MORNING READ

by Walter Alarkon - 10/03/08 9:24 AM ET

Everybody’s weighing in on Thursday’s vice presidential debate. Conservatives thought Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) won and reestablished herself as a charming political force. Liberals thought that Palin at best achieved a draw and failed to change the dynamics of the race. John McCain and Palin still have a tall task ahead of them, and it’s only getting taller now that they’re conceding Michigan to the Democrats, bloggers on both sides write.

Palin allayed conservatives’ concerns about her candidacy with a debate performance that showed a dramatic improvement as a candidate, writes Townhall’s Matt Lewis. Palin was “warm, fresh, funny, confident, energetic, personable, relentless, and on message,” writes Michelle Malkin, who thinks that liberals will come to hate her even more. While Palin was “fun” and was able to connect with people, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) came across as condescending, especially when he sighed into the microphone, writes RedState’s Erick Erickson. Kathleen Parker, the conservative columnist who called for Palin’s ouster from the GOP ticket, said that Palin “delivered with spunk” but failed to prove that she’s prepared to become president.

Biden came across as knowledgeable, Palin avoided any “deer in headlight” moments and neither changed the race, which means that the debate was good for Barack Obama, writes kos. Though Palin probably stopped the criticism from conservatives and the morale breakdown over her candidacy, Biden was more effective because he went straight after McCain, writes TalkingPointsMemo’s Josh Marshall. Snap polls of undecided voters taken right after the debate show that more people thought Biden won and voters still have concerns over whether Palin could take over the presidency, notes TPM Election Central’s Greg Sargent.

McCain’s decision to leave Michigan means that he must pull off the “triple bank shot” of holding a handful of competitive states won by President Bush in 2004, including Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana and Colorado, writes Jonathan Singer at MyDD. McCain’s shift of resources to Maine, where he could pick up one electoral vote by winning a congressional district, shows that he’s counting on winning New Hampshire, which could set up a 270-268 electoral vote victory, a reader tells The Corner’s Rich Lowry.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Still Think She Should Step Down? – Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Sarah Rocks – Michelle Malkin
Biden Gets Field Dressed – Erick Erickson, RedState
She Won Fersure, Also – Kathleen Parker, PostPartisan
Nothing Happened to Change Dynamics – kos, Daily Kos
Not A Successful Debate for McCain-Palin – J. Singer, MyDD
A Win For Biden – Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Early Snap Polls: Biden Won Handily – Greg Sargent, TPM Election
Trajectory Remains Unaltered – Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish
Palin=Folksy, Biden=Competent – Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Michigan For Maine? – Rich Lowry, The Corner
McCain Needs Triple Bank Shot – Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Duhaime’s Maine Gamble – Marc Ambinder