Biden was a little clunky but had a few excellent moments first, when he repeated the ways in which McCain will be exactly like Bush; second where he listed all the ways McCain was wrong about the war; third, where he listed the issues on which McCain is anything but a maverick. In a debate where I think very little will resonate, those points were made forcefully and, I hope, effectively.
Palin? Was the bar really set so low that this was considered an acceptable performance? When she didn’t like a question she babbled some nonsense about energy. When she decided to stay on topic she started every answer with a minute of folksy, empty throat-clearing riddled with homespun cliche. I get that she was going for a down-home attitude but I found it incredibly cloying and artificial.
The pundits seem to be giving this to Palin but as far as I can tell it is because they are grading on a curve. Biden was more on topic, was more substantive both on his own policies and the McCain policies that he opposes and was much more human than I think people expected of him.
These same experts completely whiffed on the analysis of the first Presidential debate and I suspect that they are now 0 for 2. I give the round to Biden.
Instant update: The CBS News flash poll that gave the first debate to Obama? It gives the second debate to Biden 46% - 21%.