Most of us were truly moved when Sen. Joe Biden choked up while remembering the death of his first wife and their daughter during a automobile accident many years ago.  Gov. Sarah Palin was not at all affected and without so much as an acknowlegement to Sen. Biden about his loss, Palin went into a one-minute monologue about why McCain is a so called “maverick.” One writer summed it up perfectly.

She might have undone whatever good will she earned with her “aw, shucks” Wasilla hockey mom ways, though, when she utterly failed to react after Biden choked up while discussing the death of his first wife and their daughter.

Palin’s response was ice cold: “People aren’t looking for more of the same. They are looking for change. And John McCain has been the consummate maverick in the Senate over all these years.”

The New York Times  Editorial Board got it right.

But Ms. Palin never really got beyond her talking points in 90 minutes, mostly repeating clichés and tired attack lines and energetically refusing to answer far too many questions.

Senator Biden did well, avoiding one of his own infamous gaffes, while showing a clear grasp of the big picture and the details. He left Ms. Palin way behind on most issues, especially foreign policy and national security, where she just seemed lost. It was in those moments that her lack of experience — two terms as mayor of a tiny Anchorage suburb and less than two years as governor — was most painfully evident.

To be clear, Palin cleared the very low bar of verbalizing at least one coherent thought during the ninety-minute debate.  However, the bar is considerably higher to be the vice president of the most powerful nation in the free world. As a matter of a fact, Palin appeared as if she was running for prom queen with the eye-winking, the shout-outs to third graders, and refusing to answer pressing questions concerning the anxieties and doubts of the American people regarding the economy and foreign policy.  Instead, resorting back to the tired cliches and talking points of the McCain campaign.  The best part was when she praised Bill Cheney for his handling of the vice presidency.   In fact, Palin ultimately asserted that the Cheney model for the vice presidential position is what she aspires to use as her guide “if she and McCain are so blessed as to be” voted into office.  Hopefully, the American people will be so blessed as to NOT have to suffer through a McCain-Palin administration.

Sen. John McCain has closed up shop in Michigan.  The Arizona senator has virtually conceded the state and its 17 electoral votes to Sen. Barack Obama.  Michigan was a key state to the McCain strategy of trying to pick off a democratic state in order to succeed on November 4th.  It is becoming increasingly more difficult for McCain to carve out a path of victory on Nov 4th..  There are not many options at this point. Polls show that Obama has a double digit lead in the state.  Read full story.

John McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play.

McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. Wisconsin went for Kerry in 2004, Ohio and Florida for Bush.

A McCain aide confirmed the move and chalked it up to the state’s Democratic tilt and the resources Obama had put in place there.

“It was always a long shot for us to win,” said the aide.  

McCain will now turn his attention to bolstering his defenses in Ohio and Florida while putting more resources into Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and the second congressional district of Maine, where there is a sole electoral vote available.