How BAD does Palin need to do in the debates

[Proud Liberal Dem]

For the corporate media to be unable to "spin" her "performance" as some kind of "win" for her and/or McCain's campaign? Or to put it a slightly different way: What does Palin need to do to reassure the nervous moderate/conservative (non-fundie) Republicans and independents that are currently abandoning her bit by bit (bring them back on board)?

I feel pretty confident that Biden will win handily on BOTH substance and personality (he probably is capable of coming across as more of a "joe six-pack" than she ever could BUT with brains). For him it's really only a question of HOW he will he do it and I'm imagining that that depends primarily on how Palin ultimately presents herself. In regards to Palin, I'm not honestly sure how "high" or "low" the expectations are nor am I sure whether or not she has been faking everybody out about how she is likely to "perform" in the debate although I just don't see how there can be any REAL "competition" between her and a hardened Senate veteran like Biden.

Her "folksiness" may have won her points up in Alaska but IMHO she is NOWHERE near being ready to assume the Vice-Presidency (and ESPECIALLY not the Presidency) and I believe that everything that we have seen of her so far (even in the most favorable circumstances afforded her) is indicative of this singular fact. At this point, only the truly faithful are (and will remain) on board with her. IMHO all Biden really needs to do to "win" is to reinforce all of the doubts that moderate/conservative (non-fundie) Republicans and independents are currently having.

What does everybody else think?

[VoodooGuru]

1. At some point they will stop defending the indefensible.

The knives are already coming out. Repug pundits are starting to call this a backfired strategy at best. (Maybe McCain can correct me here; is it a strategy or a tactic, John?) Lots of us called this an epic screwup, and it looks more and more like we were right on the money.

I admit they had me just a leeeeetle bit worried when she started to go over so big with the anti-intellectual crowd, but then she opened her mouth without a teleprompter, and indeed boom went the dynamite.

The best example of an MSM pundit utterly trashing her lately was Fareed Zakaria. I consider him pretty mainstream, maybe I'm out of my left-leaning tree or something (wouldn't be the first time) but I think he is generally pretty much centrist in his views, and he trashed her almost as vigorously in Newsweek as Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone, though not nearly as humorously.

[Bucky]

2. She just needs to be herself

That'll do us just fine.

[RagAss]

3. The media needs a close race to sell Viagra for the next 5 weeks

So.....unless she comes on stage and takes a shit in real time, then takes to the podium without wiping, they'll spin it into a Palin win.

Mark these words.