Maybe a tie is a win, in this case

The New York Times has an article by Alessandra Stanley:

The debate wasn’t so much between Senator Joseph Biden Jr. and Ms Palin as it was between the dueling images of the Alaska governor: the fuzzy-minded amateur parodied — with her own words — by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live or the gun-toting hockey mom who blazed into history at the Republican convention.
There was a little of both on stage Thursday night, though Ms Palin spoke far more fluidly and confidently than she had in her devastating interviews with Katie Couric of CBS. Ms Palin did stumble into a few loop-the-loop non sequiturs, but mostly she stuck to practiced talking points. She didn’t answer questions directly, but she spoke out with self-assurance and even cockiness, correcting Mr. Biden when he tried to repeat the Republicans’ slogan about oil exploration in Alaska. “The chant is ‘drill, baby, drill,’ ” she said.
Ms Palin was the one who set the tone, making Mr. Biden sound stuffy before he had a chance to make her look unsteady. She bounded onto the stage, shook hands with her opponent and said brightly, “Hey, can I call you Joe?” He said yes, then addressed her as “Governor Palin.”
Mr. Biden made few mistakes; he appeared more measured and thoughtful on substance, and made forceful points that contrasted with Ms Palin’s slogans. But she provided the more vivacious, visceral television performance: it was a 90-minute sprint to reclaim her identity as a feisty, folksy frontierswoman ready to storm Washington. And she did it like a reality show contestant. She was friendly and respectful to Mr. Biden. Then, every now and then, she cocked her head, winked, and nudged him hard — like a little sister who knows her older brother cannot hit back.
While her showmanship may have exhilarated her fans, it also helped Mr. Biden, who is normally known as something of a know-it-all showoff; in contrast to her, he seemed reserved and sincere.
At the end of the debate she thanked the moderator for the chance to talk to the American people “without the filter, even of the mainstream media, kind of telling viewers what they’ve just heard.”

Rico says he's still unclear who 'won' the debate, but he's glad Palin came off better than he'd feared...