I KNOW the Tina Fey skit wasn't the one where they referred to incest. But Joan made the point that "Some people thought Tina Fey was a little tough on Sarah Palin" in the very first sentence of this article. That said, it was completely logical for me ask Joan what she thought of an SNL skit that was even tougher on the Palins. In fact, distastefully so. Fair enough, lunkhead?

"What does the incest skit have to do with the Tina Fey one?"

Gee, I dunno. Maybe that they were both SNL skits about Sarah Palin?

"And what does it have to do with the gist of Joan's piece?"

Golly, do I really only get to comment on the "gist" of the piece or am I also allowed to ask a question about any part of it?

Jeeze, Faulkner, I'm sure you're a nice guy. But, my God, you're exhausting.

Or an old master lecturing a young understudy?

This from this DesMoines Register:

It was one of the most substantive debates in recent presidential campaign history and John McCain won it. The Arizona senator was cool, informed and forceful in Friday’s first presidential debate of the general election campaign.

He repeatedly put Barack Obama on the defensive throughout the 90 minutes session. Obama did little to ease voter concerns that he’s experienced enough to handle foreign and defense policy. That was his number one task Friday night and he failed.

Instead he was often his old meandering self, unable to state a quick, forceful position. Polls taken in the coming days should show McCain holding on to his trump card in the race - the view that he’s better equipped to be commander in chief. He condescendingly called Obama “naive” at a couple points in the debate, like an old master lecturing a young understudy. Obama never seemed able to attack back.

McCain’s victory came at a good time for him in the race. He has fumbled around for a week on questions involving the economy and the federal bailout of Wall Street. His vice presidential candidate has become a running joke of late night comedy shows. As a result, his poll numbers sagged.

The debate came against the backdrop of a close presidential election at a time when the country faces its greatest economic crisis since the 1930s and some of its greatest military threats since World War II. The nation’s adversaries - Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Taliban terrorists - seem to be on the ascendancy.

It has rattled Americans and between the two, McCain came off as the most reassuring. The crabby, grumbling, hotheaded McCain was nowhere to be seen. Instead we saw a calm, seasoned commander in chief. If you looked at your television and squinted slightly, you could better picture him addressing the country during a time of national crisis than Obama. Obama was often left flashing his smile and shaking his head at McCain.

McCain was expected to win on questions of foreign policy and national defense. That’s been his background. Where he routed Obama was on economic and spending questions as he repeatedly accusing Obama of using earmarks and wanting to spend too much.

When Obama tried his line about how McCain voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, McCain slapped back by ticking off a lit of issues where he has disagreed with Bush - like torture, conduct of the war in Iraq and federal spending and Guantanamo Bay. McCain never got rattled or flustered, he just constantly stayed focused on the attack.