For those of you licking your chops about Palin finally sinking under the waves of her own ignorance on Thursday, don't hold your breath. She's not going to discuss issues at any point.
She's going to go on the attack, and use every dirty trick or whisper attack she can -- delivered very sweetly -- while avoiding any answer about any substantive question. That's the trap for Biden they'll try to lay (remember Edwards "outing" Mary Cheney, even though she was out of the closet already? Memo to Joe: don't mention any of Palin's kids, not even if you think it's going to be laudatory), and that's the best personal and political strategy for Palin.
Not that the Senator needs advice from the likes of me, but I'd suggest he be the one to wear the lipstick, metaphorically, come Thursday. Explanation and more on the flip.
I strongly suspect Palin will attack Obama and Biden narrowly on Thursday, using whatever microscopic dirt. Expect to hear about Biden and his son's ties to the credit card industry, William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, sex ed in kindergarten, and maybe a few veiled references to hair plugs and FDR broadcasting over TV.
Why? Palin's got mastery of zero issues, and there's no payoff for being substantive. Reinjecting trivia into answers and not answering direct questions has the best chance of getting Biden's goat and injecting a gaffe-distraction into the post-debate. And Palin's got a history of going after opponents with non-issue chatter and wedge issues, dating back to the city council elections in Wasilla. It's letting Sarah be Sarah, letting the Republicans be Republicans, and letting Rove channel Atwater via the next great hope for the rapture wing of the GOP.
For Palin, she's got a lot on the line. She takes serious risks of being Quayle'd out of the national limelight forever if she tries to discuss, say, energy, Wall Street, or Russia. But if she gets off a few memorable zingers, leads her hardcore fans cheering in the aisles at carrying the flag, and comes off as looking strong and genuine, her personal cred will be strong. She can go back to Alaska and try to run for the Senate against Begich in six years or something like that.
Let's not make the mistake of thinking Palin is dumb. You can't be dumb and get to where she is. There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity. She's ignorant, manifestly, but not at all stupid.
I know Biden's been cautioned that it's lose lose for him, and he may find it difficult to restrain himself from responding to various idiotic attacks. After all, there is quite a bit to be said for the Veep's role in being the No. 1 defender/wing man of the President. But he'd be more cautioned to wear lipstick himself, as it were, and be nice and ignore anything coming out of Palin's mouth and focus back on whatever the actual issue at hand is. Ignoring her, very very politely, would be the best way of avoiding stepping on any land mines and letting the vapidity of whatever line of attack she has dissipate of its own weight.