TVSquad

Okay, 63 million viewers shouldn't be considered 'measly'. It is nearly 25% of the American population after all. Considering a normal show in primetime only garners a few million viewers each week (excluding shows like American Idol) that number is pretty good. And, while it doesn't compare to the whopping 70 million viewers that tuned into last week's Vice Presidential debate, the number is higher than the first debate between Senators Obama and McCain which garnered only 54 million viewers.

Why the uptick? Well, I'm no political or media analyst but there are probably a few factors. One is that we are one week closer to the election and Americans who are on the fence are now starting to take the race more seriously. Another is the rise in interest after the Vice Presidential debate (which, to me, seemed so rushed it gave me a headache). A third could be the format that the debate took place under -- a town hall style where both moderator and audience were able to ask questions. Unfortunately, moderator Tom Brokaw asked more of the questions than the audience, which made the 'Town Hall' format somewhat pointless.

Conventional wisdom says that vice presidents don't matter much when it comes time to vote, that people ultimately make their choice based on who's running for president. However, when it comes to debates, VEEPs are the main event.

The Nielsen numbers are in for last night's debate between Vice Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin and they're huge -- 69.9 million viewers watched the VEEP debate. That's a whopping 17.5 million more viewers than Barack Obama and John McCain drew for their first debate last Friday night.

Why were so many more people tuned in for Biden-Palin? There are a few reasons, starting with the curiosity about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Like a large number of Americans, I watched last night's vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden with great interest. And, like most Americans, I was interested in the debate for reasons other than finding out about each ticket's policy views. I wanted to see Palin and Biden screw up. Big time.

Unfortunately (heh), both did fine. Palin spoke in complete sentences that more or less made sense, even if they didn't answer any of Gwen Ifill's questions; Biden didn't ramble on or say that FDR was the president during the stock market crash of 1929. But I don't know if you can attribute this debate's gaffelessness on the poise of the candidates alone. The format of the debate was so restrictive, it didn't give either of them time to go off on screwy tangents.

Wouldn't it have been better if both could just sit in a couple of chairs and speak freely? You know, like on a talk show?

First up tonight is a nice opening with Martin Sheen, a short tribute to John Spencer explaining what type of person he was like and that tonight is the first in five remaining episodes that will feature Spencer.

Tonight's ep mostly centers around Leo and how he is screwing up the prep for the vice presidential debate. That stuff is really interesting, but it's surrounded by these really lame domestic scenes with Matt Santos and his family. Eh. They aren't bad for some other show (I guess), but it's just not the whip-smart show The West Wing used to be. Still, Spencer's performance, the stuff about the inner workings of the debate prep, and that one scene with Josh and Toby on the phone (Josh: "I forget, in D.C., can felons vote?......Too soon?" Toby: "Little bit.") make it all worthwhile.