I know that this has been said before and maybe I'm just worried more than I should be, but it seems to me that we are all falling into the trap of lowering the expectations so much for Sarah Palin that she will have no difficulty at all exceeding them and, in effect, "winning" the debate with Biden.
Does this matter? Will the post-debate spin allow for a fuller examination of her non-sensical talking points and we will all claim that "Biden wins it on the merits"? I'm 46 years old and I've watched every debate since 1980 and it never ceases to amaze me that, despite their value as a way of seeing and hearing the candidates, there is almost never an instance where a clear-cut "winner" stands out until the press (and more recently the blogosphere) says there is a winner. There will be tremendous pressure on the MSM to present Palin's performance (because it will be a performance) in a light that will only benefit her and McCain. Biden is in a terrible position due to his own style of speaking and the fact that he is facing an opponent who merely has to string two or three sentences together to put up a "W".
I say again, does this really matter? Will the VP debate change minds that have turned towards Obama in the last 10 days? Has McCain shown himself to be enough of a loose cannon to make independents think that they can't afford to be so reckless with their vote?
I hope I'm just worrying about something that won't matter all that much. But something tells me that there is a balancing effect coming soon and it could start on the morning of October 3.