Like I said, I don't think Sarah Palin will fare as poorly in tonight's debate as some are wagering. For one thing, she's apparently had a lot of cramming. For another, the agreed-upon format limits the candidates to 90-second responses. Her side demanded this because they know that a lot of depth is not expected in a 90-second answer. Confronted with a stumper, any of us could probably run out that clock with pleasantries and generalities, leaving us — oh, sorry — no time to get down to hard specifics. It's Joe Biden who's at a disadvantage when it comes to giving short answers. Then again, I bet he knows that and has been practicing with that in mind.
A mini-fuss is being made by some over the fact that moderator Gwen Ifill has a book coming out that sounds rather pro-Obama. As Keith Olbermann noted on last night's show, this was not a secret and anyone could have found this out two months ago by Googling Ms. Ifill's name. Still, there's this sudden demand by some that she recuse herself, which apparently is not going to happen. I suspect Ifill will ask perfectly fine, fair questions and that Palin's supporters will never give up the spin that the Governor was sabotaged by a biased moderator. To his credit, John McCain was quoted yesterday as saying, "Gwen Ifill is a professional, and I think she will do a totally objective job."
I still think the host should open with the question I suggested earlier: "Are you wearing any sort of device that might enable someone to prompt you with answers or notes?" And then, since they're probably both expecting the first question will be about the bailout, I'd throw 'em off their game by saving that for later and asking them to each tell us their favorite knock-knock joke. I ain't voting for anyone who doesn't have a favorite knock-knock joke. Also, either of them could lock up my ballot by mentioning that today is the 50th birthday of Huckleberry Hound.