Thursday, October 2, 2008

Tonight's Debate Will Be All About Ifill

Tonight, Biden will likely not take on Palin. As Robert Shrum notes, "[Biden] has two strategic objectives: defend and advance Obama, and go after McCain. . . . Palin may blow herself up, but Biden can't spend his time trying to light the fuse."

Palin, on the other hand, will continue her pattern of evading nearly all questions (tough(?)- like what lessons she's learned from Iraq and easy- like what news sources she reads). With Biden not challenging her, it will be up to moderator Gwen Ifill to ensure that Palin doesn't evade answering questions by challenging her with follow-ups.

If Ifill fills this role- then great. But if not, it doesn't seem like a good idea for Biden to lay off Palin. Sure, the conventional wisdom is that a VP nominee doesn't affect Americans' votes. Such wisdom dictates a strategy of Biden advancing Obama and attacking McCain.

But this is not a usual election. A 72 year old seeks the Presidency with a running-mate who appears to have never before thought about national or international issues. Tonight is the prime opportunity for the American people to discover just how frightening a proposition that is.

-Law Dude

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