not nearly as forceful as he usually does.

7:10: Palin says Joe Six-Pack's everywhere need to band together to not get tricked by risky loans and not "be taken advantage of" — a sweet way of saying everyday Americans are, in fact, to blame on some level.

7:09: Palin says America is "craving new energy" — and she doesn't mean renewables.

7:08: Biden plays the "McCain thought the economy was strong" card, while Palin says McCain was referring to American workers, not the American economy.

7:06: Sarah Palin wants us to poll the soccer moms and gauge their "fear," points out Sen. McCain's push to do something about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and gets the "country first" slogan into her first response.

7:04: Joe Biden blames the economic crisis on an "excess of deregulation" and the eight years of Bush policies, then lays out his candidate's insistence on homeowner relief, oversight, etc.