The American Spectator

campaign and with Walter Mondale ‘s advisers were debating among themselves whether to go ahead with a public debate between their last minute candidate and Republican Norm Coleman . Tracking polls were indicating that if Mondale did not debate his opponent, he would lose. /p>

“It was pretty clear we couldn’t keep Mondale in a secure undisclosed location,” says a Mondale campaign adviser in Minnesota. “We had to put him out there.”

Mondale debates Coleman today, and both Democrats and Republicans say the former vice president’s victory depends on his performance. “He’s been cramming, and studying up. We’re surprised by how detached he appears to have been from issues. Everyone’s a bit nervous.”

The nervousness arises due to Mondale’s less than steady performance late last week and over the weekend in front of the cameras. On several occasions, the 74 year old appeared unsteady, speaking more slowly and deliberately than in his early 1980s heyday.

“Look, he’s an old man,” says the adviser. “We knew that going in, and we expect that this old man is going to kick Norm Coleman’s [rear] on election day.”