MORNING READ

Hours before Thursday’s vice presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) is criticized by liberal bloggers for her incomplete and inconsistent answers to questions about the Supreme Court. Conservative bloggers dismiss the notion that she made a gaffe and give her with advice on how to stand up to her opponent, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.). Now that the Wall Street bailout bill has passed the Senate and is heading back to the House, bloggers on the right ramp up efforts to block it.

Palin told CBS’s Katie Couric that she believes in a constitutional right to privacy, showing that she doesn’t know that the right is the legal underpinning for Roe v. Wade, writes TalkingPointsMemo’s Josh Marshall. Palin also wasn’t able to name a second Supreme Court decision that she opposes, which is startling since her core followers, Christian conservatives, have long railed against judges, writes Democratic Strategist Ed Kilgore.

But those who question Palin over her Supreme Court answers are the ones who are out of touch, since most Americans wouldn’t be able to answer those questions, writes Townhall’s Carol Platt Liebau. Biden, not Palin, should be embarrassed about his Roe answer, since he wrongly claimed that the ruling represents a near “consensus,” writes The Corner’s Yuval Levin. At the debate, Palin should focus on themes instead of details, writes Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey, who adds that John McCain needs her to avoid a disaster.

Critics of the Wall Street bailout legislation should call “The People’s House” to prevent it from going soft after the Senate passed the $700 billion rescue package, writes Michelle Malkin. She names her anti-bailout effort “Operation Hold the Line.” If the bill is going to pass, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should get the votes she needs from her party, not from fiscally conservative Republicans, writes Robert Stacy McCain. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s request for billions of dollars is just like those fake e-mails sent by Nigerian officials asking strangers for cash, according to RedState’s Erick Erickson.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Dead to Rights – Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Sarah Palin and The Right to Privacy – Jonathan Singer, MyDD
Palin’s Answer Pretty Stunning – hilzoy, Political Animal
The Palin Chronicles, Continued – Josh Patashnik, The Plank
This Is A Gaffe? – Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall.com
Biden Should Be Embarrassed on Roe – Yuval Levin, The Corner
Gwen Ifill Should Not Moderate Debate – E. Erickson, RedState
Keys to Tonight’s V.P. Debate – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Rachel Maddow is Right – Mike Potemra, The Corner
Operation Hold The Line – Michelle Malkin
Paulson’s Scam E-mail – Erick Erickson, RedState
No Reason House GOP to Help Pelosi – R.S. McCain, Other McCain

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Senate Passes Bailout Plan; House May Vote By Friday – NYT
McCain Opposes Regulation — Until He Supports It – L.A. Times
Skepticism of Palin Growing, Poll Finds – Washington Post
Heading For Friday Finale – The Hill