Palin center stage at Thursday’s debate

MAT-SU — Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, will face off against her opponent, Democrat Sen. Joe Biden, Thursday in the only scheduled debate between the running mates.

Many analysts are predicting the debate will make or break Palin’s case that she is ready to assume the duties of president at a moment’s notice. Still others have said it will be a test for Biden, who may come across as a bully if he appears to be too hard on Palin.

No matter who voters are cheering, the debate promises to shed light on each running mate’s qualities as being next in line to the Oval Office.

Palin and Biden bring vastly different resumes. Palin, a first-term governor, former Wasilla mayor and former Wasilla city councilwoman, is expected by many national political pundits to rely on her ability to relate to an audience and charm a crowd to make up where her policy knowledge falls short.

Biden, who has made some gaffes during appearances recently - such as when he said President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared on television when the stock market crashed when there was no television when FDR was president - has been a senator for 36 years. He joined the Senate when Palin was 8 years old.

Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain say his experience makes up for where Palin falls short, while Biden supporters argue the same for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

No matter what Biden and Palin’s political experience is coming into the debate, each will face different challenges, said Anthony Jensen, an American government teacher at Wasilla High School.

“I would imagine the Democrats will probably hit on her lack of experience especially with Biden being so experienced,” he said.

Jensen, who teaches at Palin’s alma mater, said Democrats will also likely hammer Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience, an area in which Biden is seen as strong.

Jensen also said that, from what he’s seen of Palin, she is a “dynamic and energetic” speaker, especially when it comes to prepared speeches and statements. How that will translate into a debate-style format is unclear, he said.

One person who does know what it’s like to debate Palin is now one of her most vocal critics. Andrew Halcro, who ran as an Independent during the 2006 gubernatorial race, told the Associated Press recently that Palin did so well with “glittering generalities” during an agriculture debate that no one cared how much she knew about the subject.

“Palin’s a master at spending 45 seconds telling you what color the sky is, and people will say, ‘That’s the greatest thing I ever heard,’” he said.

Biden also faces a litany of challenges during the debate. He runs the risk of being seen as either too hard on Palin or too soft on her.

Jensen said the latter, being too soft, will challenge Biden to stay on his message without seeming like he’s going out of his way to take it easy on Palin.

“Why shouldn’t he treat her like any other politician?” Jensen asked.

But just how high are expectations for this first debate?

Some GOP members are admitting the bar has been set low for the Palin-Biden debate because of the McCain camp’s efforts to shield Palin from the media and voters’ questions.

While it’s too early to tell what might happen Thursday, it’s expected Biden is preparing to debate in unfamiliar territory. The Democratic VP nominee has been spending time preparing for the debate with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm reportedly playing the part of Palin.

Thursday’s debate is formatted so each candidate has 90 seconds to respond to a question from moderator Gwen Ifill of PBS. The 90-second response time is followed by a two-minute discussion. That discussion time is much shorter than last Friday’s presidential debate, when McCain and Obama had five minutes for back-and-forth interaction following a question.

The shorter discussion time could be a boon for Palin, Jensen said.

“If I were Governor Palin at my first debate, with Biden’s experience, I would want it to be shorter sound bites, just as a way to continually develop thoughts,” he said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.