NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Sarah Palin Scores. “Altogether, they clashed in a spirited debate that was far more illuminating than the conversation between their running mates last week. The public benefited, but perhaps no one benefited more than Palin in showing that she could comfortably hold her own with a six-term senator who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee.”

UPDATE: Some people think I’m being coy and want to know what I think. Well, I don’t trust my instincts on this stuff — remember, I thought Carter beat Reagan. But it seemed to me that both did well, and that this was a bigger deal for Palin than for Biden since the press was portraying her as some sort of airhead before. I agree with the Daily News that it was a better debate than last week’s, and I was struck by how cordial Biden and Palin seemed afterward. Frankly, I think the country would be better off if both tickets were flipped. . . .