LEWISTON – At Dudley’s Lounge at the Ramada Inn, one television over the bar was showing “The Family Guy” while the other was tuned to the vice presidential debate.

Four men sat at a table watching neither.

Across town, in the St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center waiting room, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., were going at it on the TV. There was no one there to watch.

At Little Joe’s Chuckwagon on Sabattus Street, there was the Phillies recap on one screen, the Cubs on the other.

In Auburn, at the Central Fire Station, a captain said the fire crew might occasionally switch to the debate. If the Cubs game was boring.

But probably not.

At Gipper’s on Center Street, it was all about baseball, too. The debate was on one screen, but it would have been impossible to follow the dialogue – what with the Cubs falling behind 5-0 in the second inning and all that screaming going on.

No doubt thousands of local people joined the millions nationwide watching the debate, anticipated as a pivotal point in the campaign.

But few were watching it in public gathering places, where the Major League Baseball playoffs dominated the television screens.

For those who considered the debate the Big Event of the night, it was a stay-at-home affair. Auburn resident Gail Tarr watched at home and declared Republican Palin victorious over Democrat Biden.

“She’s talking about the future; he keeps pointing fingers at the past,” Tarr said. “She’s talking about plans, changes, differences between (Sen. John) McCain and (President) Bush. Biden, all he talks about is the failures of the Bush administration.”

Clear enough. But how did the candidates do on a more personal level?

“She is charming and friendly, while he is cocky and arrogant,” Tarr said. “Hands down, she is winning this. And I am not saying it because I am a Republican.”

And Glenn Cummings, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, probably didn’t declare Biden the winner of the debate simply because Cummings is a Democrat.

“I think it was very clear that Sarah Palin was out of her league,” Cummings said. “She got confused in a few places. She struggled to make her case. She blatantly refused to answer a couple of questions. Joe Biden answered every question that was put to him with knowledge and precision.”

On a personal level? Cummings congratulated Palin for keeping up through the entire debate but thought Biden came across as the more knowledgeable and human VP candidate.

“He was extremely articulate, but never arrogant,” Cummings said. “He was able to show his human side. I think it was clearly a rout on the part of Joe Biden.”