U.S. Sen. Joe Biden

As the hour of the Vice Presidential debate approaches, the web has been flooded by all manner of analysis, punditry and bloggery (plus the occasional piece of news). We're here to offer you a guide  to the madness so you know what to expect and can impress your date during pre-debate cocktails.

The big question is: How will Sarah Palin fare?  Her previous public appearances have been mixed. At the Republican National Convention, she killed. As Sam Harris wrote in Newsweek, her speech was extraordinarily effective political communication.

Since that day she has been in constant decline. First came her interview with Charlie Gibson and the "Bush Doctrine" gaffe, then over the past week she's taken major blows as her damning serialized interview with Katie Couric has aired. After double lampoonings on SNL, Palin is on the verge of becoming nothing more than a laughing stock to many. See Simon's link to TPM for video of Sarah's greatest hits.

But debates are a different game, and Palin has had success in the past. The LA Times reports that she ought not be underestimated: She keeps it simple and is irresistably charming. The NY Times, likewise, says that though she's often unclear in her answers, she appears confident and wins viewers. This debate could be her chance to recover some of the ground she's lost.

The Obama camp will not be underestimating her. Campaign manager David Plouffe called Palin a "terrific debater," and said he expects she'll perform well against Joe Biden. Nobody knows her skills better than Andrew Halcro, who faced her when they both ran for governor of Alaska. He describes her as a "master of the nonanswer," but says that if she can "fill the room with her presence," she may do well. Even Joe Biden has said that she looks "pretty doggone confident."

Biden comes into the debate with some concerns of his own. As the Washington Post wrote yesterday, "letting Biden be Biden" has occasional downsides: He has a freewheeling style, and when he runs with it, he can make mistakes. The NY Times also discusses his "legendary loquatiousness," making the point that, debating a woman, Biden runs the danger of looking like a bully. According to the Financial Times, the Obama campaign is training Biden to avoid verbal missteps.

There has been controversy surrounding debate host Gwen Ifill. Because she is currently writing a book about Barack Obama, among other new black politicians, some Republican pundits have cried bias.  Marc Ambinder thinks this is nonsense, and Ifill herself has dismissed the concerns.

George Bush and Geraldine Ferraro, who faced off in the first male vs. female VP debate in 1984, reminisce about their experience and offer their thoguhts the Palin-Biden matchup.

Michael Tomasky of the Guardian gives his forecast for tomorrow night in a fun video.

Roger Simon at Politico provides 10 ready-made answers to Sarah Palin. Respond to any question with ease!

And if it's all getting too serious for you, Newsweek invites you to play VP bingo.

According to a very interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal, the pre-debate game plan for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been changed, and in lieu of whatever she was planning to do to prep, she's now been sent to debate boot camp at U.S. Sen. John McCain's luxurious retreat in Sedona, Arizona (Which house is this? Seven or eight?).

According to Sedona's official Web site, the town has a spiritual side; it is "...a mecca for alternative healers," and its "...body-temples are complex multi-dimensional organisms, and Sedona healers apply their gifts to every level of the body/mind/spirit spectrum. You will benefit from their intuitive skills and compassionate hearts as well as their intellectual training and hands-on experience."

But I digress.

Two camps seem to have developed regarding Palin's abilities prior to her debate with U.S. Sen. Joe Biden this Thursday night (a murky third -- let's call it the conspiracy camp -- thinks the debate will never happen due to some kind of state emergency in Alaska or another McCain campaign suspension). The first camp believes that Palin is utterly unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. First populated by Democrats, this group has grown now to include conservatives and others such as Fareed Zakaria who are appalled at Palin's recent performances, particularly her series of interviews with CBS' Katie Couric.

Then there is the "Let Sarah Be Sarah" camp, which includes former Massachusetts Gov. and GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, who, according to the New York Times political blog said:

On the "Today" show this morning, Mr. Romney also talked about how the McCain campaign could use Ms. Palin more effectively. Citing her bad reviews after the broadcasts last week of interviews with Ms. Couric, the host Matt Lauer asked Mr. Romney whether something deeper was going on than just the fact that “the honeymoon was over,” and whether the former presidential candidate wondered if she should drop out of the race.

Mr. Romney dismissed that notion, saying Ms. Palin had executive experience as a governor and showed “great capacity.”

“And you know she’s not a lifelong politician,” he said. “She’s not the master of words that Joe Biden is. And as a result she’s going to come across like an ordinary citizen, a person of great capacity and that’s what John McCain wanted.”

Mr. Lauer also asked Mr. Romney his take on sentiments uttered earlier by Republican strategist Ed Rollins, who suggested that the McCain campaign’s decision to “put her in storage” — meaning limiting access to her through few media interviews or daily give-and-take — had broken her confidence. (That’s something Christopher Orr wrote about last week, at The New Republic: whether Ms. Palin has been so coached, and so constrained by advisers, that she had lost her own sense of self.)

Mr. Lauer’s question allowed Mr. Romney to offer advice to the McCain campaign for the next and final stage of the campaign:

“I think it’s going to be better for her to be out talking to more reporters and just being herself,” he said. “I think if you have only one or two interviews the focus goes on those and any mistake is going to be amplified dramatically. So let her get out there and be herself. And I think people will say you know, I like what I see. She’s a person who understands the needs of the American people.”

Unfortunately for those in the "Let Sarah Be Sarah" camp, Palin has been delivered right into the hands of McCain's two top campaign advisers: Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis. There is no chance that these Rovian proteges won't "drill, baby, drill" talking points into Palin's head until she collapses from exhaustion at her exclusive barracks. 

But Palin seems to be taking it all in stride. According to her, she's been preparing for this debate since she was eight years old or so -- she started listening to Biden's speeches when she was in second grade:

A pair of ads from the McCain campaign attempt to recover some of the losses that McCain has suffered in the polls this week after getting thrashed by the Obama campaign on the economy.

"Advice" criticizes Barack Obama for taking advice on the economy from Franklin Raines, former chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae.  You can guess why that might be a bad thing, but  the Washington Post-- the source cited in the ad's attacks on Raines-- reports that the connection between Obama and Raines is much more tenuous than the add would lead you to believe.

"Patriotic Act" goes after Joe Biden for his suggestion that paying higher taxes was a patriotic thing to do. This ad, at least, is based on something Biden actually said.

Seems to me that after landing a lot of punches last week, John McCain has been forced to backpedal all week, and is playing defense on the economy.

It's Sunday, mid- to late-morning. Do you know where your presidential/vice presidential candidate is? Well, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is on a Sunday talk show. And ditto for U.S. Sens. John McCain and Joe Biden (who pointed out that Palin may actually have to answer a question or two eventually). Who's missing here?

You guessed it. Self-desrcibed hockey Mom, newly annointed mega-celebrity, titanium-rimless-eyeglass-wearing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (oh yeah, and she's McCain's vice presidential nominee).

And where is Sarah this fine morning? Maybe she's fake-auctioning off the First Dude or moose antlers on eBay, but she's not doing media interviews, and that's my point.

I've been in political communications for almost 20 years now, and I've never seen anything like this. The media has more access to Osama bin Laden than to Governor Palin. I have never worked for anyone who wouldn't talk to reporters. I've always worked for smart, open public servants or pundits who weren't afraid of the media.    

Last time I checked, running for office meant that you talked to reporters. Apparently, we are now living in a parallel universe that was carefully incubated and birthed in St. Paul last week; no media need apply.

Check out this new Politico piece and you'll see just how far McCain's campaign handlers are going to keep Palin's image intact. Palin's face may be all over the magazine covers this week, but it's going to be a while before you actually hear her voice again (unless it's a clip from the GOP Convention or similar).

Well, all may not be lost, according to Politico: "FOX News is rolling out a special (as are other networks): ""Gov. Sarah Palin: An American Woman," a one-hour biography hosted by Greta Van Susteren that includes "exclusive video and photos" and "interviews with her family, friends and colleagues"" — but not Palin herself." 

You just know this is going to be hard-hitting.

Maybe it's no coincidence that Bob Woodward started serializing his latest book in the Washington Post today. Can you imagine him interviewing Sarah Palin? What a treat that would be.

I'll leave you with this YouTube video of TIME Magazine's Washington Bureau Chief Jay Carney duking it out with McCain Praetorian Guardswoman Nicole Wallace about the Invisible Governor. And then, just ask yourself why someone known on the basketball court as Sarah Barracuda can't handle herself in the court of public opinion?

Simon Rosenberg and the NDN Team took some time out last week from packing their bags, perfecting their Twitter strategies  and finishing up last-minutes additions to our jam-packed Denver schedule to talk to the press. We weighed in on topics ranging from what we can expect the differences to be between Denver and St. Paul to U.S. Barack Obama's selection of fellow U.S. Sen. Joe Biden as his Veep choice to Chairman Dean's 50-state strategy.

Check out what Simon and NDN have to say below, last week, and now, here in Denver:

Reuter's John Whitesides checked in with Simon about showtime, aka the national party conventions.

The Financial Times' Ed Luce and Stephanie Kirchgaessner pondered the likley differences between the conventions in Denver and St. Paul.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Matt Stannard talked to Simon about the Obama campaign's smart call on the 3 a.m. text.

Following the text received around the world, Simon told Reuter's Whitesides that Biden is a "fighter."

Newsweek's Howard Fineman weighed in on the conventions -- "...the Olympics of political messaging."

The Hill's Alex Bolton took a look at the immigration issue and how it might play out this November in the battleground states.

Congressional Quarterly's Marie Horrigan focused on Chairman Dean's 50-state strategy and wonders if it will pay off.

Here in Denver, we've seen reporter or two:

Salon.com quoted Simon today following our kick-off public event, Immigration and the Next Administration. 

The DNC also live blogged the forum, moderated by NDN Vice President for Hispanic Programs, Andres Ramirez.

Stay tuned...