Robert Scoble

palin, considering her lack of knowledge/experience, i think you are right, mccain will win - imran

might have one the debate in the opinion of the friendfeed audience. not sure about the opinion of the rest of the united states. hmmm... - Jeff Sandquist

I wish there was more structure to the debate, there were many times she didn't answer the question given, instead would talk about some other issue, Biden would respond to the question AND comment on Palin's new choice of topic - Bryan

Jeff: she won CNN's focus group. How's Fox's focus group dealing? :-) - Robert Scoble

Agreed, it was a great debate. Biden kicked ass on the maverick topic. - Aaron Krug

My personal opinion = Biden won. But Palin was more 'real' as a CNN panelist said. It's the focus groups that matter. Not what the experts say. - Mona N.

Mona -- You said in another conversation that Palin won??http://friendfeed.com/e/c80d1d... Robert -- Hands down, I agree with you. - Jennifer Leggio

Yes? DId you read why I said that? - Mona N.

Biden was an obvious win for me. Palin obviously avoided three major questions that she couldn't answer, diverting to talking points she had obviously been trained in. With one exception, Biden directly tackled each question. She is out of her league. Biden did much better than I expected. Palin survived, but I hardly think she did well. Tossing out "soccer moms" twice isn't what I call a connection. - Squirrel Girl

CNN's poll said she lost big - Brad Nickel

Scoble,shit like this makes me question tech stuff you are worth talking about. Save your cred. - Morgan Warstler

She IS giving a speech, at least on CNN.com - Shawn Farner

Palin was coached very well; it's when she's not being coached that I fear her. She's got a lot of facts, but there's a difference between knowledge & understanding. Biden showed his normal self, maybe with a bit more personality, and he kept his cool which helped him. - clarke thomas via twhirl

People - it's not about polls or what the experts say. It's what the GENERAL PUBLIC thinks. - Mona N.

The debate was horrible from Palin. No substance. No details. The only person that actually debated and provided value to America tonight was Joe Biden. I dare a Republican to tell me exactly where I am wrong. She provided more distilled dishonest bugglegum BS. She was good at it and people will buy it that want to buy it, but she did nothing for McCain or the country! - Brad Nickel

Mona, I saw why you said it. I agree it's what the public thinks. Was just wondering why you were flipping sides. Nothing wrong with being undecided. - Jennifer Leggio

I think it went better for both candidates than any one could have hoped. That being said did either of them actually answer a question? - J. Abdul-Qahhar

I agree Obama won because Biden got more effective shots on McCain than Palin did on Obama. Not buying the Palin is more real crap though; the folksy homey stuff isn't anything like normal people in my circle of influence. Maybe in Kansas or Alaska, but not in science or industry. Yuk. - Sally Church

It wasn't even close. Biden was direct and acted the leader. Palin rambled. Seemed out of touch. - Ben

I think Jack Layton won. Followed closely by Elizabeth May and Gilles Duceppe. Dion just beat out Harper for last spot. Whoops sorry. Wrong country :) - Andrew Smith

She won the 28-ers, but they were not going anywhere anyway. I watched the lines on the bottom of the screen on CNN and Biden killed her with the focus group, especially with women. I think the debate reinforced that she is not ready - she really needed to dazzle with knowledge and sophistication to eradicate the notions she is an idiot that everyone got from the Couric interviews. Just not making a gaffe was not enough for her to sway anyone that she is actually not ignorant - she HAD to do more and she couldn't. - Bora Zivkovic

Palin won the public, and that's why Palin won. I never said I agreed or disagreed with it, Jennifer. :) - Mona N.

I predict we will never hear the word Maverick again. She used it several times and each time the lines dipped sharply. The GOPnicks will notice this and tell everyone not to use the word any more as it has a negative effect. Especially after Biden destroyed the idea in what was probably the most powerful tirade of the night. - Bora Zivkovic

Palin was focused on not losing while Biden was focused on winning; For the same reason race car drivers focus on coming out of a turn (where they plan to go) as opposed to where they fear they might go (the wall)... - Tim FitzGerald

@Andrew, that's not a country. that's our 51 state/territory. - Morgan Warstler

Biden won by a mile. - Mike Reynolds

Mona: I've seen a couple of polls so far and both said Biden won by a big margin. So did CNN's focus group. So, where you getting your facts? - Robert Scoble

I agree Robert. Neither articulated anything new or provided any clarity on positions, though both performed better than I expected, with no major screwups on either side. I give Palin negative marks for not sticking to the questions, though kudos to her for being able to make every issue about energy or mavericism. Just enough to count, Biden was on the attack, but boy oh boy did he have a lot of opportunity, so he wins the debate for Obama due to overall self-control. - JC unwired

Palin came out of the idiot closet and into the average American mom stage. Still not presidential worthy, but I don't think she's stupid any more. In that way she won - but that's not really saying much. It was an entertaining debate. - Tad, TV's Patrick Duffy

I actually thought it was a good debate and enjoyed it. - Geoff Schultz

Mona - I'm with Robert on this one. All the polls point to Biden. - Jennifer Leggio

Agreed - Justin Yost

I agree with Tad. There were no expectations of Palin, so she would have had to stand there and not speak to have considered it a loss for her. - Trish R

I agree Bora, Biden tore up the term "Maverick". - Walter Jessen

There were no "no" expectations. The expectations were that she is ignorant. She had to give a friggin' lecture on economics and foreign policy to change that perception - something she was unable to do. The perception thus remains that she is unready. - Bora Zivkovic

Sally, respectfully I would have to disagree. She was well-coached on attacking Obama through previous statements and positions stated by Biden, and got in quite a few zingers. I thought Biden passed up a couple of opportunities to lay it on McCain. - JC unwired

There are no "winners." Plus it doesn't matter because we have 10 minute attention spans in this country. In three days no one will remember a thing about it. After next Tuesday's debate that'll be doubly true. - Sean Sharp

She proved that under lockup, she does as she's told and memorizes well. - Trish R

Good Biden strategy - several times he tied McCain not to Bush but to Cheney, thus trying to reduce the 28-ers down to 13-ers (or whatever is Cheney's popularity status right now).. - Bora Zivkovic

Thank god! The official numbers are out and Biden won. I was starting to get REALLY worried listening to the analysts. (I'm streaming and cross checking with various news sites. Not watching it on TV) - Mona N.

Biden definitely won. Palin needs to be booed off the stage...what a joke - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Can you imagine Palin as president if something happens to McCain? - Michael Krigsman

yep, and it scares the livin' daylights out of me! - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

I can't imagine a single set of criteria, shared by any group of adults, by which you could say that Palin even competed for a win in this debate. - Christopher Galtenberg

As John McCain didn't say: The fundamentals of the election have not changed. The past 2 weeks have irrevocably changed the dynamics of this race and, unless something unexpected happens, Obama is now the prohibitive favorite. - JD Lasica

two boring losers without a clue about the global world - Gregory Lent

Sorry for bringing this up a week later, but the Biden vs. Palin debate was boring Biden had nothing to prove. Palin had to prove she could regurgitate a few lines. So I side with Mona. - Mike Reynolds