Americans had eagerly awaited the one and only vice presidential debate October 2 and millions tuned in to hear what Sarah Palin and Joe Biden had to say. Early estimates indicate the vice presidential debate received 30 percent more viewers that last week’s presidential debate. The numbers are not final, but the audience appears to be as large as the one that watched the most-viewed vice presidential debate in history - 56.7 million viewers for the 1984 match between Geraldine Ferraro (the only other woman to be nominated to the U.S. vice presidency by a major party) and George H.W. Bush.

Didn’t see the Biden-Palin debate? You can check out video of the debate on the C-Span Web site.

A CBS poll of uncommitted voters taken after the debate showed good news for both candidates. Forty-six percent said Biden won the debate compared to just 21 percent who said Palin won. Thirty-three percent thought it was a tie. But impressions of Palin improved significantly – before the debate 43 percent said she was knowledgeable about important issues but that number rose to 66 percent after the debate. That number is still considerably lower than the 97 percent who said Biden is knowledgeable, up from 81 percent before the debate.

What do you think – How did Biden and Palin perform in their match up? Post your comments below.

For more, see “Joe Biden, Sarah Palin Highlight Their Political, Personal Roots.”