Bailout Bombs

I say we just call her governor.

Not long ago, Canada's CBC ran a commentary by Heather Mallick that said Palin appeals to "the white trash vote" with her "toned-down version of the porn actress look," which includes "a sturdy body, clothes that are clinging yet boxy and a voice that could peel the plastic seal off your new microwave."

Well! CBC Publisher John Cruickshank is sorry: "Mallick's column is a classic piece of political invective. It is viciously personal, grossly hyperbolic and intensely partisan. And because it is all those things, this column should not have appeared on the CBCNews.ca site . . .

"We erred in our editorial judgment. You told us in no uncertain terms. And we have learned from it."

Remember that other debate -- the one between Obama and McCain?

"When the details of this encounter fade, as they soon will, I think the debate as a whole will be seen as of a piece with Kennedy-Nixon in 1960, Reagan-Carter in 1980, and Clinton-Bush in 1992," James Fallows opines.

"In each of those cases, a fresh, new candidate (although chronologically older in Reagan's case) had been gathering momentum at a time of general dissatisfaction with the 'four more years' option of sticking with the incumbent party. The question was whether the challenger could stand as an equal with the more experienced, tested, and familiar figure. In each of those cases, the challenger passed the test -- not necessarily by 'winning' the debate, either on logical points or in immediate audience or polling reactions, but by subtly reassuring doubters on the basic issue of whether he was a plausible occupant of the White House and commander in chief. I think that's how this debate will be seen."

Fallows definitely has a perspective on 1980, having served as a Carter speechwriter before Reagan won the only debate that year.