Who lost the debate?

It was one of the most hotly anticipated debates of our lifetime.  Could have swung the election one way or the other.  The battle royal between Alaska's favorite daughter and Delaware's favorite son.  The Sassy Scrapper from Seward's Folly vs. The Pugnacious Palooka from the Peach State.

So who lost?

Gwen Ifill did. 

Halting, unsure, unwilling to get reactions or responses and unable make either candidate answer the questions that were asked of them.

I realize this was largely a function of the debate format -- no follow-up questions were allowed -- but in the interests of actually getting Sarah Palin to say something substantive, these rules could have been bent. It basically gave Palin the chance to give one long campaign speech.

http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/

James Fallows:
"Ifill, moderator: Terrible. Yes, she was constrained by the agreed debate rules. But she gave not the slightest sign of chafing against them or looking for ways to follow up the many unanswered questions or self-contradictory answers. This was the big news of the evening. Katie Couric, and for that matter Jim Lehrer, have never looked so good."

 

Other nicknames for Alaska:

The Last Frontier

Land of the Midnight Sun

Seward's Ice Box

Delaware:

The First State

The Diamond State

The Blue Hen State
New Sweden
Uncle Sam's Pocket Handkerchief
Corporate Capital
Small Wonder