The performance of republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, at her debate with her Democratic rival, Joe Biden, is widely being considered short of superlative. In fact, no longer does the McCain campaign, or Senator John McCain himself, need to be on the defensive about Palin.

Alaska Governor, Palin, made it through the crucial debate on Thursday without doing any obvious damage to the Republican presidential ticket – in no way was it a tipping point for the embattled Republican presidential ticket, the bad night that many Republicans had feared. In fact, Palin may even have done McCain some good, freeing him to focus on the other troubles shadowing his campaign.

Post-debate, Palin can apparently claim two modest victories. First, she did not offer a reprise of the unsteady responses of her interviews with Katie Couric on CBS News, even though many of her answers were not as question-specific as Biden’s were. Second, her feisty and spirited performance even gladdened the conservatives who went through a period of ecstasy as well as despair ever since she was named MCain’s running mate.

According to Nelson Warfield, a conservative Republican consultant, “Her performance re-energizes the conservative base. Palin pierced the media’s low expectations.”

However, the debate did not bring the turning point the McCain campaign is on the lookout for, more so after Obama seems to be gaining the upper hand in the presidential race. McCain had acknowledged hours before the debate that he still faces a tough environment, and, with barely a month until the election, he pulled his campaign out of Michigan, a Democratic state which McCain’s advisers had earlier hoped to win.

Referring to Palin’s encounter with Biden, Todd Harris, a Republican consultant for McCain’s first presidential campaign, said: “This is going to help stop the bleeding. But this alone won’t change the trend line, particularly in some of the battleground states.”

Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for President Bush in 2004, said that Palin’s so-called ‘great’ performance did not matter anymore. He opined: “You’re 30 days or so out and people are stating to look at the presidential candidates. The race had formed.”