Tonight's debate

I'll be watching tonight, but frankly I don't expect much. While a debate doesn't give someone the crutch of a teleprompter, neither is it generally a situation where you get pressed for details if you give vague, strange answers (as in a competent interview). Both Biden and Palin will have memorized their responses to expected questions, and been coached on how to segue into those memorized speechlets if they get something slightly off-topic (Biden's had years of experience with this).

So I don't expect this to be as 'entertaining' as many people seem to think it will be. I also suspect that all the hype about Palin's performance with Katie Couric will have set the bar so low for her that if she manages to speak in actual sentences, she will be seen as a success. To 'win,' all she has to be is extremely mediocre -- if she can be coherent, she'll come out of this fine as far as her supporters are concerned, and we'll be hearing crowing about how she's 'redeemed herself.'

The Republicans have also been trying to reframe the debate by questioning the choice of moderator Gwen Ifill. It's an interesting tactic, very Rovian -- hey, by doing this, you may get her to toss softballs so she doesn't appear to be attacking Palin -- and also, given that Ifill is black, you bring in racist overtones with the subtle implication that 'she's black, therefore she's pro-Obama.' The closet racists will be nodding their heads.

minnehaha B thinks that Obama should call them on this one. That might be very interesting, actually. As B states: "If a new moderator comes in at the last second, it will throw both of them off their game. And who do you think will be able to better deal with that last-minute uncertainty: Biden or Palin?"

Hmm.... [Steve strokes his chin thoughtfully] Let's see now...

The Veep Debate

My quick, initial impression? I think the Republicans are going to be ecstatic because Palin came across far better than the Couric interview had people expecting. I think Democrats are going to be disappointed for the same reason. I think anyone who judges a debate by who had the more substantive answers will think Biden won, and that anyone who likes folksy answers about how things aren't really all that complicated and gosh darn if we just pull together everything can be solved will think Palin won.

I think we'll have to wait to see what the only important people -- the undecided voters -- think.