She boldly tries to pass off incuriosity and lassitude as regular-people qualities

YES

yeah thanks for that article DC. I've been attempting to effectively quantify why SP pisses me off so much. This pretty much sums it up.

I adore this article. Thank you.

Precisely. Even considering the nomination was her first mistake in this campaign. Thanks for the post, Daniel Charms!

If anyone knows the challenge that lies ahead for Senator Joe Biden, it is Andrew Halcro, 44, who took part in a handful of debates with Mrs Palin during Alaska's 2006 gubernatorial race.

"The one thing I found during the [2006] debates was no matter how knowledgeable her opponents were on the issues, it didn't matter," Mr Halcro told BBC News.

"She has an amazing ability to turn a 45 second answer into a folksy story... she's never been forced to know the issues."

From here.

But I think (hope) people are seeing through the folksy stories now and realising that more is needed from the VP than parroting learned phrases and talking a lot but saying nothing.

"She has an amazing ability to turn a 45 second answer into a folksy story... she's never been forced to know the issues."

Here is hoping the Gwen Ifill will not let her get away with stuff like that. If Katie can nail her, then surely Gwen can.

I think people will be watching for that, she's been mocked for doing nothing but for weeks.

I totally agree with this essay.

It was just pointed out to me that, hard as it is to believe, the majority of Americans probably have not seen or heard Palin speak yet. Many of them will tune into the debate. Many of them will love her, just as many did during her first week of being nominated. Many will have heard the mockery and criticism of her, and walk away feeling puzzled: "She didn't seem that dumb to me!"

So it might not be as much of a trainwreck as some of us hopethink. I'm steeling myself now.

...NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell speculated that McCain's choice was designed to declaw scrappy Joe Biden, whose aggressive style would come off as bullying next to the sweet hockey mom from Alaska

A friend and I were just talking about this.

I was looking forward to seeing Biden just gut her, until I realized with a jolt that he really can't afford to go after her as he could, lest he drum up sympathy for her with undecideds.

Because ladies are ever so delicate. HRC didn't seem to rate the kid-glove treatment because, guess what, she can take care of herself in the field.

From today's issue of The Times:

Tim Bell, Margaret Thatcher's adviser, devoted his evenings to coaching the first female leader of the Conservative Party. He taught her to lower her voice and to wear her hair in a helmet but he says he couldn't achieve the same for Mrs Palin. “She doesn't have the intellectual grasp. I didn't have to spell out Margaret Thatcher's own policies to her, I just had to encourage her to use humour and the right amount of aggression. I don't think any amount of preparation could help Palin; it's going to be bloody.”

There's also an excellent article about women voters in small-town Ohio. I have many friends in similar Ohioan small towns - Logan, Nelsonville, Plain City, Laurelville, Chillicothe, Athens - and it's interesting that the ones who tell me they love Palin are the women who don't have careers, or who work in non-professional jobs. Amongst my friends who teach at Hocking College or Ohio University, not a single one of them supports Palin. She appeals to the voters who want someone 'just like them' and they don't identify with any of the male candidates, although Biden probably comes closest as he's kept his roots local to his home state, is approachable and not 'precious', and isn't an intellectual.

The right-wingers are already setting moderater Gwen Ifill up to take the heat if Palin does poorly.

First Couric, now Ifill. Why can't these shrill bitches give this strong woman a break?!