Prediction: Palin will "win" the VP debate next week.

[leeman67]

Mark my words. The bar will be set so low, and based on the format they're using, she will not have to improvise too much, just simply spout her memorized talking points. Any "gotcha" type questions, just like in past years, will be reserved for the Democrat, in this case Biden. So I'm just saying, I hope Biden is prepared to bring his A game and to pretend he's debating Albert Friggin Einstein because this thing is being set up to cater to Palin's every need. And not to sound paranoid, but I can see the GOP cheating too. They've done it before (Bush in 2004 vs. Kerry; and McCain at the Saddleback ambush). And I don't know much of anything about Gwen Ifill either. So when I say I can see her "winning," I'm simply saying in terms of expectations and how shallow the MSM is, I can totally see her barely surviving through it and being declared the winner by such morons as the John Kings and David Gregorys of the world. I'm NOT getting my hopes up, and I pray to God I'm wrong.

[Maven]

1. I wouldn't go that far.

But I do think she'll be wearing an earpiece.

[Seen the light]

4. What good would an earpiece do her?

Do you think she has the intelligence to repeat an answer given to her in a coherent manner?

[regnaD kciN]

23. She'll only win...

...if allowed to have her own teleprompter on stage.

[rateyes]

2. It doesn't matter how the media spins it. The people watching

will know the truth. She's gonna go down in flames.

[Seen the light]

3. HOLY SHIT DU is a bunch of negative pessimists

Sarah Palin is a complete and utter dumbass. Even dumber than Bush. Reread that sentence. Even dumber than Bush.

She will not win. It's literally not possible. Have you heard her say ANYTHING of substance so far? ANYTHING? She knows how to spew talking points and read prepared speeches and that is it.

[Doityourself]

7. Agreed

[melody]

10. There be trolls here n/t

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. Not really...

I'll stipulate that Palin is a complete moron. But the expectations are set so low that if she can walk out to the podium without falling on her ass, some people will say, "Well, she did better than we expected."

[RichGirl]

27. So what!

Nobody will say...oh look, she didn't fall on her ass...let's make her president. An improvement is simply an improvement. It doesn't make her qualified.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

29. Think like the Sheeple...

nt

[BlooInBloo]

19. Once you get used to the fact that to DUers, whatever happens, it's good for republicans....

DU is a lot easier to understand.

It makes you wonder why DUers bitch about the media, when the media says the same thing.

[earthlover]

33. Unwittingly, it is talk like this that helps set the bar lower for Palin....

Granted she is not bright. But even a rat in a Skinner box can learn rudimentary behaviors. She can be prepped for safe answers to anticipated questions, and the format won't require anything more than that. Then, if she muddles through, people will be scratching their heads and thinking she isn't as dumb as people were saying after all.

What we should be doing is making her sound formidable. I know that may be hard.

But, there is another problem we face. If Biden answers in the wrong tone he could be viewed as a sexist or worse still picking on poor defenseless Sarah. Biden can't be too forceful, so his hands will be tied. Yet, he must still find a way to make his points and draw distinctions.

I don't think we fully realize how difficult this debate is going to be.

Palin has everything to gain. Biden, little. I just hope the thing passes uneventfully. I do have confidence in Biden. But he has a tough job ahead of him.

[1corona4u]

37. I'm so sick of this rightwing talking point shit.....I really am.

This is suppose to be a democratic message board, but you'd never guess it sometimes.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

5. .

:*

[yy4me]

6. If Biden allows her to "win" the debate, I will give serious thought

to throttling someone. I cannot stand the thought of it. It would be an insult to intelligent, concerned Americans everywhere. I think if that happens, my faith in our future will be totally lost. Obama needs Biden to do his job, not coddle to her. This is not a polite party, this is the future of the US that will be debated.

[RichGirl]

28. Biden has already said....

...that he is not going to direct anything to her. He is simply going to make HIS point, answer questions with his usual very charming and intelligent way. People will see the contrast between the two...that'll do her in. Remember, that nothing that has been discovered about her, troopergate, etc, nothing that has been said about her...has done her as much damage as she did to herself in those interviews. It is not up to Biden to make her look bad, she'll do that all by herself. If he gets involved in that, he'll make himself look bad just the way McCain did by being condescending to Obama. Gore got in trouble simply by sighing.

Be grateful that we couldn't have asked for a better opponent than Sarah Palin.

[Cosmocat]

56. People don't what to hear this ...

I have been saying since McCain named her - Biden is going to be statesmanlike and gentlemanly. He won't "go after her" or try to take shots at her - that is a SURE lose of him, cause the media ALREADY has announced that it will hammer him if he is mean to her.

I don't think it is his style anyway, and frankly, it matches BO. BO was magnanimus against McCain, I fully expect his partner in this to be even MORE magnanimus to Palin.

Given that, while I agree the pundits are likely to spin her simply not fainting as a "win" I think just as, and the right wing will be adoring, again, with the BO/McCain debate, the moderates/independents will see it for what it is, in her case that she is COMPLETELY unqualified for the job AND that she is crass and obnoxious.

[TNMOM]

8. If there is a God, the signal will be scrambled. and she'll start

spewing nonsense.

[RockaFowler]

13. She could start speaking in tongues

That might work for her

Seriously, the bar is so low, but she still won't be able to coherently speak.

[SoxFan]

57. That doesn't require a bad signal

Watch the Couric interview!

[melody]

9. Yeah, and I'll wake up tomorrow looking Sigourney Weaver

Concern Trolls for Sarah have already found us it seems.

[Motown_Johnny]

11. go watch the interview she did with Katie Couric again!! This was a soft ball interview and she

fell apart over and over again.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg6hF0nShQ




If Biden says something about "being chief adviser" to the President then everyone will try to envision this pit bull with lipstick advising our President. No way she can win that.

[Grateful for Hope]

12. I have my doubts that the debate will take place

Palin not only has shown that she has no idea how to incorporate the talking points they have given her into coherent sentences, she will also undoubtedly be unable to effectively parrot info (they will almost certainly feed her during the debate) into a coherent answer to any question she might be asked.

She is startingly inept. And, I am certain they know it.

[ProSense]

15. Sarah?

[RBInMaine]

16. Biden will make her look like the silly FOOL she is !! So kindly QUIT it !!

[Peacetrain]

17. I don't think so..

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

18. But a thread here earlier said a CNN poll

showed voters viewing Biden and Palin both to be adequate debaters--48% to 46%. Unless the MSM spins this down, which apparently CNN didn't do when reporting the poll results, apparently the bar being set is fairly even right now. And I hope it stays that way, so that when Palin fails miserably, she brings down the ticket.

[CrispyQ]

20. The media is pissed about the Palin quarantine.

If the McCain camp would let her loose, the media might cut her some slack. As it is, they are talking about her awful performances with Gibson & Couric, showing clips. They may not be as harsh on her as she deserves, but I don't think they will give her a free pass, either.

[RichGirl]

34. I don't understand why anybody is talking about a free pass.

EVERY debate is the same...questions are asked and BOTH candidates have to answer them. They are simply not going to ask Biden a question and then ask Palin a different question. It's ridiculous to even think that...sheesh!!! They go back and forth taking turns as to who answers first. The interesting part will be when Biden is asked a question and she will have to rebut. She'll have to not only know her answer, but she'll have to have an understanding of why she disagrees with his answer. That should be interesting.

[CrispyQ]

40. The concern is that the media will give her a free pass when they review the debate.

When it's apparent Palin doesn't understand the nature of the question, will the media let that slide & not report on it? I don't think they will. I think they're POd at how the McCain camp has treated them, particularly with regards to Palin.

[msallied]

21. Are you for real? My god, man...

If you didn't notice the disparity between the punditry and public opinion last night, then you might not have heard that Americans are a hell of a lot smarter than you give them credit for. For the love of GOD... the woman is a fucking JOKE.

[Parker CA]

22. I'm not convinced she will win, but there are some issues to watch for.

I'm guessing one of the strategies of Pailure/McLiar will be for Pailure to steal the "change" card and play it heavy against Biden on Thursday. Biden has loads of experience and years of wisdom under his belt, but Pailure will try to play that against him on the national stage and work to prove to the viewers that she and McLiar are the "real" agents of "change."

Although this is utter bullshit, the way that she presents it could be tough for Biden to fight. She has never been to DC, she is going to present a bunch of "new" views, and her mere presence will be a "change."

Biden must come armed with the anticipation that he is going to be blamed on being more of the same, much as Obama painted the Liar last night. McLiar kept saying, I've been there, I was in xyz, and I've seen how this is done. That worked in Obama's favor in regards to proving that Obama would be a more true advocate and means for change, but Biden must be careful not to fall into the same frame McLiar did simply by either playing up his experience too much or by responding to Gwen's questions in a manner that draws too harsh a contrast between his experience and Pailure's fresh inexperience which could be misinterpreted as "change."

Undoubtedly experience is beneficial, but I'm fairly certain that one of Pailure's top strategies will be to attack this strength of Biden's, along with it, she will attack Obama at any chance she has.

As long as Biden stays focused and does not allow for much out of bounds discussion, he will be able to reign in Pailure's desire to bring this debate into bizarro world. Answer Gwen's questions, don't ramble, clear, concise answers, and Palin will be forced to play by the same standard.

[RichGirl]

39. Are we talking about the same Sarah Palin?

If she could do everything you propose then she would be out everyday holding press conferences and doing the news shows.

She has already been criticized for repeating the same lines over and over again. I don't think she is going to convince anybody of anything by simply repeating set lines about change, reform and we are the mavericks. I really hope that she accuses Biden of being more of the same. Unlike McCain, he can spend five minutes listing off times he did not side with Bush. She can't disagree with him on any of it unless she memorizes his voting record. Otherwise her only response would be "oh, okay".

[RichGirl]

24. They get asked the SAME questions.

If she were asked easy questions and Biden hard ones, people would see right through that. People are smarter than you think. We may think she did better than expected or better than the Couric interview, that doesn't mean she wins. For her to win, she'll have to do better than Biden.

Don't forget...McCain set a standard with Obama, with all his "you don't understands" and stating that Obama wasn't ready. We will judge Palin by that same standard.

[Raine]

25. I agree as long as she doesn't drool and wet herself

the talking heads will declare her the winner. :argh: :-(

[chowder66]

26. Obama's camp says Palin is a terrific debater.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/27/vice-presidential-debate_n_129907.html

My father said prior to this news release that he was worried that she could be dumbing down for interviews
to upset the debate when she comes out swinging. I doubt that is the case but it does seem that she is positioning herself
to pull this off. Scary stuff.

[Yavin4]

30. Ever See That Episode of "Family Guy" Wherein They're Playing Trivial Pursuit

and they have to dumb down the questions for Peter? That's what this debate will be.

[mckara]

31. Don't Be So Cynical!

Palin will be further exposed as a fraud.

[RagAss]

32. Oh Noes !!!!!!

[JimWis]

35. You've got to be shitting me - there is now way Palin will win -

Maybe in the eyes of the media she will. But there will be just as many people watching the debate as Obama's last night. And the people aren't stupid. The format - I think - is supposed to be the same. If they ask the same question, and each have 2 minutes - god, she doesn't know enough about foreign or domestic affairs to fill 2 minutes, unless she mumbles and repeats alot. Oooh - I just thought about listening to her for 2 full minutes.

[mbee]

36. Hey, maybe Biden can bring his toy airplane and they

can play a Putin is in my airspace game! Then after that Palin wins the debate.

[LittleBlue]

38. She'll hide behind 5 mindless talking points all night

McCain won't let her say anything else. JoBi will make her look a fool. The media will call it a tie, and Pallin was supposed to underperform anyhow, therefore Pallin wins according to the media.

[Czolgosz]

41. Agreed, but it will not shift one single electoral vote. Biden will win by any objective standard,

but the press will call him long-winded and smug, and they will say that Palin is an effective advocate and that her grasp of the issues was less weak than expected.

[monmouth]

42. What an insult to Gwen Ifill, whom I totally respect. There is

no way Ms. Ifill would be a part of any such "lower the bar, gotcha" questions. Senator Biden has more than once has stated he will answer the questions as he would with any other participant. If the media wants to screw with this, they do at their peril. People have woken up and are very aware.

[jules1962]

43. agreed

I heard Joe say that anyone that thinks that he will adjust his debating style because she is a woman doesn't get it. He said that he had debated smart women in the senate for years and would treat Palin the same respectable way. All Joe has to do is be himself and Palin is done. She will dig her own grave. As far as the media saying that she did better than they expected. Bull. They are on to her and are angry that she is being sequestered from them. Most of the media will call it like they see it. I have no fear.

:nopity:

[chat_noir]

44. Banned Books Week September 27–October 4, 2008

[madmom]

45. We also must not forget it was the low expectations that helped bush win!

[michaz]

46. I firmly believe that if the bar is set low, that Biden will raise it himself.

He is extremely capable of doing this and setting the tone for intelligence.

[Waiting For Everyman]

47. IMO Palin is screwed.

Ifil is a woman, so Palin can't act as if she's being hammered. On the other hand, Ifil's a black woman, so Palin won't get coddled. I think that's just perfect. Palin can't claim discrimination and she won't get any breaks. Biden will be debating to the camera, so that should work.

As long as Biden can avoid busting out laughing at some stupid thing Palin says, that will be his challenge as I see it.

[Thrill]

48. If Biden doesn't win this debate big

He was a terrible VP pick.

[Jennicut]

49. I just want to know what the SNL parody will be like

after the debate. God knows if it will be as amusing or funny as the real debate.

[retread]

50. In what respect, Charlie? n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

51. I agree. No matter how amazing Biden is, he'll be accused of sexism and condescension.

[Frumious B]

52. Palin will ignore the questions and use the entire debate for attacks on Obama/Biden.

That's her only shot and I don't think it will work.

[City Lights]

53. I read here yesterday that Americans view Biden and Palin on equal debate footing.

The squawking heads on the TeeVee may have low expectations for The Big Dipper, but the average American has the same expectations for both Biden and The Big Dipper.

[Greg K]

55. I think Biden keeping a low profile has helped in this.

Hopefully he'll shatter any low expectations.

[jacksonian]

54. I can tell you what the topics are going to be

abortion, abortion, oil drilling, guns, abortion.

Repugs neeed this one bad. There will be "hints" what the questions will be, her talking points will be memorized, and the subject will stay on things she knows. Watch.

[Essene]

58. if she just "gets by" then, yes, the media will say she did great and call it even.