Governor Palin has a good night, the New York Times pitches a hissy:

Gov. Sarah Palin made it through the vice-presidential debate on Thursday without doing any obvious damage to the Republican presidential ticket. By surviving her encounter with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. and quelling some of the talk about her basic qualifications for high office, she may even have done Senator John McCain a bit of good, freeing him to focus on the other troubles shadowing his campaign.

Is there a more risible, condescending lead in the news tonight? Look at the language: “surviving” — as though she’s categorically outclassed by an unremarkable senator-plagiarist from Delaware. Good grief.