BP Debate: My Critique
Speaking for conservatives, we wanted to see the RNC convention speech Palin. Instead we got the McCain bipartisanship Palin and the attacks on Obama from Palin were few and far between. BIG MISTAKE. From a conservatives point of view, Palin failed on this.

However, Palin scored on some personality points and re-emerged her live persona out from the media contrived persona built up on edits and SNL skits. The live Palin is the x-factor juggernaut that so spooked the Dems the moment she showed up. The last few weeks have been spent attacking that persona and to an extent was successful. But the live Palin struck back and I expect to see some poll swings because of this.

People vote on issues and they vote on personas. Palin's performance strengthens her persona brand. I believe this brand will have play in the battleground states. But it must be maintained against the headwinds of a media intent on reigniting the joke Palin.

So on conservative message Palin was not 100%. But on non-conservative points she exceeded the mark. Conservatives will tell you that they HATE the image game. But so much of todays politics is scored on this ground. (Dictionary entry see Obama).

We'll see where it goes.