I thought it would be instructive to compare the tone of the personal attacks in the vice-presidential candidate speeches at their respective conventions.

Sen. Joe Biden

"And that’s the America we’ll continue to get if George — excuse me, if John McCain is elected president of the United States of America. Freudian slip. Freudian slip."

"But John McCain doesn’t get it."

"John McCain is my friend. We’ve known each other for three decades. We’ve traveled the world together. It’s a friendship that goes beyond politics. And the personal courage and heroism John demonstrated still amaze me."

"But I profoundly disagree with the direction that John wants to take the country. For example, John thinks that during the Bush years “we’ve made great progress economically.” I think it’s been abysmal."

"And in the Senate, John sided with President Bush 95 percent of the time. Give me a break."

"These times require more than a good soldier; they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change the change everybody knows we need."

"Now, despite being complicit in this catastrophic foreign policy, John McCain says Barack Obama isn’t ready to protect our national security."

"Again and again, on the most important national security issues of our time, John McCain was wrong, and Barack Obama was proven right."

Gov. Sarah Palin

"And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.  I guess — I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."

"I might add that, in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they’re listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.  No, we tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

"No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.  And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States."  [This is not an attack, but the irony is impossible to ignore.]

"Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems, as if we didn’t know that already."

"And now, I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.  But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate."

"This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word “victory,” except when he’s talking about his own campaign."

"But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot… … when that happens, what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?"

"Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

"They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals."

"My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery."

"For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.  But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds."

"This world of threats and dangers, it’s not just a community and it doesn’t just need an organizer."