They teach it in almost every college poli-sci or mass comm class: while much is made of how John Kennedy trumped Richard Nixon in their famous 1960's debate, the fact remains that while those who WATCHED on t-v favored JFK while those who LISTENED on the radio thought the sitting Vice President won.     It's a classic lesson in how looks and style can sometimes trump content and experience.

         That was 1960.

        Fast forward to Thursday night.      Weary of seeing the Brewers offensive ineptitude in Philadelphia in game two of the NLDS, I headed for bed and popped on the radio to catch the start of the Vice Presidential debate pitting Joe Biden against Sarah Palin.     I have many feelings--both good and bad--about each of them, but I swear this thought had never cropped into my head until I heard the Alaskan Governor's opening comments:  she sounds just like Frances McDormand in "Fargo".     It wasn't just the tone of her voice--it was the "you betcha's", "doggone's" and the volume of dropped g's from words ending in "ing" that led me to think that she's really a small-town Minnesota police officer.

        A YouTube search proved I'm not alone (careful--this clip gets a little strange/snarky/stupid down the stretch)...