memeorandum: General: Iraq-style surge won't work in Afghanistan (Ann Scott Tyson/Washington Post)

12:15 AM ET, October 3, 2008

Top Items:

Palin's new plan: Go after Biden — ST. LOUIS — Sarah Palin plans to go on the attack in tonight's debate, hitting Joe Biden for what she will call his foreign policy blunders and penchant for adopting liberal positions on taxes and other issues, according to campaign officials involved in prepping her for tonight's showdown.

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Palin v Biden: Debate of the season — by Mark Silva and updated at 11:00 pm EDT — Joe Biden did very well in debate tonight. — He was supposed to. — Sarah Palin did very well in debate tonight. — She had to. — So it would seem that both candidates for vice president fulfilled …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Taylor Marsh and democracyarsenal.org

Daily Mail:

Sarah Palin blunders over talks with British ambassador that never took place as her first TV debate looms … Sarah Palin has committed yet another political blunder after claiming she had held talks with a British ambassador - talks that never actually took place.

Discussion: unbossed.com

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

CBS Poll: More Uncommitted Voters Saw Biden As Winner — UPDATED CBS News and Knowledge Networks have conducted a nationally representative poll of 473 uncommitted voters to get their immediate reaction to tonight's vice presidential debate. — After the first presidential debate …

Discussion: TPM Election Central, Newshoggers.com, Hot Air and The Nation

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

BIG DIG — The McCain camp tells Mike Allen that Palin will go after Joe Biden tonight, trying to catch him out on old foreign policy positions that didn't pan out. Right. I don't buy that because I don't think they want to risk getting her into any detailed discussion of any foreign policy or defense issue.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Moderate Voice and MyDD

Michelle Malkin:

SARAH ROCKS! — First, I would like to see all the Sarah doubters and detractors in the Beltway/Manhattan corridor eat their words. — Eat them. — Sarah Palin is the real deal. Five weeks on the campaign trail, thrust onto the national stage, she rocked tonight's debate.

Discussion: The Anchoress, The Other McCain and Viking Pundit

CBS News:

VP Candidates Assess Dick Cheney — CBS Evening News: Biden And Palin Answer Katie Couric's Vice-Presidential Questions … Katie Couric: What do you think is the best and worst thing that Dick Cheney has done as vice president? — Joe Biden: I'm not being a wise guy here ... that I don't know what he's done.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs and Emptywheel

Jack Shafer / Slate:
Don't Blame Gwen Ifill If the Veep Debate Sucks

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, The Huffington Post, Brave New Films blog, TPM Election Central and Weekly Standard

Kos / Daily Kos:
Post-debate thoughts — Sarah Palin won! Actually …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Huffington Post and Stop The ACLU

Washington Wire:
Who Won the Vice-Presidential Debate?

Discussion: Midwest Voices and Los Angeles Times

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Plouffe protests — David Plouffe spoke to reporters just now …

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Peter Hamby / CNN:
Palin's foreign policy adviser stood in for Biden in mock debates

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
DEBATE LIVEBLOGGING.

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, Taegan Goddard's … and Megan McArdle

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press: Palin stands her ground in VP debate with Biden

Foon Rhee / Boston Globe:
McCain: Life isn't fair

Discussion: Liberty Street, Comments from Left Field and The Huffington Post

Will Wilkinson:
Veep Liveblog

Discussion: The Debatable Land

Victor Davis Hanson / National Review:
Sarah Biden — Journalists continue to ask, “What was John …

Discussion: The Swamp and Macsmind

Blake D. Dvorak / Real Clear Politics: Palin's Last Stand? — It's come to one night in St. Louis for Sarah Palin.

Tapscott's Copy Desk:
Here's my prediction: Sen. Biden, welcome to Sarah's world

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, The Next Right and Wizbang

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

McCain pulling out of Michigan — John McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play. — McCain will go off TV in Michigan …

Mike Allen / The Politico:

McCain fate hangs on three states — ST. LOUIS — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) now must win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Minnesota in order to get enough electoral votes to win the presidency, his campaign says. — Those were considered swing states in 2000 and 2004, but George W. Bush lost them both times.

Discussion: Open Left, MyDD, The New Republic and Donklephant

Marc Ambinder:
McCain's Now Playing Defense; Obama Bracing For Counterattacks

Discussion: Comments from Left Field and Crooks and Liars

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
McCain Moves Out of Michigan: What It Means

Discussion: The Caucus, FiveThirtyEight.com, Political Radar, The Marathon Blog, Martini Revolution and Townhall.com

DownWithTyranny!:
Polls In Red States

Discussion: St. Petersburg Times, Washington Post, Salon and Group News Blog

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Live-Blogging The Veeps — 10.30 pm. Biden's sobriety and authority and call for fundamental change is both reasonable and solid. It will resonate, I think. As you can read, I began this debate feeling that she was steam-rolling him. She was. But it was a steam-roller coming at you on fumes, not real fuel.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Riehl World View, Crooks and Liars, Althouse, Obsidian Wings, At-Largely, Lonewacko and The Sundries Shack

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

LIVE BIDEN-PALIN BLOGGING PART II — 10:03 PM ... Didn't Palin just get the name wrong of our Army commander in Afghanistan. His name is David D. McKiernan. Who's the McClellan she was talking about? She pretty clearly misstated what he said, but she seems not even to know who he is.

Discussion: Raising Kaine

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:
General: Iraq-style surge won't work in Afghanistan

Discussion: Washington Wire, democracyarsenal.org, TPM Election Central, New York Times, Donklephant, Raising Kaine, VetVoice and Hullabaloo

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
GEN. MCCLELLAN — Needless to say, getting the name …

Discussion: Liberty Street

CNN:

Transcript of Palin, Biden debate — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The vice presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, debated in St. Louis, Missouri, Thursday night. Gwen Ifill of PBS was the debate moderator. Here is a transcript of that debate:

Discussion: Pam's House Blend and GetReligion

Susie Bright / 10 Zen Monkeys:

Why Sarah's Sex Life Matters — A lot of people have said “I don't know if it's fair to look at Sarah Palin's sexuality the way people are — I just don't know if it's sexist or appropriate. Why can't we just treat her like a human being?” Okay, I'm going to tell you why it's appropriate for us to gloat and delve into every detail.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The Bottom Line — Biden didn't put the boot in; he didn't come off as sexist; he didn't make any obvious gaffes. Palin didn't collapse and pushed through the debate with enough speed not to wobble. But it felt as if she needed the speed in order not to wobble.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Richard Clarke / US News:

Why Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda Might Try to Affect the Election Between Barack Obama and John McCain — Intelligence officials are worried, Richard Clarke writes, that al Qaeda may try to affect elections — John Kerry believes that the so-called al Qaeda Halloween videotape released days …

Discussion: democracyarsenal.org

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

RNC shatters monthly fundraising record — The RNC raised nearly $66 million in September, breaking its all-time record. — Committee spokesman Alex Conant credited the haul to the strength of John McCain and Sarah Palin. — The figure is a reminder that, despite her recent slip-ups …

Discussion: www.redstate.com