03:30 Biden ends flatly. The debate winds up, families pour onto the stage (Palin's takes longer). Early verdict: it's a draw, with no serious slip-ups (or coups) by either candidate. Vice-presidents are meant to be innocuous, aren't they?
03:28 Post-apocalyptic Palin reverie! Strange monologue about our "sunset years" spent wistfully remembering "those days when we were free". Is this Fight Club? Terminator? Note to Republican advisers: wrong script.
03:26 Palin's never had to compromise on major issues because Alaska is some kind of wonderful bi-partisan idyll. With moose.
03:22 Biden gets real and emotional. Well done. Palin now looks snarky and ever-so plastic.
03:20 "Together, we form a perfect ideal," says Palin about herself and McCain. That's. Kinda. Scary.
03:17 Biden takes on Dick Cheney. Will Palin defend her party?
03:12 Shout-out to a 3rd grade class. Of course Palin would win the folksy stakes.
03:10 Who can out-folksy the other? Wasilla vs. Wilmington?
03:03 Palin admits to being an "outsider", does well attacking Biden's past differences with Obama.
03:01 Biden scores points on Afghanistan. Palin sullen.
02:57 Palin's down to her notecards, looking shaky about Afghanistan. Biden pounces!
02:53 "The only thing on the march is Iran." Strong line, but Palin "deftly" evades the question about the Bush policy altogether.
02:46 Multiple choice time. Who's scarier? A) Iran B) Pakistan. Biden says B) Pakistan. According to Joe, McCain would choose C) Iraq, which nets him zero points. Palin's choice is D) all of the above.
02:43 Time for surge talk. Palin is in Iraq for the duration: "it would be a travesty if we quit now". Biden will end this war. Emphatically. Palin pauses, gulps: "your plan is a white flag of surrender".
02:39 Palin is "tolerant" but doesn't want to undermine the institution of marriage; Biden is for same-sex rights. No-one wants gay marriage. Hold your positions.
02:31 She's doing a Biden. Energy blah blah blah. Nobody asked you about this.
02:27 Palin's war against the English language continues apace. Like Putin, "abuse rears its ugly head."
02:24 Palin's tool-kit = her romanticised tenure in Alaska + syrupy vagaries
02:19 Biden's nailing Palin on the financial specifics (healthcare, small businesses, tax cuts), but in too many numbers lies doom. I used to fall asleep in math class.
02:14 What? To paraphrase --> Palin: "I'm beyond this debate. I don't need to answer your silly elitist questions."
02:09 She's clearly practiced... a lot. But she's already whipped out "Joe Six-Pack" and hockey-moms. Should she really be building our expectations?
02:06 Palin invokes "soccer-moms". How many sports does she have under her kung-fu belt?
02:03 BST The candidates enter, Palin thanks the crowd profusely, Biden says, "Hi, folks!". Here we go...