VP Debate will be Cringefest 2008

It doesn’t matter if you back Senator McCain or Senator Obama, or if you are still sitting on the fence; tomorrow’s vice presidential debate is likely to exercise your cringe reflex.

Senator Joe Biden has bored audiences from coast to coast and has the singular ability to keep lecturing from one side of his mouth while inserting his Johnston and Murphy shoe in the other.

Governor Sarah Palin has come a long way since she was a beauty contestant even though she still seems to run the risk of getting eliminated during the verbal competition.

Like millions of Americans, I am going to tune in tomorrow night and brace myself for what is going to come out of my television’s speakers. While both of the running mates have prepared and drilled for this moment, the pressure on them must be unbelievable and they both possess an astounding ability to say the wildest things when a live microphone is placed before them.

If I were advising either the Governor or the Senator, I would tell them one thing above all else. Do not, and I repeat, do not try for the clever score or the “gotcha” moment. This debate is about survival. While it might feel great to get off a Lloyd Bentsen “You are no Jack Kennedy” line, if you try one of these and it fails, you may just end up nuking the entire campaign.

The debate format on Thursday favors short answers – 90 second answers with 2 minute follow-ups.

Senator Biden has to have short (and truthful) answers to the questions and he must not stray from the Obama platform.

Governor Palin must sound competent and knowledgeable, although she can actually use her Washington inexperience to her advantage as long as she sounds confident and thoughtful (so far, this has proven difficult for her).

Governor Palin and Senator Biden will each score points for their campaigns if they come across as trustworthy and, more than anything else, leave the stage without embarrassing themselves or their tickets.

The rest of us are in for quite a ride, let’s just hope all the cringing does cause permanent damage.


Vice Presidential Debate8 p.m. CDT, Thursday, Oct. 2.Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Topic: Domestic and foreign policyModerator: PBS' Gwen Ifill, "The NewsHour" and "Washington Week"Format: 90 second answers followed by two minutes follow-up answers.