LiveBlog: The VP Debate

7:32 pm. What a debate. Both Biden and Palin spoke for about 90 minutes, and both stood toe-to-toe with another and seemed unshaken. Now we'll see what the polls have to say as far as who won, and which ticket benefitted the most.

7:24 pm. Biden with a fervent reponse. "Maverick he is not."

7:20 pm. Both Palin and Biden with a pair of incredible answers. Palin seems to be getting more comfortable answering these questions as the debate has gone on, while Biden also looks very fluid in his answers.

7:12 pm. Is Palin winking? Or does she just have a blinking problem? That's two winks by my count.

7:11 pm. "Say it ain't so, Joe." Palin sure has those one-liners down. I wonder what Joe Six Pack thinks of her latest answer.

7:10 pm. Perhaps Biden's strongest answer of the night comes after Ifill asks how a Biden administration would change from an Obama administration. He reaffirmed his beliefs in Obama's policies, and did so in a concise and powerful manner. So how does Palin respond? By saying "we're two mavericks" so they wouldn't agree on everything. An interesting response.

7:05 pm. A strong answer from Palin about the Sudan.

6:59 pm. He also likes repeating himself immediately after making a statement.

6:58 pm. Biden still referring to himself in the third person. Hmmm.

6:56 pm. Biden keeps saying McCain/Palin will have the same policies as George Bush. So far, Palin has one thing in common with Bush - her inability to properly say the word "nuclear." Still sounds like "nuke-u-ler" to me.

6:54 pm. "I'm so encouraged that we both love Israel." Enough said.

6:51 pm. A two-state solution, interesting. But wait - why is she bringing up the Holocaust? OK wait, I'm still confused. She's fully behind Israel, yet wants a two-state solution? How does that work? Interesting. Biden then uses the third person to announce his friendship with Israel.

6:44 pm. And she's still firing. She draws attention to Biden's previous statement that Obama isn't fit to be commander-in-chief.

6:42 pm. Palin: "Your plan is a white flag of surrender." A bold statement. She's not holding back now, and only time will tell if that strategy works.

6:40 pm. Big shot fired by Palin. She calls attention to a difference in vote between Obama and Biden, and then commends Biden for calling out Obama on his "no" vote for funding.

6:37 pm. Just a note, Gwen Ifill is running a tight ship. She's moving the candidates along, and actually trying to get them to answer the question. Jim Lehrer did a good job moderating the first presidential debate, but I must say, I'm impressed with Ifill's work so far.

6:34 pm. There's your answer: "Drill baby drill." The Al Davis of politics?

6:32 pm. The governor is particularly moved by the need to address the climate issue, and she seems to be scoring well with the Ohio voters being surveyed. But she says it's not all man-made. Biden immediately says the problem is all man-made. And then quotes McCain's record of 20 votes against clean energy research. How will Palin respond, given the fact that she is so strongly in favor of clean energy technology?

6:30 pm. Palin is still harping on the energy question, and seems to be sidestepping the other issues to get back to the energy question. Now she's angry with "east coast" politicians who won't let Alaska use its energy reserves.

6:24 pm. Perhaps Palin's first stumble. She ignores the question, then when re-asked what she would take off the table, she simply says that she's only been at it for five weeks. Probably not the most confidence-instilling statement she could have made.

6:21 pm. Biden takes the first real shot, calling McCain's health care plan a real "bridge to nowhere." The audience chuckles. I don't think anyone was expecting Senator Biden to say something like that, but he did. Let's see if Palin responds.

6:18 pm. Wait a minute - Gwen Ifill just asked Sarah Palin if she wanted to defend McCain's health care plan. Why does she get to do that? Is she going to ask Biden to defend Obama's?

6:14 pm. Biden strikes back. Palin bashes Obama's desire to raise taxes, Biden says McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. Now Palin strikes back and quotes her tax voting record as mayor and governor in Alaska. Maybe a little different from similar votes in Washington? We'll see.

6:11 pm. And Ohio really like what she has to say, too.

6:10 pm. Palin takes a strong stance on the sub-prime lending situation. You might have thought she would say that everyone is at fault, but she immediately defends the people (i.e. "Joe Six Pack" - who is Joe Six Pack?)

6:06 pm. Biden gives the response you would think he would give, concise and official. Palin, however, counters by talking about asking soccer moms. Not necessarily a bad move on her part. She immediately seems down to earth.

Unfortunately, the uncommitted Ohio voters don't agree. CNN has decided to make its bottom line a survey of voters in the important swing state, and so far, Biden got a higher response than did Palin.

6:02 pm. The candidates take the stage to raucous applause. This is starting to feel like the Super Bowl. Palin wants to know if she can call Biden "Joe." This ought to be interesting.

It's perhaps the most eagerly anticipated debate in the history of political debates. Some are project it will have the largest audience of any televised presidential or vice presidential debates ever. Period.

Lincoln-Douglas? Please.

Alright, fine. Perhaps that's pushing it just a bit. But stick right here for on-the-fly commentary as you watch Joe Biden debate Sarah Palin in the first and only vice presidential debate of the election.