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My sense is that Sarah Palin has more to lose than she has to gain. If she exceeds expectations, it may help relieve doubts about her readiness, but
I would be surprised if McCain gets much of a bounce out of it, because the focus will soon shift back to the bailout plan. However, if she messes up, it will keep the focus on whether or not she's up to the job, and that's a loser for McCain. Fair or not, that's the field of play.

Joe Biden would be best off ignoring Palin as much as possible. He should just answer the questions and keep attacking McCain and try not to engage Palin and risk a backlash. But will he be able to keep himself from saying something really stupid? We shall see.

Palin needs to play to her strengths and recapture that likable authenticity that she had coming out of the convention, while at the same time, come across as confident in her answers. She can't afford another one of the Couric moments on such a large stage.

But at the end of the night, relax. Historically, the VP debate has very little influence on the outcome of the election, if any. Remember this?

topics:
Joe Biden, Sarah Palin