Less than 60 hours 'til debate time. Is it just me or does it feel like there's more buzz about Biden v. Palin than Obama vs. McCain? Wash. U. is starting to resemble a county fair with all the tents and fences and signs. But still no sign of media types.
Before reporters go live from campus, here are three questions about how the press will influence the debate and shape the storylines afterward.
1. How many times will Sarah Palin aides, pundits and anchors utter the phrase "exceeded expectations?" If I was creating a drinking game for Thursday night, it would go something like this: Take a shot for every reference to the GOP veep candidate doing better than predicted. With conservatives saying that Palin is simply out of her league in this election, and YouTube junkies expecting no dearth of must-see Palinisms posted by Friday morning, is it possible that Joe Biden's in a no-win situation?
We've seen this act before. Many television pundits declared that Palin had exceeded expectations in her Republican Convention address. Don't expect the analysis to be much different unless Palin follows Tina Fey's lead and actually does ask to phone a friend.
2. Will moderator Gwen Ifill channel Jim Lehrer and push for candidate interaction? After all, that is the point of a debate, right? After McCain and Obama spent the first 10 minutes fixated on the camera, Lehrer did just about everything possible to get them to look at and talk to each other. They loosened up eventually, with an assist to the PBS anchorman.
Ifill might have a tough task getting Palin and Joe Biden to engage in a true back-and-forth, given that Biden can't really prepare for combat without knowing what Palin thinks about the issues, and that Palin is a rookie debater. But if viewers are to get a real sense of Palin's thought process (and not just canned answers courtesty of top aides), it will be Ifill's prodding that likely produces such impromptu moments.
3. Can reporters keep the debate in context? I'm hopeful. On live TV, it's almost guaranteed that this will be viewed as a momentum-seizing night for the GOP or a major flop for the Dems. Print's often a different story -- and beat writers and bloggers have seen enough of these things to put it all in perspective. In all likelihood, we'll hear some about Palin's ideals and Biden's relaxing Amtrak rides. But this will be more theater than anything else.
Before reporters go live from campus, here are three questions about how the press will influence the debate and shape the storylines afterward.
1. How many times will Sarah Palin aides, pundits and anchors utter the phrase "exceeded expectations?" If I was creating a drinking game for Thursday night, it would go something like this: Take a shot for every reference to the GOP veep candidate doing better than predicted. With conservatives saying that Palin is simply out of her league in this election, and YouTube junkies expecting no dearth of must-see Palinisms posted by Friday morning, is it possible that Joe Biden's in a no-win situation?
We've seen this act before. Many television pundits declared that Palin had exceeded expectations in her Republican Convention address. Don't expect the analysis to be much different unless Palin follows Tina Fey's lead and actually does ask to phone a friend.
2. Will moderator Gwen Ifill channel Jim Lehrer and push for candidate interaction? After all, that is the point of a debate, right? After McCain and Obama spent the first 10 minutes fixated on the camera, Lehrer did just about everything possible to get them to look at and talk to each other. They loosened up eventually, with an assist to the PBS anchorman.
Ifill might have a tough task getting Palin and Joe Biden to engage in a true back-and-forth, given that Biden can't really prepare for combat without knowing what Palin thinks about the issues, and that Palin is a rookie debater. But if viewers are to get a real sense of Palin's thought process (and not just canned answers courtesty of top aides), it will be Ifill's prodding that likely produces such impromptu moments.
3. Can reporters keep the debate in context? I'm hopeful. On live TV, it's almost guaranteed that this will be viewed as a momentum-seizing night for the GOP or a major flop for the Dems. Print's often a different story -- and beat writers and bloggers have seen enough of these things to put it all in perspective. In all likelihood, we'll hear some about Palin's ideals and Biden's relaxing Amtrak rides. But this will be more theater than anything else.
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