Joe Biden Advised to Ignore Sarah Palin at Debate
RUSH: We'll talk tomorrow about Biden's strategy in debating Sarah Palin on
Thursday night. Basically, he's been told to ignore her. If he does that, it
will appear rude.
http://www.nysun.com/national/at-debate-biden-told-ignore-palin/86746/
At Debate, Biden Told: Ignore Palin
By RUSSELL BERMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun | September 29, 2008
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As Senator Biden prepares to face off against Governor Palin on Thursday night
in the campaign's lone vice presidential debate, Democratic strategists have a
few words of advice for the lawmaker of Delaware: Ignore the Alaskan.
Click Image to Enlarge
Bill Pugliano/Getty
The Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Senator Biden, speaks at a rally
September 28.
Mr. Biden's 35 years in the Senate dwarf Ms. Palin's single month of experience
on the national stage, but Democrats are worried that his penchant for verbal
missteps and his occasionally aggressive style could be a liability as he faces
only the second woman to serve as a major party nominee for the vice presidency.
"His goal is to ignore Palin and focus on connecting with voters sitting in
their living rooms by making clear he is indeed one of them — an uncommon,
common man," a Democratic strategist who served as an aide to Vice President
Gore during the 2000 campaign, Christopher Lehane, said.
The two running mates will meet in St. Louis this week for what is perhaps the
most eagerly anticipated vice presidential match-up in recent memory, and the
debate is fraught with risk for both candidates.
After winning rave reviews for her debut speech at the Republican National
Convention early in the month, Ms. Palin has struggled as she has come under
increased scrutiny from the press. Polls have shown voter concerns about her
readiness for the job, and she has been widely derided in recent days for the
nearly incomprehensible response she offered when CBS's Katie Couric asked her
to explain her claim that Alaska's proximity to Russia and Canada gave her
foreign policy experience.
Those stumbles have raised the stakes for Thursday's debate, but Democrats are
offering another reason why Mr. Biden should avoid trying to exploit Ms.
Palin's lack of experience — he may not need to.
"Let the facts, the records, and the ideas speak for themselves, and more than
likely Governor Palin will expose herself as unqualified for the job," a
Democratic consultant, Daniel Gerstein, said. "If he has the right tone,
there's no way he can lose this debate."
Mr. Biden needs only to look to Senator Clinton's Senate race in 2000 against
Rick Lazio to see the perils of a male appearing overly confrontational with a
female candidate. During their debate, Mr. Lazio walked over to Mrs. Clinton's
podium to ask her to a sign a pledge against accepting so-called soft money
campaign contributions. The move backfired, as the Republican congressman
looked as if he were physically intimidating the then-first lady.
"Debating with a woman is entirely different than anything you will ever do," a
Democratic consultant who worked for President Clinton's re-election bid in
1996, Hank Sheinkopf, said. He said Mr. Biden needed to avoid doing anything
that would appear "glowering" or "menacing" and would engender sympathy for Ms.
Palin.
In a television interview yesterday, President Clinton also advised Mr. Biden
against going after Ms. Palin directly. Doing so, he said, would likely appeal
only to voters already supporting Senator Obama. "I don't think he has to whack
her, or should," Mr. Clinton said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Everybody that
really is upset about Sarah Palin because she's too conservative or too Alaska
or too this, that, or the other thing, they're already for the Obama-Biden
ticket."
Both parties have already begun the traditional pre-debate efforts to lower
expectations for their candidates and raise the bar for their opponents. Mr.
Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, told reporters on a conference call
Saturday that Ms. Palin was "a terrific debater," judging from tapes of her
performances during campaigns in Alaska.
"She has performed very, very well," Mr. Plouffe said. "She's obviously a
skilled speaker, so you know we'll expect that she'll give a great performance
next Thursday."
Republicans have highlighted Mr. Biden's frequent gaffes, but have also touted
his years in Washington as preparation for the debate. One GOP aide said Mr.
Biden has "spent his entire career debating in the Senate and building a
reputation as one of the best."
A close friend and adviser to Mr. McCain, Senator Graham of South Carolina,
said criticism of Ms. Palin in the last week had been exaggerated, but he
acknowledged that she had work to do on Thursday.
"She's going to have to show she's a valuable part of this team, that she's
capable of the job, that she shares John's philosophy," he said on "Fox News
Sunday."
Mark R. Taylor
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