Sarah Palin is a smart woman and a "quick study." She responded to the questions posed to her and Senator Joe Biden with far too many worn-out phrases used by John McCain in his campaign-trail canned goods. Joe was less verbose and showed his mastery over past performances and the current status of foreign and domestic matters, during the one and only VP candidate debate. It was clear to this observer and listener that his thoughts and opinions were his own, distilled from the wisdom gleaned over a lifetime as legislator. And that hers were the product of intense briefing by McCain staffers over a week's period. What fading acquaintance she showed with such topics yielded a slight to shallow knowledge of such important ideas and goings-on in our troubled world. What queries did not match her Cliff-Notes she did not answer, preferring to talk about something she thought she knew better. In sum, Joe was clear winner. If she exceeded her expectations, she did not further harm to her running-mate's changes. In this scribe's view, she lacked the qualities of depth, gravitas and judgment to serve as president, should that opening occur, God forbid! As bright has been her ascent into American consciousness, she may well impair the older Senator's chances down the line in four scant weeks.

Tied in with such events, as we write this is the last workday of the Week That Was, came a long last the action by Congress in passing the bailout (wipe-out?) last Friday. We may not like the details of this new set of laws designed to lend some financial relief to the Wall Street gamblers. But it appears to be as good as we are going to get. We learn there are provisions that will enable us taxpayers to find eventual relief and assist in correcting the wrongs laid on us by greed and fraud in the financial centers.

Careening into the home stretch, Obama appears to be leading in many of the polls -- we do understand and underscore in mentioning them that they are snapshots in time and have no predictive value. Anything can and could happen near the finish line, where there is a clear chance that the leader will break a leg or the one vying for number-one may falter. We'll be watching carefully while we enjoy the prettiest October in years, expecting spectacular foliage after cotton's picked and the first frost has laid its artistry on lawns and fields.