I guess what’s most depressing about all this is how utterly inevitable it all was. Did people really think Sarah Palin, who, you know, is a governor, was going to get up there, nod attentively at the first question, pause for a moment and then tear her eyes out of her face as she screamed bloody murder? Would that have been disappointing enough for people?

What was so impressive was her ability to simply, seamlessly ignore questions. She quite literally told Gwen Ifill “I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about taxes.” That was good! Say what you will, Republican strategy is so much more fundamentally creative than any other parties’. Don’t like the question? Answer the question you wish you were asked.

Hearing “average” folks say they were so “surprised” and “impressed” by her in the post-game is brutally obvious, those diminishing expectations rearing their head as they always do every four years. But we’re at a moment where “not bad” and “pretty good” pass for victory. Which is confusing. Biden, who did pretty much what I expected of him—speak sharply but not angrily, near tears at one moment, compliment McCain—is, unfortunately, something that Palin is not, which is an expected quantity. That much bores people. And now that notions of “experience” are off the table completely and “outsider” is so much sexier, Biden has been rendered a eunuch. Can’t champion small town middle class; she’s got that. Can’t go foreign policy; he voted for the war. Can’t scream on the lady; bad manners. Can’t bang the tragic family tale; she’s got her own. Some indignation would have gone a long way. The closest we’ve seen to that is Barack Obama mildly bellowing “Enough,” which is likely not enough.

I heard Pat Buchanan say Palin needs to get away from these anchors and stop answering their questions. She will probably do this from now on. This is the cultural mountaintop for Sarah Palin, assuming she doesn’t Spiro Agnew the game. From here on out, I suspect she’s a good lieutenant, dutifully repeating talking points at the podium, and little else.

This is sad watching MSNBC try to defile her, when they got checkmated again. Hopefully people are creeped out by those winks.