I think Benazir Bhuto (sp?) was more beautiful than Palin too.   If Sarah Palin walked down the street in most any city and were unknown, I don't think lots of people would be stopping in their tracks going, "Wow! What a knockout!"

And Riginslinger,
Biden didn't need to wipe the floor with her. (If he had, he'd have been skewered for it in the media.)   He simply didn't allow her to land her attempted right hooks and upper cuts.

Using a different sports analogy, the whole 'debate' was a low-scoring game, and while Palin didn't strike out, she did pitch quite a few foul balls, and never really had a solid base hit beyond maybe a single -- much less any home runs.