Neither Palin nor Biden will make any big time gaffes or blunders. Biden will come off as likeable as he flashes his chompers while Palin will pull the “hockey mom” act that her supporters love so much. They’ll both push for their guys while essentially avoiding any head-on collisions. One of them could get up on the table and do a jig and it will have little to no effect on the overall race.
At the end of the day the race will be about Obama vs. McCain, as it has been and as it will be.
UPDATE: From a political point of view this ad on Biden gaffes from McCain is really dumb. It basically sets up the idea that Biden will make a flub in the debate. The chances are pretty good that he won’t, due to the stakes. The McCain campaign in the last 20 days or so reminds me so much of the Kerry campaign with the random flailing.
And mint julep Fred Thompson weighs in that Palin may be overcoached, and that explains her recent clunkers. Of course, Fred Thompson was lousy in the GOP debates so this may be a little like asking me to give color commentary on the 100 meter dash.
I think it will be tough for Biden to win no matter what he does.
Sexism, real or perceived, will win the day.
If he’s too tough on her, we’ll hear “He’s picking on her because she’s a girl.”
If he goes easy on her, it’ll be “He wasn’t tough on her because she’s a girl!”
Kind of a built-in victim factor.
It’s s sure bet that Biden will lose the swimsuit competetion.
It’s a sure bet-
Stupid fingers.
This debate is Palin’s to lose. Expectations are so low for her she only has to show up to beat them. She has had time to memorize and rehearse broad answers that she will shoehorn into any question, ignoring the specifics, pretty much like Bush always does. Biden will get caught up answering the questions fully in detail, while Palin will spew campaign gibberish.
In other words, Biden will be too specific, beyond the expertise and knowledge of most Americans while Palin can play talking points and sound bites. It’ll be a replay of the Gore-Bush debates where Gore answered all the questions, proved he was the master of details and yet “lost” to Bush whose answers demonstrated he had little in depth knowledge about anything.
Palin will be ready with smiling attacks on Obama and Biden’s records on tax increases. It won’t matter whether or not it is true. She will say in a a smiling and charming way, and if Biden goes back at it, she will change the subject and claim he was playing “gotcha”. Palin has gone from “pitbull” to “poor-picked-on-media victim in a month. It will be VERY hard for Biden to win htis debate. If he does, it will be because he focuses on his own charm and a real post-partisan approach.
So I should not expect some mavericky stunt for this debate? Awwww
There’s a narrative currently being warmed up to cushion a poor Palin performance, that Gwen Ifill can’t be expected to be a fair moderator because of her book about Obama.
Of course, the book was known well enough in advance that if it were a serious problem McCain could have had her replaced as a moderator, but this would have deprived him of the prerogative of claiming press bias/unfairness after the debate
Right after Fred said Palin was overcoached, he said, “Ah’m not a chicken, son! That theah’s a chicken! Now go ‘way, boy, ya botha me.”
I am afeard – so afeard of this debate.
I have been saying that Sarah is not STUPID just IGNORANT – I’m now SURE she’s both. That’s what is scaring me so much. I think most evryone has come to the same conslusion. If we are wrong and she is only IGNORANT she could really surprise tonight.
Because I now think she is BOTH – I see little likelyhood of her doing well. As a Management Consultant I know of HUNDREDS of ways to answers questions you don’t know the answers to without looking stupid – she doesn’t seem to even know one yet.
The only way I can see her doing OK is if Biden flubs it big time – he’s GOT to answer his questions like it’s McCain sitting across from him and if his answer isn’t dead on McCain will rip him to shreds.
McCain is a disgrace for picking this unqualified woman who has NEVER spent even a SECOND thinking about the issues that confront this nation. McCain should go down in history as a man who is beneath contempt.
I know – I’m rambling – told you I was afreard.
The bar has been lowered so much that nothing short of walking into the middle of the room, lifting her skirts and taking a great big shit into a big bowl of flour will prevent her from being declared the winner and practically sworn in then and there.
Realpolitik, don’t you just LOVE. IT.