Opinion: VP Debate Doesn't Alter Race

During the story, Biden choked up briefly. Palin also had her own anecdote.

"Being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child, about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills? About times and Todd and our marriage in our past where we didn't have health insurance and we know what other Americans are going through as they sit around the kitchen table and try to figure out how are they going to pay out-of-pocket for health care? We've been there also so that connection was important," Palin said.

Other issues touched on in the debate were energy policy, gay marriage, global warming, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The latter issue offers a greatest difference between the two presidential candidates, with Obama favoring a withdrawal from Iraq to focus on Afghanistan, and McCain opposing this strategy.

However, a stumbling economy overshadowed the interludes on other topics. The debate changed nothing in the race, and without a doubt, the economy will continue to be the focus of the election for the remaining four weeks until Election Day on Nov. 4.