Wait till Palin has to debate Biden

[Joey Liberal]

That'll be fun to watch.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. They have a couple of months to groom and prep her. It may be

tougher than we think. Here's hoping that she can't pull it off, though

[MadMaddie]

4. There is not enough grooming and prepping that they can do

to make her look even slightly competitive with Biden.

[ryanmuegge]

14. Debates don't matter. It's the spin of the debates that shapes public opinion.

The 24/7 talking heads will say that McCain and Palin both won (if for nothing else because of the lowered expectations, like they did with Bush). If something is repeated enough in clips and soundbytes, people who don't pay much attention will overhear it. The clips become conventional wisdom.

Really, if people judged rationally on the substance, there would be no way any Republican can win a debate in the minds of most average (that is, not ultra-rich) people. Remember, George W. Bush "won" all three debates with Gore and Kerry (he won the first one on "substance," the conventional "wisdom" line was). In other words, she won't be tougher on her own merits or the substance, but the lowered expectations work fantastically in her favor. With the lowered expectations, all she has to do is literally not fall of the stage to give the corporate media rationale to declare her the winner.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Sadly, very true :^(

[maximusveritas]

2. Yeah, but she'll have such low expectations

that the media will probably give her a win/draw just for showing up. Same as they did for Bush vs. Kerry.

[Cosmocat]

9. The ALREADY have ...

I have seen a half dozen MSM regulars already capitulate on it, saying all she has do to is show up and they will say she won - seriously, AND to boot, nearly unanimously they said Biden HAD TO BE CAREFUL with her.

[Joey Liberal]

11. True, but

Biden has been around for a very long time. Biden was one of the few politicians that Russert couldn't rattle. Palin will need a miracle to even come close to Biden in a debate.

[Muttocracy]

3. one month to get up to speed on McCain's positions and Biden's 35 yr record.... nt

[TheFarseer]

5. you're forgetting the expectations game.

the game where Bush wins the debate vs. Kerry by not drooling on himself and also the game where Joe looks mean because he said bad things about the nice lady. Do I expect he will destroy her on the issues: yes Do I expect the media will say so: no

[Thrill]

6. Lets not set expectations so low for her

Thats what they want you to do and then the moderator will throw nothing but softballs

[AdHocSolver]

7. Another part of Republican thinking: If Biden debates tough with her, he is "picking" on a woman.

[DeepBlueC]

18. that thought had occurred to me

another thing he has to avoid is the Gore/Bush scenario where more knowledgeable guy "loses" because he appears condescending to the moran.

[knixphan]

8. Pick on her, Joe.

Too much at stake not to.

[Joey Liberal]

13. I agree

Joe needs to "school" her, as we used to say in my Karate classes.

[vaberella]

10. I guess you haven't been paying attention to stupid MSM...

If Biden starts tearing Palin apart (as he's known to do based on his background) on stage it will look like "bullying" and he has to be careful (this goes for the Dems as well) because that won't go well. He has to be more "careful" because "she's a woman". This nonsense came out of Mika's mouth this morning.

Andrea Mitchell (I dislike this woman immensely) said the bloody same. So realize, not only is she unqualified but Biden has to play on her "level" because she's most definitely not on his.

You could read more on my anger over this pick:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6808980

[Joey Liberal]

15. Doesn't bother me a bit

Joe is wise enough to trash her without acting like a republican.

[Connie_Corleone]

12. She'll be declared the winner.

The media pundits have set the bar very, very low for her. All she has to do is sit there, smile and bring up some personal story about herself and she wins.

[MrMonk]

17. "I mean, gosh, I'm just an average hockey mom from Alaska."