Palin Debate Wrap: Sarah America Is Back

I was pretty sure Sarah Palin would do well in last night's debate after watching Tina Fey try to make her look like an idiot on SNL. Despite Fey's best efforts, even her faux-Palin still came across as extremely likable. (I sense that Joe Biden, another likable candidate, kind of dug her, too, in a father-daughter sort of way.) Like President Reagan, Palin is Teflon. Now, anyone who loves policy like I do isn't going to be satisfied with her thin answers. (She was actually much stronger on foreign policy than on taxes and spending and energy. Hungry markets!) Like McCain in his debate, she spoke too much in generalities. I mean, I find it strange, for instance, that neither McCain nor Palin ever notes that 70 percent of the burden of the U.S. corporate tax, the second-highest on the planet, comes down on workers. Not once have I heard a cogent critique of Obama's tax-cut plan by this ticket.

Bottom line: Palin easily moved back to being a strong asset for McCain and has to be considered the far-and-away front-runner for the 2012 Republican nomination if McCain loses.