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

[guyfromOZ]

Sorry, but if you guys think this is about “saying something good about Palin", or more specifically, if you think this video is about showing what a good debater she is, you are out of your minds. You think the subject of the debate is just coincidence? Come on!!

[pixy242a]

Have you seen the postings here? most people expect her to be terrible.

A lot depends on the questions. Not all the questions will be about complicated national or foreign affairs. If they are on familiar subjects, and she answers with any semblance of coherence, she will be considered a genius and it will spun as a win.

[Carolab]

Exactly. Remember how everyone thought Gore and Kerry would wipe the floor with Dubya? And I just wince every time someone calls him "stupid". If he's so stupid how did we get into the state we are all in now?

[JustMeInSC]

My son works in the McCain DC office and told me today that the whispers, and often screams, in the office now are from staffers learning that they are trying to train a Box of Hair to debate. They are absolutely gobsmacked. I think if the Couric and Gibson interviews are any indication, the debates will be like an unscripted SNL episode. Grab a board and ride the waves.....­. of incomprehensible gibberish.

[Carolab]

Your son is a Republican campaign worker?

[Rosanneofpgh]

Oh, dear. Where do you suppose she went wrong??? LOL

[CaptainStormfield]

Here is a bit of entertaining distraction:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20226626,00.html
http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palins-revenge.html

Maryline Blackburn – now a professional singer in Georgia – was the first black Miss Alaska. And she remembers Sarah Palin well.

[Yermammy]

At the rate the population is exploding (twice as many people since I was young), one day you won't have a choice to keep a child. This breeding (pushed by right wing religious zealots) to increase the white population is a losing battle. Look at stats. Sounds cold to limit child birth and try to keep a lid on the explosion, but if we don't, the dog pound is going to look humane. When I pose a question on the pro life rethug boards about how do you substantiate a bunch of kids you can't possibly afford (which will force you onto public aid), but be against government entitlement. What are you going to feed this kids, besides hate and bigotry? You can't have it both ways, but trying to reason with these fanatics is pointless. This, right here. is why religion and government should be on two different planets.

[Carolab]

They are breeding a large army of "true believers".

[JHuff68]

Palin doesn't stand a chance in hell on a foreign policy detabe against Biden. I can't wait when Biden brings up that in Palin's town rape victims have to pay for their own rape kits and the fact that she is against abortion in ALL cases.

Biden "Well, I don't believe that if an 11 year old girl is raped by her father that she should be forced to have that baby" DONE and DONE.

And they will certainly make sure Palin isn't wired for the debate.

[SpencersMom]

Palin in Alaskan debate: "I would choose life."

Yes, Sarah, and that is your choice to make. That is your right. And you can also choose to encourage others to choose life. That is also your right. And you can choose to participate in peaceful demonstrations to advocate for the choice of life.

What you cannot do is demand that I choose life. My choice is not your decision. The choice of every other woman in this world is not yours to make.

But when you choose to legislate the choice of others, you take away their ability to choose. Their choice is "do I break the law and risk my health and life, or do I concede my choice to the government?" As you concede that abortion is acceptable if carrying the pregnancy to term risks the health and life of the mother, does risking the health and life of the woman by taking away her legal and safe right to choose abortion count?

Palin can hide behind her Fundie talking points, but she cannot "debate" the issue.

PEACE

[one4obama]

You said so eloquently what I think millions of women have been trying to say to all those who are trying to refuse them their right to choose.

[SpencersMom]

Thank you for your kind words.

My mother was fresh out of nursing school at the age of 18 (she'd been skipped several grades because she was brilliant) at the start of WWII. She told me stories of watching women bleed to death right before her eyes with nothing she/they could do to stop it, because of what was known as "back alley abortions".

These life-changing events caused my mother to become a strong and powerful activist for legalized, medical abortion. A life-long Republican, she was troubled as she watched her party become the party vehemently opposed to a woman's right to choose.

Although she remained a registered Republican for the rest of her life, she voted for Clinton twice, and Gore.

The truth is that the GOP controlled the White House, both houses of congress, and the stacked SCOTUS for a period of time when they could have at least brought a Roe v Wade case before the Court. They didn't. They need to continue to use this wedge issue to get their base to the ballot each election.

If their principles meant more to them than winning future elections, they could have attempted to overturn Roe, or at least forced it back to the state level. But they are not principled people, and their base is too ignorant to see they are being used, election after election.

PEACE

[BillShea]

Why hasn't there been more talk of the possibility of one or two Supreme Court appointees in a Palin-McBush administration? Why arent they running a black and white commercial of a circa 1970 "back room abortionist" -- rusted coathangers in hand -- gleeful at the possibility of a Palin-McBush ticket? Why? Because Democrats (including OIbama) are too nice. F**k nice. Let's win for a change!

[FreeExpression]

We all need to RAISE the bar for our expectations of Palin's performance at the upcoming debate or else she will win with a mediocre performance!

Be very, very careful on how low the bar has been set for Palin. This is another strategy by McCain's team to setup the American voters to expect her to fail miserably. And when she handles herself better than expected; then the pundits will reevaluate their opinions on air and in ads saying how wonderful she was.

We should all go into the VP debate expecting Palin to perform WONDERFULLY and hopefully the bar will be so high that she will not succeed using her talking points. I don't think Gwen Ifill is going to let either Biden or Palin to get away with much.

[BlueStateMan]

I guess we can call her a "MasterDebater".

[KaPi]

Or how about just shorten it to "Mas-Debater"?

I know. I couldn't resist.

[mrsmdressup]

Is anyone watching CNN? They are rehashing the debate but bringing in experts to comment...­it's quite interesting.

[JohnFromCensornati]

It''s God's will that fundamental change should come to America so pray for that!

[ManyColored]

I do. I pray that fundamentalist religion does not shove their dogma down our throats by taking over the government.

[TheRebel82]

Palin is gonna get cut into pieces by Biden. He'll expose her to be the clueless phony to the american public that she is.

[Carolab]

I don't know, he thought Gonzales was "the real deal" and said he liked him.

[magggs]

I'm sure she can choose life all night long and talk about baby names, but I think the debate may go into a few other areas where she may not have such complete mastery.

[Maezeppa]

The Obama camp must be having funnnnnnnn raising the expectations (!) on Palin. I feel sorry for her personally at this point - it was obvious the Couric interview had her terrified out of her skull. Still, she has to be exposed as an example of McCain's rash and cynical antics.

[jwduke]

I think I just saw a post on the WSJ online...P­alin Wins Debate!

[Sardonica]

Bah! Issues schmissues! Let's get to the important matter - will she wear her hair up or down?

[Nimajoon31]

Very, very funny....