A little over a month ago, Sarah Palin burst onto the national stage. While Palin’s Q score has shot through the roof, detractors continue to question her IQ.
Tonight, Palin faces off with Joe Biden Gwen Ifill in the vice presidential debate. To be sure, neither Palin nor Biden is the brightest bulb in the box. But all eyes will be on Palin and Ifill to see whether they are up to the job.
Palin’s selection was a game-changer, but her performance has been unsteady. So, the masters of distraction have rigged the pre-game show to make the performance of the moderator, Ifill, the issue.
Republicans doubt Ifill’s impartiality because she has a forthcoming book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” which will be released on Inauguration Day.
The, um, fair and balanced Fox News questions whether Ifill can be, well, fair and balanced. Fox News contributor Juan Williams opined:
Clearly her books aren't going to do as well unless Obama wins, so it looks like she has some investment, literally, in one candidate or the other. And she's supposed to be sitting there as a neutral arbiter during the debate. I think the world of Gwen Ifill but I know there's a perception problem.
For her part, Palin told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren:
But that just makes us work harder. It makes us want to communicate clearer and more profoundly with the electorate, letting them know what the contrasts are between these two tickets.
It is motivating to me to me, eve, to hear Gwen's comments there, because, again, that will make us work that much harder and that provides even more fairness and objectivity and choices for the voters on November 4 if we try that much harder.
Ifill reportedly did not tell the Commission on Presidential Debates about her book. Still, I find it hard to believe the McCain campaign did not know about the book until Tuesday. I think they waited until the eve of the debate to lower expectations and make Palin a victim of “liberal media bias.”
The kerfuffle will make the normally even-handed Ifill treat Palin with kid gloves. Mission accomplished.
