Biden vs. Palin: Preview

Tonight’s vice presidential debate in St. Louis is being billed as something far more entertaining and explosive as any of the more staid and predictable presidential showdowns between McCain and Obama. This is supposed to be where Biden finally stick his foot in his mouth and where Palin makes a strong play for sexism and media bias on a stage far grander than Katie Couric or Hannity & Colmes. Tonight is when the campaign gets dirty. Will it live up to the hype?

Joe Biden is in the odd position for a politician where fading into the background and simply sticking to the boring talking points will probably be seen as a victory for him and his ticket. The buzz from the MSM and the Right is that Biden will get rightfully lasted for any comment or action seen as mean or unfair to Palin. The ugly charge of “sexism” will also rear its head. The McCain campaign is literally counting on a Biden gaffe to make it an easy night for Palin, not just because that is such a likely proposition but also due to the rampant skepticism over the campaign chops of McCain’s running mate.

All of those downplaying Palin’s ability to handle a moderator and a debate format obviously weren’t watching the ample C-SPAN replays of some of Palin’s debate performances during the Alaska race for governor in 2006. The tapes showed a calm and relatively collected political pro with a penchant for homey off-the-cuff remarks. It worked in Alaska; why shouldn’t it work just fine on the big stage?

The key to the performances for both candidates will be how Palin reacts to the questions. Legitimate concerns (panic?) were raised inside and outside the GOP after Gov. Palin’s two fairly disastrous interviews with two of the Big Three networks. She exhibited a stunning lack of knowledge on everything from foreign policy to newspapers and showed that she had been extensively coached on most every topic outside of her own record. She can’t do that tonight. Palin can cover up the holes and the skepticism without the aid of a Biden stumble by simply keeping a strong visible exterior and turning on the backwoods charm that roped in the swing voters after she was picked by McCain. Every race comes down to something of a personality contest when all is said and done…

We’ve got old and new politics. We have the Washington vet everyman against “the new energy” from the frontier. We have the recipe for political fireworks - a truly rare event.

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