So I was extremely excited for the debate tonight. I haven't heard a lot from Biden, maybe because I only go out looking at liberal news sources (I'll admit it) that scrape up dirt about the Republican ticket, but I couldn't wait to make my own opinion.

At the same time I was probably even more excited to hear Palin. When I listened to her acceptance speech I was thoroughly impressed. Not because I agreed with her policies (though if I can remember correctly, she didn't mention many at the beginning), but more so because she had enthusiasm.

She incorporated some humor into her acceptance speech, and she used various hand and facial gestures to connect with the audience. I soon realized though, that this speech was probably so good simply because it was well-rehearsed. She could read off the screen, and she didn't have to think on her feet; plus, she had time to go over what she was going to say and do (down to every last detail). But when it came to interviews where she had to think on her feet, well … maybe not so impressive. Actually, quite funny at times (and not necessarily in a good way).

So, of course, I wanted to see if she would be able to actually think on her feet tonight. Yes, she could practice some potential questions, but she couldn't fully prepare for what was to come. I was looking forward to sitting at home and having a good laugh, or maybe yelling at the TV a little, but that's not how it turned out.

Yes, there were multiple memorable moments when Palin was supposed to respond and her first reaction was a pause followed by an "Um …" or a cute little "Yah." I know, it may be a little hypocritical of me because I do it all the time, but if you're going to support education (and offer extra credit to third graders for watching the debate), maybe you should set a good example and say "Yes" not "Yah." I know, it's picking at the little details, but after a while, if you're someone like me, you start counting how many "Yah"s and "Um"s occur.

But, in general, I was pretty impressed. She didn't say anything completely outrageous (Russia was not mentioned, thank God), and she looked generally composed. I'll have to say, I don't agree with her on most of her policies, but policies aside, she made a fairly good speech and kept it in "political lingo" (meaning that, even if she did feel the need to express some of her magnificent policies on foreign affairs — or does she have any magnificent ones? — she used a ton of big words and roundabout ways to give her answer). Either way, it was more than what I had expected. Props for that (even though the standard may have been set fairly low in the first place).

As for Biden, I would like to give him even more props. Yes, I agreed a lot more with what he had to say, so maybe I'm being totally biased (it's a political opinion, how can you not be biased?), but he had a tough situation and he handled it very well.

Biden couldn't say anything bad about Palin. The Republicans would spin anything (even little things like, say, making a comment about lipstick on a pig) to make it sound like Biden was sexist or insensitive. So, if you listened closely, Biden hardly ever addressed Palin; he always said something about McCain or the McCain and Palin ticket. "McCain does this," "McCain does that," "I don't agree with the McCain/Palin ticket," etc.

He avoided making any jabs at Palin and therefore (hopefully, though we will have to see in the morning) avoided all the "sexist pig" criticisms. Instead, Biden was able to pull off making a few smart jabs here and there.

My favorite was when he started discussing the Bush Doctrine. We all know that Palin doesn't know what that is (wait, was it not one of the IDs on our junior year history test? Are you serious?), and although Biden didn't come flat out and say anything, we were all reminded of that one glorious interview.

I personally can't wait to hear what the headlines have to say in the morning! Palin encouraged another debate in her closing statement — how great would that be?!