If she doesn't drool all over herself or start speaking in tongues, the GOP will declare her victorious.

She'll go the bulldog with lipstick route, alternately simpering and saying aggressive things that appeal to the stupider conservatives. She's going to be the darling of certain sets by midnight.

Plus if Biden is too aggressive, a billion right-wing pundits will spin it that "The mean Democrat was mean to Palin!" and that's all they'll talk about....

She's going to be the darling of certain sets by midnight.

But she's already the darling of those particular sets. The debate isn't going to make anyone switch sides -- the people who love her will love her a tiny bit more, and the people who don't will find her even more eyerolly, but it's not going to make her the darling of anyone who didn't love her already.

I think Biden's going to be working on his delivery, more than his answers. If he goes the soft touch route, there's no way he can be perceived as a bully. He just needs to not make any major gaffes or seem condescending or cruel.

I feel she's going to tank, regardless, of what her fans think. I'm curious to see what the "intellectual" Republicans think of her performance.

I'm curious to see what the "intellectual" Republicans think of her performance.

Most of those have already written her off. But if she does "well" maybe some will say she's been rehabilitated or something....

ION, I think I need to stick a hose into my brain and suck the gronk out....

He just needs to not make any major gaffes

I think this is the key for him. I doubt he will go after Palin at all, I think he'll focus on McCain and figure that Palin may dig her own hole.

Fun! On The Other Hand, New Polls Cite Palin As Reason For McCain Drop

As discussed below, the McCain-Palin campaign attributes all of Sen. McCain's gravity in recent polls to the economy. But new Quinnipiac and Pew polls provide evidence to the contrary. Specifically, Pew finds that 51% of Americans now believe that Palin is unqualified, up from 37% after her announcement. (Pew's Andrew Kohut writes: "There is a clear correlation between views of Palin's qualifications and support for McCain, which may be hurting the GOP candidate. Fewer people see her as qualified to become president, and the balance of opinion toward Palin has grown more negative since early September.")

...

Quinnipiac's latest set of swing states polls finds Palin with a net negative impression in several states, including Florida, where she's spent quite a bit of campaign time. The numbers in Florida are stunning, in a sense; there's been a net swing of 13 points in Obama's favor during the past two weeks. He's even competitive among white voters, with McCain besting him by only five points.

If she does end up as bad as the rumor mill is mongering, Biden should just shut up and let her blather herself into a hole. If she proves to be better than expectations and goes on the attack, he should let loose like he would have on Romney or Huckabee.

ION, the sticky tape in front of the TV has been successful in thwarting my cat from jumping onto the cabinet and using the screen as a scratching post! She spent most of the evening meowing plaintively while staring up at the TV and occasionally getting onto her hind legs and touching her front paws to the tape, then running away. She did manage to jump behind the TV, where I don't have any tape, and then try and walk around to the front, but was driven away by the tape.

She also shoved the cabinet (which swivels) out of frustration, and seeing her walk away in a snit after getting it to swivel all the way to the right was pretty funny.