According to the NYT, John McCain’s campaign insisted on a shorter question-and-answer session for the VP debate, seemingly in part to shield Palin from head-on exchanges with Joe Biden.
McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.
And there’s also this:
On Wednesday, the commission unanimously rejected a proposal sought by advisers to Ms. Palin and Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, to have the moderator ask questions and the candidates answer, with no time for unfettered exchanges. (emphasis mine)
This is pretty stunning, because it seems like a clear attempt to protect Palin during the VP debate. The McCain camp might as well have come out and said that Palin is inexperienced on the issues and that they’re worried that she won’t look good in exchanges with Biden. McCain’s camp tried to defend the decision this way:
McCain advisers said they were only somewhat concerned about Ms. Palin’s debating skills compared with those of Mr. Biden, who has served six terms in the Senate, or about his chances of tripping her up. Instead, they say, they wanted Ms. Palin to have opportunities to present Mr. McCain’s positions, rather than spending time talking about her experience or playing defense.
So, McCain’s camp doesn’t want Palin to talk about her experience, the same executive experience that they’ve been touting for weeks. And they don’t want her to play defense. Well, she’d only have to play defense if she wasn’t prepared for an actual debate!
What McCain’s camp is basically saying is that they want Palin and Biden to respond to a question and move on, because they’re fearful that if she gets into an actual debate with Biden, she might come across looking inexperienced and not ready to be a heartbeat from the Presidency.
Now, Palin could be fine in debates. I really have no idea. But, if her recent interviews with Gibson and Hannity are any indication, she still has a lot of brushing up to do on the actual issues. I don’t think repeating that joke about the difference between a pitbull and a hockey mom, or about how she put that jet on ebay, or how she said “thanks, but no thanks” on the bridge to nowhere is going to fly in the VP debate, which will probably be closely watched given the intense interest in Palin.
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