Well, Palin lost the debate, but anybody who didn't think that was going to happen is either crazy or not paying any attention. However, everybody knew she didn't need to win to have it be a success for her. Her favorabilities will go up a little bit, more people will think she's more prepared than they did after the Couric and Gibson shipwrecks. This is still a debate though, and the effect it can have on the polls and general election is negligble.
Again, nobody f***ed up bad enough for this to be a dagger and nobody did so exceedingly well that it will turn out to be a game-changer either way. The race didn't change at all tonight, and even though Republicans are absolutely getting murdered right now, that's a win for McCain/Palin. This debate had the chance of effectively sinking their chances, the fact that they came out alive to fight another day should be cause enough to sleep easy.