My 10 year old son watched Palin's speech last night and commented that she came out "equipped with her quiver of quips to destroy the opposition" and he was impressed with her ability to ad lib when there were problems with the teleprompter.
GS9 wanted to stay up to watch her, but gave it up about 9:30. I told him he could probably catch reruns today, maybe I can find some on the net.
It's funny how visual impressions can influence our picks. I was too young to pay attention to the Kennedy/Nixon debate but I've heard that Nixon's heavy beard regrowth cast him in a negative light among the viewers and probably had a lot to do with his loss in that election.