Man, next week is going to be interesting.

"Interesting" isn't the right word for next week's debate; I prefer gruesome and pitiful. I predict that Biden will, after nods to Palin's 'accomplishments' and energy yadda yadda, go out of his way to savage the Republican brand. Palin will have no defence.

But that's all predictable. The real question is what the Palinites will make of it all. It's a certainty they'll be tuning in, and if they're as deluded as the denizens of Red State, their reaction will be fascinating.

A couple points on Biden's rhetoric:

"Dead wrong" is an interesting (and, I think, heh-heh, tactical) choice of phrase. It's vivid and man-on-the-street; it's also a little scary; and I'm pretty sure it's a subtle invocation of McCain's health and Palin's utter unreadiness.

Notice also the way Biden, like Obama in the debate, keeps referring to McCain as "John": it's cordially disrespectful (especially in the eyes of McCain). I think it's a really effective goading technique.

Um, will he retract the "notion" (Obama's favorite word, an effete synonym for "idea") that FDR went on tv?

Biden was great. The best part was the next segment on CNN in which Wolf mentioned that several emailers were asking why Biden got a chance to interview and Sarah Palin didn't. Ol' Wolf had to explain that they requested Palin, but she passed up the request. Biden's presence, and Palin's absence, were a huge plus right after the debate.

McCain's tactic is to infantilize his opponent. To call someone who is 48 years old, a constitutional lawyer, a skilled politian who demolished the Clinton machine, "naive" is to engage in the most divisive kind of communication.
On foreign policy, McCain does the same thing to sovereign nations--assumes they know nothing and that if, and only if, they "behave" the way we would prefer, then they can have legitmacy. This is not only bad parenting but also disastrous potential leadership.
Obama's deferential treatment of this scold demonstrated a grace under pressure rare in public life

Biden was great. The best part was the next segment on CNN in which Wolf mentioned that several emailers were asking why Biden got a chance to interview and Sarah Palin didn't. Ol' Wolf had to explain that they requested Palin, but she passed up the request. Biden's presence, and Palin's absence, were a huge plus right after the debate.

Sending Biden was a brilliant move (unless it's just SOP, I don't remember details like that from previous election cycles) because you *know* the Republicans don't dare respond in kind, and the audience will get exactly that point. The media loves narratives and "Palin is hiding from the media and the American people" is a great one.

I don't remember the last time I saw a Democrat play the media to their advantage that way. They've been in the tank for Republicans so long, I thought they were *all* doing it on orders from on high, not just FOX. Now I'm not so sure - maybe the Republicans have just been better at manipulating them, until now.

Although Biden was not a popular choice on libertarian Democrat blogs, I thought he was a good choice for exactly the same reason you did. We were correct. Don the libertarian Democrat

I'm not sure "contemptuous" is the right word. His criticism here is as strident as you can get, but his tone is good natured. He delivers the blows to McCain with a smile and almost something like affection. Very effective and strong contrast with McCain's seething contempt for Obama.

The more I hear from Biden, the more I like him. He really knows how to get under the skin and go after an opponent in "Hey gosh... it's just politics way."

I think we're really in danger of underestimating Sarah Palin here. We've set expectations so low that if she manages to speak in complete sentences, she'll have won the debate. I suspect she'll do much better than that. She doesn't have to learn policy, she can just spend the entire debate attacking Obama and Biden with memorized talking points. Hopefully Biden doesn't take the bait spend the whole debate on the defense. He really should just ignore personal attacks, because people won't find them credible coming from her, and keep returning to policy.

Biden will do fab, absolutely fab as long as he steers clear of the topics of black kids who simply can’t be educated, fake South Asian accents at 7Eleven, FDR's presiding over the 1929 stock market crash and then reassuring Americans with a teevee speech, unequal pay for Senate women staffers, graduate degrees for women, the screwing of those Americans who need to declare bankruptcy, phantom asthma and Vietnam deferments, helicopter gun battles in Afghanistan, drunken bimbo daughters who get off scot free thanks to the Chicago Machine, and the borrowing of fine words from Labourites. Hold on, let me catch my breath here!

I like that "...and I think it's going to be fatal."

From all those years of being a talking head on cable news, Biden really has mastered the "objective" put-down. He is proving his worth again and again.

I can't imagine what Biden vs. Palin is going to be like. Rope-a-dope is her only hope.

As little a fan I am of his past policies, he was a smart pick and I think him and Obama make a good team. I also like the way Michelle and Lisa are together. They all look strong and unified.