Biden: 1, Nanobot: 0. My debate response in brief.

Okay, I never took a formal debate class in high school, but I'm pretty sure that a key component of a victorious debate is the ability to effectively convey a somewhat nuanced and in-depth knowledge of the issue at hand. By that criterion, Sarah Palin failed epically. Every one of her answers returned her to a pre-packaged set of terms intended to have an effect without really saying anything, e.g. "reform," "maverick," "team," "victory," and "spending cuts." She consolidated the fact that she is far and away the least informed, least qualified person to ever run for the office of Vice President. She was "successful" in playing up her folksy quality (*wink*!), but was unable to muster a shred of human feeling.

Joe Biden, on the other hand, was -in a word- brilliant. I listened to the debate first on the radio (so did not see Palin's winks and grins or Biden's droopiness), and could not believe how calm, coherent, and comprehensive Biden's answers were. He was civil and respectful while still being firm and confident. He showed tonight why Obama picked him. (And I admit- I am one of the Obama supporters who was at first very discouraged by the Biden pick because of his history of support for aggressive foreign policy measures.) I went from lukewarm towards him to completely reassured. This is a man who knows history, knows policy, and can articulate very clearly where he stands while (as the VP candidate) acknowledging that his main task as VP is to support the agenda of the president.

Palin, meanwhile, seems to have a very Cheney-esque view of the job of the Vice President. She apparently thinks that she'll have some sort of "powers" separate from the president and outside the boundaries of Article II of the Constitution. That is not only frightening in that it reflects an utter lack of understanding of the governmental structure set up by the framers, but for the fact that she seems like exactly the type of person who would shoot first and ask questions later. She has shown no evidence of truly independent thinking (despite her endless references to her "maverickness"), and therefore would undoubtedly be a tool of whichever strong-minded, confident men surround her at any given time. And what's more, she will believe that she really IS an independent thinker.

As a blog post on DailyKos points out, perhaps the most uncomfortable and revealing part of the night was when Palin's microchip -- which evidently was not programmed with an "empathy" or "compassion" response-- did it's job too well, and kicked right back into the "reform, maverick, strong leadership" meme after being confronted by a genuine show of emotion on the part of Biden when he referred to his late wife and daugher's deaths.

I don't care what the pundits say- they are just hedging their bets. Palin is in way over her head. Period. Unlike Socrates, Palin doesn't know that she doesn't know anything. And that's what makes her truly terrifying.

*Thanks to a good friend who heads an international foundation that assists defenders of human rights for an inspiring post-debate conversation.