It's sort of funny to watch liberals get all excited about the idea that the VP debate will be some kind of train wreck for Sarah Palin. It won't, because VP debates aren't really about finding out which candidate is more qualified, but framing the candidate at the top of the ticket.
For all the fuss about Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle in '88, there's an argument to be made that Quayle "won" the debate. Sure, Bentsen made Quayle look like an idiot, but Quayle spent the whole time slamming Dukakis. Mission Accomplished.
Sarah Palin has been at her most effective delivering scripted attack lines, and the debate won't be an interview. She won't be answering tough questions as much as she will be reheating the slams against Obama she's spent time memorizing all week. All indications are that Palin is actually very good at "the nonanswer." Whether she comes across as knowledgable doesn't matter if she manages to reopen doubts about Obama's ability to be president. Expect her to turn questions about her qualifications into questions about Obama's, and inquiries about her religion into arguments about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. All she has to do to reignite that conversation is frame herself as a victim of a double standard -- and that's the other thing she seems to be great at. The media will do the rest.
--A. Serwer
