Thursday night is rapidly approaching, and I must confess to conflicting emotions. One the one hand, I fully expect Sarah Palin to be a complete disaster. On the other hand, so does everyone else.
So, how does Joe Biden handle the situation of being on stage with a person who has no right to be there? I’d advise against the McCain approach of completely ignoring your debate partner even though Joe would have every right to view Sarah Palin with contempt. Maybe his best approach would simply be to give Palin enough rope and hope that her debate performance mimics the Gibson and Couric interviews.
But what worries me most is how much of a curve will the media grade Palin? And is it fair to hold one VP candidate to higher standards than another? Will one gaffe by Joe Biden carry more weight than fifty by Palin? Does she win simply by not blinking?
Does the VP debate even take place?
Ah, my paranoia rears its head. See, I haven’t forgotten that McCain’s stunts from last week had more to do with canceling the VP debate than with putting “Country First”. And I’d be foolish in assuming the strategy has changed. So, how does camp McCain get “I can see Russia from my house” Sarah out of debating Joe Biden? Laryngitis?
Of course, there’s also been a lot of talk about Palin dropping out. I’m having a hard time envisioning this scenario. I mean, she can’t cite family reasons. If an infant with Down Syndrome and a pregnant teen wasn’t enough to discourage her to begin with…
Did I mention I was conflicted? Honestly, the McCain campaign has been a harrowing, haphazard experience. Nothing is off the table when it comes to their shenanigans. There are simple no rules. Kinda gives you an insight on how they’d govern.
So in the end, I’m ready – Ready for the debate that may, or may not, happen with a Republican VP candidate who may, or may not, be on the ticket in November. Regardless, I’ve bought the popcorn.