Vice candidates show little vices

It was a tale of two debates if you caught the verbal battle between Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday.

For starters, both side were relatively gaffe-free (she called him O'Biden; he made a reference to "Bozniacs" instead of Bosnians).

In Palin's corner, she helped dispel the myth that she's a train wreck in giving off-the-cuff answers. As someone who has been in a debate, you prep going in by having a good idea what the questions might be and having answers for those. She kept the attention on energy, and tried to portray McCain as the true change agent while chiding Biden for looking at the past.

On Biden's performance, the senator seemed tentative the first third or half, but seemed to hit his stride as the debate progressed. And while he did "look back" at McCain's record, he did it in the fashion of "hey, this guy hasn't backed change before, so why should he now."

In terms of a "winner," Palin gets a slight edge given the beating she took in the Katie Couric interviews. But it's safe to say neither candidate hurt the top of the ticket.