After her initial open-mic slip-up, I was afraid Noonan would revert to the party line. And for a while, I think she did. But now she's back and being refreshingly honest:

We have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. .

In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism.

More here.

So, let me get this straight. Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher has no license to practice plumbing, has neglected to pay his taxes and is a relative of the Keating family. The first two points are largely irrelevant, though they will no doubt be studied by the media for hours. But the question the media should be asking is this: Is Wurzelbacher a McCain campaign plant, who was deliberately placed in Obama's path in Ohio? And if so, what does this say about John McCain's relationship with the Keatings, which he insists ended years ago? And if they say he wasn't a plant, is this just too much of a coincidence to believe?

From the inside of the McCain campaign:

Every time John mentioned "Joe the Plumber," some of us in the campaign banged our heads against the wall. If Steve Schmidt had any hair left, I hear he would have been pulling it out tonight. He reportedly screamed at John's debate prep team tonight (out of earshot of reporters, of course). "You idiots - he's related to Charles Keating. of the Keating Five scandal!" They thought they had a real live Joe Six-Pack who's spurned Barack Obama's tax plan. But what they forgot to do was check on Joe Wurzelbacher's background.
Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio. Who's Robert Wurzelbacher? Only Charles Keating's son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan. The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to Republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.

More here.

From a friend of mine:

One troubling (for Obama) point about "Joe," is that he represents a much broader definition of "white working class male." Joe seemed to admit to making close to $250K, putting him in a pretty nice income bracket, especially for Ohio. When McCain sarcastically said, "Congratulations, Joe, you're rich," he could have been playing it straight. Of course, reality is much more complicated; Joe now claims to be earning much less. However, by implying that you could make $250K and still be "working class," McCain has embraced a whole group of largely ignored voters: successful whites who don't think of themselves as rich. These are the folks who started out in Brooklyn apartments and now have big houses on Staten Island; they're the ones who rose through the ranks in fields like contracting, sales and, yes, plumbing, and now do very well, but still think of themselves as working class, based on their roots and career paths.

More here.

A lot of McCain's tactics tonight will backfire on him, and this is one that I think will hurt him with the working and middle class voters. He latched onto "spread the wealth" as if it was the worst thing in the universe. And to Republican class warriors, it may well be. But McCain already has those voters. He needed to win over the "Joe the plumbers" and I think plenty of them would like some wealth spread their way.

From Thomas Frank, one of the paper's token liberals:

The McCain campaign has made much of its leader's honor and bravery, but now it has chosen to mount its greatest attack against a man who poses no conceivable threat to the country, who has nothing to do with this year's issues, and who cannot or will not defend himself. Apparently this makes him an irresistible target.

There are a lot of things to call this tactic, but "country first" isn't one of them. The nation wants its hope and confidence restored, and Republican leaders have chosen instead to wave the bloody shirt. This is their vilest hour.

More here.

Matthew Dowd, Bush's 2004 chief campaign strategist, sums up the way many GOPers feel about Palin:

Saying that Palin was a "net negative" on the ticket, he went on: "[McCain] knows, in his gut, that he put somebody unqualified on the ballot. He knows that in his gut, and when this race is over that is something he will have to live with... He put somebody unqualified on that ballot and he put the country at risk, he knows that."

More here.

From Andy Sullivan, who has been pretty good this cycle:

Republican machers Walter and Leonora Annenberg gave the former terrorist $50 million. ... Annenberg was Nixon's ambassador to Britain. If Obama is "palling around with terrorists," the Republican Annenbergs are funding them. Yesterday, the McCain campain put out a press release boasting that Leonore Annenberg had just endorsed him for president. Why is McCain happy to accept the endorsement of a funder of terrorism?

Go ahead, McCain: Talk about Ayers at the debate. Just remember what they say about people who live in seven glass houses and throwing stones. More here.