Oh, it’s on. Finally.

I have never seen a candidate stoop as low as was seen last night in Alaska’s senatorial debate…

The sitting Senator also came out against Arizona’s right to protect its borders. She calls for us to “enforce the laws that are currently on the books,” but doesn’t seem to understand that that is precisely what Arizona is trying to do to protect itself because the federal government refuses to enforce our laws. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by her lackadaisical attitude to border security when we consider that she has repeatedly voted against funding a border fence and voted in favor of amnesty.

But perhaps the most shocking part of all in this debate was when the incumbent Senator used Joe Miller’s distinguished military service as a means to attack him. Joe Miller graduated from West Point, fought in Desert Storm, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service to our country. I find it astonishing that a sitting U.S. Senator from Alaska would challenge the honor of a decorated combat veteran. Is it any wonder the audience later booed her when she again challenged Joe Miller’s honor?

Click the image below and watch to the end of the clip to hear Murkowski claim that Bronze Star winner Joe Miller isn’t “fit to lead,” to the obvious displeasure of the audience. Palin’s smart to call attention to it to try to shift the momentum back towards him. Murky’s been chipping away at his lead for weeks; maybe a little righteous public outrage on behalf of vets will steal some of those points back. What really intrigues me about this, though, is whether it portends a greater role for Palin in this last week of the race, whether in the form of campaigning aggressively for Miller or being attacked aggressively by Murkowski. My assumption all along has been that both Miller and Murky are nervous about injecting her into the race because the effect is too unpredictable; that’s why, I take it, he tends to sidestep the inevitable questions asked about her in interviews by saying he’s focused on the senate race. But now that his lead over Murkowski has disappeared, maybe he figures that there’s nothing to lose in coordinating with Palin to give her a bigger role in the race near the finish line. (I assume she checked with his camp before publishing today’s Murkowski attack.) If she’s still as popular back home as her supporters say, it can only help, no? Presumably Murky thinks so, as there haven’t been any anti-Miller ads mentioning Sarahcuda thus far.

Exit question via Ace: The supposedly scandalous incident for which Miller was disciplined at a prior job was … taking an online poll at work?