Palin is essentially Bush in heels...

And now I am going to have to wash my brain out with soap to get rid of that mental image. Thanks.

what to do? what to do? what to do?

she is like a cute toddler that has pooped her pants, while learning to walk. She is still cute to look at and still full of sh!t.

This is one of those events that's hard to predict. The bar is set low. If Palin can manage to simply sound intelligible (forget intelligent), she will be seen to have won.

However, given how imbecilic her answers to Couric have been, there's a good chance she cannot pull even THAT off.

She will be shielded to a large extent by the format. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine her being completely non-responsive to the questions and getting away with it. One would think Gwen would call her out. But then, given what happened in the Bush/Gore debates, where our dear leader was able to simply mispronounce a few names of foreign leaders and the press immediately gave him a pass on foreign policy, who knows.

I am dumb founded about the expectations bar that is constantly be discussed. "All she has to do is not really mess up because she only has to meet low expectations." Balony!!!!! She should have to meet the same expectations of any candidate that could end up President. Frankly, she failed from the get go. Her debate preformance means very little. Her ability to repeat 90 second talking points prepares her for what? She does not have the education, the knowledge, the global foundation, or the poise and polish to be VP. We have had an idiot for 8 years and he has trashed this country. We need a President and Vice President that are exceptional to rescue this nation. Palin isn't qualified by any measure.

I wonder if the bar is set so low.

I mean, all day, the MSM is talking about just that: "the bar being set so low".

So it's not as if anyone will be viewing the expectations game uncritically.

Furthermore, her image has taken such a beating, that I think she actually needs to prove she is not stupid and not a liar. So I think while she can probably evade her way thru a debate with a minimum of gaffes, it will not repair the damage nor change minds: Many have already decided she's a liar and/or an idiot. What can she do to change that? Clearly, talking points won't do it.

"Palin was a laughingstock before her performance at the convention shot her into the stratosphere."

Give us a break! She was "shot into the stratosphere" by Republican lemmings, and pundits who fell all over themselves talking nonsense about how she's "attractive" and "pretty" and "charismatic". She is none of those things.

Moreover, since she "shot into the stroatosphere" she has crashed face-first into the ground. Or into the side of a mountain. Or whatever you want to call it. She is seen as stupid, and one debate "success," even if actual -- and it won't be -- won't cure the skepticism. Or change the fact that she is even more of a laughingstock than she was before everyone learned that she's a bullshitting airhead.

Now go read the materials in the Alaska media on the nature of her violations of criminal laws by using her prublic office to pursue a private vendetta against Wooten.

He's already started talking her up. I think you're right, that's probably part of the strategy. It'd be nice if he could make a substantive point of her looking like an intern trying to bullshit through an interview, but that'd just be for my personal catharsis.

I mean, he'll probably go with the kid gloves approach, unfortunately. I think hitting her hard (metaphorically) until she cries (literally? please God?) would put the lie to her claims of experience, but that's not how Democrats operate.

I agree with the poster who said that it's simply too late for Palin. That ship has sailed. She was a blank slate that has been pretty well filled in. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, and she would have to do remarkably well, in absolute, not relative terms, to have any impact on her image now.

She may not be deemed to "lose" the debate, the reaction may be "gee, that was better than we thought..." but it won't really matter. She will be a drag on the ticket no matter what at this point.

Remember, though that Biden is always at risk of shooting his mouth off with a gaffe-fest at any moment. It's not clear if Palin's performances recently have insulated Joe from gaffe-blowback
[sideline: Look at the lines of attack McCain took away from himself by selecting Palin. No more experience issue, and maybe no gaffe-prone VP attack. All of Biden's weaknesses vanish...]

Joe - just smile and tell the american people what you & Obama will do for them. No need to even engage Palin at all, and definitely no need to show annoyance or irritation at anything...

This is a good point. It is hard not to like Sarah (except when she's attacking Obama, when she comes across as shrill). However, she is indeed Bush's ideological clone, to the extent that she even has an ideology, and Biden needs to make it a debate about policy, not personality. If Biden can make the case for "fresh face, same policies" then even a glowing Miss Congeniality performance won't move the numbers in her favor. Bush has hit an all-time low; now couldn't be a better time.

Biden could address the theme that Obama rigorously refused to react to in his debate with McCain, the proposition that the opponent just doesn't understand what is being discussed.

The use of such rhetoric is intensely passive aggressive. You don't have to mount an argument against the opponent's point of view because the opponent is not qualified to have an opinion.

When Palin does one of her signature put downs of Obama, Biden can simply ask her what she thinks Obama doesn't "understand".

If Biden can control his logorrhea, the debate will win itself. Palin will give empty soundbite answers, and Biden will demonstrate his customary command of the issues.

The format of the debate won't permit Biden to directly counter anything Palin says. Each candidate is allowed 90 seconds to answer the question posed to him/her. There's no followup or rebuttal allowed, so Biden will never have the opportunity to say "So you agree with bush..." or things like that.

Those are the rules that the McCain camp insisted on.

Biden should simply detail his expertise. His foundation of knowledge will be a stunning comparison to Palin. If he can reference really pertinent areas that she is not familiar with, she won't be able to make the obvious comments warranted and that will be picked up by knowledgeable critics. If he show cased his expertise and ties Bush to McCain, he won't have to worry about Palin.

I think pointing out similarities in her positions to Obamas positions. For example Palin implemented a windfall profits tax on oil companies in AK. McCain doesn't support those. A follow up could ask about oil production rates since she took office. The tax is so heavy that exploration has slowed and oil production has dropped during her tenure. Currently 75% of the proceeds from every barrel in AK goes to the state. Nice for the state, sounds good, but the oil companies don't have the incentive and profits to invest in expanded exploration and production. She is supposed to be all about energy and drilling but isn't promoting policy that matches that rhetoric.