I think it’s interesting that McCain campaign officials have released quite a bit of Palin’s supposed strategy for the debate tonight. An article on this strategy can be found here. I think she’ll be successful if she comes across as a fighter and tries to stick it to Biden on the usual GOP strongpoints: taxes, family values, etc. Biden runs the risk of coming across as a bully if he tries to make light of Palin’s inexperience, inarticulateness, and general lack of knowledge…he’d be best to just ignore her completely and do what he does best: go after McCain.
I expect Palin to “win” this debate tonight. This isn’t a one-on-one interview where she’ll be put on the spot about a very specific issue (i.e. what newspapers do you read, name a Supreme Court case, etc.). This will involve much broader topics, where she’ll have the opportunity to get into her rehearsed answers, and she’ll have plenty of time to throw in lots of cute one-liners that the pundits will naturally talk about afterwards. Gwen Ifill is not going to be a Katie Couric, following-up with “what do you mean by that, exactly?” or “name 4 specific bills that John McCain has authored in the last 2 years.” Ifill runs the risk of coming across as too biased, especially with the recent book revelation.
This will be a much different Sarah Palin that what we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks. At least, for the sake of women everywhere, I hope this will be a different Sarah Palin! If she makes any significant gaffe in these 90 minutes tonight, I don’t think there will be any way for the McCain campaign to recover, with just over a month until Election Day. However, with her week-long debate camp in Arizona, I think there are tons of points and catch phrases she has stored in her head to get her through the night unscathed, and likely on top. The bar is so low for her right now that acting like a normal working mom (forget the fact that she’s a Vice-Presidential candidate!) will work just fine. What really matters though, is how much a “win” for Palin tonight helps the floundering McCain campaign. My guess is, not a whole heck of a lot.
And, as far as drinking games are concerned, there just happen to be a ton more out there now than existed for the 1st Presidential debate. So…do a quick search and find the one that works best for you! Just remember…Sarah said “Thanks, but no thanks!” to that Bridge to Nowhere!
The Bright Coast 