Vice Presidential Debate Expectations: Obama Camp Calls Palin "Terrific Debater"

**Read all about the Vice Presidential debate.

On a Saturday conference call with reporters, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called Gov. Sarah Palin "a terrific debater" who has "performed very, very well" in previous debates with opponents in her state.

Politico's Mike Allen writes:

"We've looked at tapes of Gov. Palin's debates, and she's a terrific debater," Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. "She has performed very, very well. She's obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she'll give a great performance next Thursday." [...]

"She's obviously prepping this weekend in Pennsylvania," Plouffe continued. "Anyone who watches any of her previous debates would be impressed by her debating skills."

Obama national press secretary Bill Burton added: "What's missing is knowing where she stands on a lot of the important issues that will come up at the debate. Preparing to debate against someone who is really largely unknown, who's spent so much time preparing for the debate, will be a real challenge.

"She's not out there on the stump that much. She's not doing a whole lot of interviews. So she's spending a whole lot of time -- hours and hours a day, apparently -- preparing for this debate. And we suspect that she'll come in fighting form."

As Allen notes, campaigns regularly play such expectations games in the days leading up to a debate (in this case, Thursday's vice presidential debate).

But despite Palin's multiple cringe-inducing interview moments over the last few weeks, this sentiment from Obama aides is not just theater for the media's consumption. Privately, Democratic campaign officials have sent video clips of Palin's previous debates to the Huffington Post, noting her strong performances against more experienced Alaskan pols.

There is a legitimate sense of unease that the bar has been set so low for Palin that even a modest performance will be seen as a major success -- and that Palin may be capable of much more.

UPDATE: Some footage of Palin at a 2006 debate discussing her opposition to abortion rights:

Comments

[Promisin1]

Palin will amaze everyone. I expect Palin to have her hair down in the VP debate because she will be wearing an earpiece.


Obama/Biden '08

[stanschurman]

Damn, you took the words right out of my mouth.

[PhDiva]

Absolutely. I wish they could inspect the candidates ahead of time.

[Iluvdarin]

I remember that Bush had a "lump" of some kind on his back. Sarah can hide one handily in the lumps she already has. You can tell if she is wearing a earpiece. Just watch the expression on her face before she answers a question. How could someone who is considered such a great debater be so stupid in an interview. I just don't buy it.

[Galvatron]

Palin is not going to be dropped from the ticket. Also she will do fine in the debate. Even if she misspeaks or says something not entirely true, many Republicans will say she did great and it was a win for her. Nothing will change. That's why they have spinsters. We should be familiar with this scenario. So no reason to get all upset.

[ehartsoe]

I LOVE HER!!!! She's the gift that keeps on giving

OBAMA '08

[observer007]

Telepathic election reporting -

Obama team: As soon as you take your hand of the Queen I'll take her with my bishop (how can he not see that)

McCain team: Hmmm, if I sacrifice the queen, I'll advance the pawn to the last row and get another one, but - wait - oh sh*t - if I move the pawn I'll be in check - oh crap? what would Bobby Fisher do now? Blame the Jews? Hey, maybe I can blame a mind wave guy in the audience, and the Jews and the liberal media - knock all the pieces over and pretend it is Obama's fault -

[chitown8]

Mel Gibson is Mccain spoke person now!

[ominous]

"If my daughter were pregnant I would pull her out of school and out of the public eye, and then claim the baby as my own."

[PatriciaB]

She did this with Trek--hard to do again. Bristol is pregnant again to get even for her mom taking the 1st baby.

[munki]

Sure is being prep... after the interview embarrassment...
She could be a great debater... Obama campaign analyzed it well...

This is her "are you smarter than 5th grader" test... (someone in the blog suggested the show)...
You bet she is getting a full attention from McCain campaign...

What will be her punch word? anyone's guess???

[Dave01]

Maverick - in the FIRST and REAL sense as defined by Webster's Dictionary: "An unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it."

Except in this case - separated from it's grandfather instead of its mother.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/maverick

[irishgawdess]

"I'd like to use a lifeline." Oh wait - that was Tina Fey. Palin's will be, "I'll have to look it up, but I'll get back to ya!"

[veggiequeenmo]

Are the candidates provided with specific questions prior to the debate? If so, that's probably why Palin looks good. If it's more impromptu, like the Couric interview, then she'll land on her a s s!

[ZeusBoots]

All this showed is how well she was prepared to state the right wing rhetoric. It was clear she had it memorized as she showed absolutely no empathy for her own child, should she find herself the victim of a rape. What mother would coldly say "I would choose life." over the mental and physical health of their own child? Choose life Sarah, and you can begin with the Wolves and Moose and Caribou in Alaska. That would show a respect for life, rather than empty words you are uttering just to adhere to the right wing fanatics.

[Lilacwine]

My thoughts exactly. She just came off as cold, whereas the other two came off as compassionate. She was just rehearsed. My guess is she will do okay when she is given her first two minutes to respond to the topic, then Biden will tear her apart, and then she will retaliate by reaching into her propaganda bag and try to attack Obama and Biden by misquoting them and probably even flat out lying. I just hope that Americans will be able to see through it.

[LemonMeringue]

Good - raise the expectations.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

Exactly. What rises must fall... and she will most surely fall.

But why use this footage? It's not at all indicative that she's a good debater. Was this the only covered debate that she was in?

[ljc]

Why arn't Sarah Palin's children in school?

[FaceYourFears]

It's too expensive to have secret service follow all those kids around....they're probably being homeschooled.

[somefool]

that was funny

[LemonMeringue]

Obama's children are at home with Michelle, and when she goes out on the campaign she gets their grandparents to stay with them - so they can stay in school. That's good parenting.

[detriangulation]

Recall that Dan Qualye and W. were fairly competent debaters in earlier local races too before they entered the national stage.

[irishgawdess]

Way to raise the bar on Palin, David Plouffe! This way, when she falls on her ass, it will be all that much more obvious to everyone that she has no clue and is not the right person for the job. Biden should be respectful, but shouldn't be expected to go easier on her just because "she's a girl." That's just crap... At this level, they'll both be expected to have more in-depth knowledge about a wider range of topics.

This will be her last opportunity to show she's got the "right stuff" to be VP and a potential POTUS. (Which I doubt she'll be able to pull off.)

[levi501]

I'm not sure this was footage of a good debater. Instead she looked like a good interviewee. She answered her questions well but she didn't challenge her opponents.

For example, she could of said back to one of the pro-abortion candidates, "so you're for killing an innocent baby?"

Furthermore, the question about her daughter wasn't in reference to a law. She should have said that it didn't matter what her opinion is about her daughter, it's currently her choice. However, after finding out her daughter was pregnant her family behaved according to their beliefs. It's reassuring to know her position is not political, it's a core value.

[ominous]

Biden and Palin are not allowed to address each other in this thursdays debate, they're also expected to answer each question inside of 30 seconds so Palin will not be challenged or allowed to go on one of her insane ramblings

[thepalinator]

I read it was 90 seconds for response. That gives her some rope.

[LiberalBuzz]

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President. The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle." Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was. The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle .You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with."

[mscriblerus]

That is just perfect. My first laugh of the day.

[PUMAMA]

Very funny

[CaptainStormfield]

Great Joke :)

[LeonBNJ]

I think that they know she will win the sound bite battle, with simple short responses that will attract attention even if they are substantually inadequate. For example, if asked about what kind of Supreme Court Justice noninees she would support, her answer will most probably be 'Those that believe life starts at conception'. Hopefully the main focus of the questions will be on international issues, but then too, she is expected to give simplistic answers like 'Iraq was involved with 9/11'.

The other problem is that Biden can't be see as 'beating up a woman' so he has to be more nuanced in his responses, which will mean he will be seen as muddled, not as focused, not as good for sound bites. Then there is the possibility of gaffs, bringing up his support of anti-consumer laws as to financial services and credit cards for Deleware based companies, something very sensitive right now.

[Egalitare]

I think Biden would be wrong not to hammer Palin HARD on the role of government in the lives of ordinary Americans. Palin preaches conservatism, but Alaskans have been given an annual stipend from the state treasury (based on royalty payments from Big Oil) for decades now. What she calls a "tax cut" is in fact an increase in that stipend, to the detriment of the infrastructure needs of Alaska.