Pat Buchanan gets laughed off the Hardball stage by Tweety and Bob Shrum for saying that Palin won the debate because she topped Biden on the Drudge and AOL polls. Forget CBS and CNN, you know, the real pollsters. If non-scientific polls on sites primarily frequented by right-wing nutjobs say Palin won, then dammit, she won.

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Buchanan: "Well, I mean Drudge found it 70-30, AOL found it 500,000 split."

Matthews: But those aren't polls. Those are people emailing in on conservative blog sites. We can do those! [laughter]

Shrum: "For Pat to be citing, like, the AOL poll or the Drudge poll which is set up, shows us how much he wants to do cartwheels because she didn't commit a pratfall on stage."

  Part of Palin's closing argument last night, and the McCain campaign's incessant whining about her supposed unfair treatment, certainly signaled that.

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I like being able to answer these tough questions without the filter, even, of the mainstream media kind of telling viewers what they've just heard. I'd rather be able to just speak to the American people like we just did.

Team McCain was in full paranoia mode yesterday, going around and accusing CBS and Katie Couric of editing the Palin interview to make her look worse than she really was, a great feat if it were actually true. I think this frontal assault signals that McCain will relegate her to the right-wing talk show circuit for the rest of the race, hoping that her adequate performance last night (coupled with her fiery, condescending speech in Minneapolis-St.Paul) will be what voters remember about her.

If there's one thing we've learned about Governor Palin, it's that she can read a teleprompter and recall memorized taking points just fine. But when she's actually challenged to think on her feet (like in the Couric and Gibson interviews), she falters about as badly as a politican could falter.

While it may be a wise strategy for McCain to stash her away for for the next 32 days, it's transparently laughable to claim that somehow the traditional media "filter" is the problem here.

  The moment that most stuck with me last night (and most people, I assume) was when Senator Biden choked up while taking about losing his wife and daughter to a horrific car accident. He successfully challenged Palin's assertion that he doesn't understand the challenges of average, working Americans in what was clearly an unscripted and sincere moment that provided a window into the true character of the man.

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Look, I understand what it's like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it's like as a parent to wonder what it's like if your kid's going to make it.

I understand what it's like to sit around the kitchen table with a father who says, "I've got to leave, champ, because there's no jobs here. I got to head down to Wilmington. And when we get enough money, honey, we'll bring you down."

But the notion that somehow, because I'm a man, I don't know what it's like to raise two kids alone, I don't know what it's like to have a child you're not sure is going to -- is going to make it -- I understand. 

Biden's most powerful, personal moment was quickly followed by what Palin did best all night: repeat mindless, boilerplate talking points, never deviating from the script prepared for her.

Markos puts it perfectly:

It was a poignant moment, made all the much more so by Palin's callous response. As GreenSooner wrote in the comments:

She didn't have a prepared reaction...

...so she was trying to figure out which talking point was the easiest pivot from "opponent shows deep emotion over family tragedy."

She pulled the string, and out came an answer about McCain being a maverick. Classless, and completely out of place in what was a somber movement. She could've shown some empathy, maybe even talked about the difficulties of raising her own family. Instead, she resorted to talking points.

Classless.

Above: Sarah Palin's "Greatest Hits" (via TPM)

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden face off tonight at Washington University in St. Louis. Her limited official media appearances so far haven't done a good job convincing voters she's ready for primetime, to say the least. We all know she can give a fiery teleprompter speech, but how will she fare in a tense, high-profile showdown with one of the most knowledgeable and longest-serving members of the US Senate? Which Palin will we see tonight? The aggressive firebrand we saw in Minneapolis? Or the clueless, moose-in-the-headlights neophyte we saw with Couric and Gibson? We're about to find out...

You can watch live online here.

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9:00 pm: Here we go, my friends.

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