Today, Joe Biden, Barack Obama's right hand man, turns 66 years old. After the jump, images of the two men marching throughout the country on their way toward victory.

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Ladies and gents, can we talk about this Joe Six Pack that Sarah Palin keeps referencing? I don't think I know any, but I'm mystified by the fact that their ilk is characterized by beer consumption. There are many better ways to say "average American," and I'm offended for you, Joes of the world. Yet, Sarah Palin thinks that being a member of the storied Six Pack family, which is not exactly true, at least not anymore, somehow makes her uniquely qualified for the vice-presidency.

At the debate last night, she tried to convey this with winks and nods and folksy "you betchas" and "doggone its." The Republican base probably ate it up. In a sense, she was quite presidential up there — if your only frame of reference is George W. Bush, the guy with the dismal approval ratings. As I watched, I thought that this was probably a huge mistake on Palin's part. Whether she was genuine or not, Americans fell into a trap after responding positively to the folksy Washington outsider eight years ago and aren't itching to repeat the error. When she got extra Bush-y, the approval lines on CNN's handy "uncommitted-voters" meter either went down or stayed static.

With all of Palin's strategies for connecting to the audience, the most real, emotional moment came from Joe Biden when he defended single fathers the world over and almost lost it on the podium. My take? Americans — the uncommitted ones, at least — are searching for a president and vice-president who are presidential in the conventional sense of the word, not in the way that the Bush administration has redefined it. If this is true, and the post-debate polling seems to indicate that it is, Sarah Palin and John McCain lost this debate by a larger margin than we know. But this is unpredictable America — only the polls over the next few days will tell.

Wherein you, the readers, talk amongst yourselves.

The Vice-Presidential Debate: Lend us your thoughts before, during, and after.

Wherein you, the readers, talk amongst yourselves.

What questions would you like Gwen Ifill to ask Sarah Palin and Joe Biden tomorrow?

The debate did her in. Famed journalist — and moderator of tomorrow's Vice-Presidential Debate — Gwen Ifill, was carrying some heavy debate-prep materials up the stairs at her house when she stumbled and broke her ankle. Just the out John McCain's campaign was looking for? Not exactly. Ifill says the show will go on.

As for Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, they are knee deep in debate prep right about now. After viewing some footage of Palin debating in Alaska, many are saying we shouldn't underestimate her skills. Plus, you might not know this, but she reads every single magazine and newspaper! [TN]

The Obama-Biden rally at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., Saturday was just like any other… except for the fact that 26,000 people showed up (in a red state), it was raining like crazy, and I was there with my Obama-loving boyfriend and mom. The most amazing thing about the experience was watching all of those thousands of people stay put once the skies opened about an hour before the candidates even took the stage. That's dedication.

[Photo Source]

Voters around the country haven't forgotten about the time, in February of 2007, when Joe Biden complemented his future running mate, Barack Obama, by using the racially charged word "articulate." I don't have to explain the significance of the term in its backhanded, racist context; my question is, under what circumstances is it OK to call a black person "articulate"? Was Biden's usage really offensive? It's not as if every politician is well-spoken, and it's well known that Obama is a particularly talented orator, so why shouldn't people be allowed to acknowledge that?

Haha! Both Senator John Kerry and Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden accidentally called John McCain George W Bush in their speeches at last night's DNC. Aside from the first syllable, the two Republicans' names sound completely different from one another, but they're JUST SO DAMNED SIMILAR policy-wise, so it's easy to mistake one's creased, warmongering face for the other's.

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Yesterday afternoon, Barack Obama officially became the first black major party nominee for president in America's history. Sure, we've known for a while now that this day would come, but that didn't change the level of emotion at the convention in Denver or in homes across the country (mine included.) I mean, unless you're a racist meth head or a PUMA or something, you had to have felt a little twinge of something! Also: Joe Biden accepted his nomination and, after some pats on the back and a few words from Obama, brought his whole family, including a brood of cute, blond grandkids, out on stage. My first thought as I looked at the scene was that it was going to make a lot of white people (the persuadable ones, anyway) feel more comfortable about voting for Obama.

In the aftermath of Barack Obama's early-morning, weekend announcement that Sen. Joe Biden would be his running mate, journalists have been working overtime to cover every single Biden angle that can possibly be covered. Here's a summary:

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From: The Barack Obama Campaign
Date: 8/23/2008 at 4:41 am

Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!

• Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood collaborated for a Babyface-produced cancer benefit song. "We Are The World" of 2008? [MTV]

• I never thought I'd see the day that D.L. Hughley would make me tear up a bit. [NB]

• So…no to Joe Biden as veep? [JJP]

• For the readers out there who would like to see Kanye West without his shirt on. [Bossip]

• Terrence Howard never disappoints, does he? [C&D]

• Obama not black enough? Yeah, right… [RD]

In Israel for the country's 60th anniversary yesterday, George W. Bush went on the attack, comparing Barack Obama and man in the Democratic party to Nazi appeasers. He's been blasted for the past 24 hours by analysts and Democratic politicians alike, who have questioned not only his presentation of the facts but the inappropriateness of presenting false, partisan attacks against American politicians on foreign soil. And also — Bush criticizing another's foreign policy? Please.

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A presidential election is not the time for pettiness, but is a white male politician really in a position, ever, to complain about the amount of media attention he's getting because of the combination of his race and gender? Should we be boohooing for John Edwards because the media has painted what is essentially a three-person race to be a two-person one?

We live in a political culture dominated by celebrity journalists covering celebrity politicians. Big media want to consort with the big stars — currently New York Sen. Clinton (plus Bill) and the charismatic Illinois Sen. Obama (with Oprah in his entourage). One recalls Angela Lansbury's quip when television executives in Los Angeles canceled her very popular show. "Nobody in this town watches 'Murder, She Wrote,' " the actress said. "Only the public watches."

Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden recently hit the nail on the noggin as he explained why a candidate as experienced as he gets so little attention. After all, polls show that in a general election, Biden would run even with leading Republicans Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Democrats, Biden said, have a talented woman and a talented African American, and "they've sort of sucked all the oxygen out of the air."

I don't believe that John Edwards is fighting some losing battle with U.S. journalists. I think he gets quite a bit of press, and if he brought it like I'm confident, being a moderate J.E. fan, he could, I'm sure the media would be more than happy to place him up on the Obama/Clinton pedestal. For now, he and/or his supporters can continue to play the race/gender card as much as they want, but it's a hard sell (at least, to moi) when you're living in a country where the elected officials are overwhelmingly white males. If a voter wants to learn more about a candidate that's not a frontrunner, there are lots of resources out there for them. People shouldn't be relying on soundbites and who appears on Ellen and Oprah to be helping them make their voting decisions, anyway. [SI]