He seems to remind some women of a husband or partner who puts them down in public when they don’t seem ‘smart’ enough,” Peckinpaugh said. “If Biden treats Palin in a sexist way, that could put the nail in his coffin and turn some undecided voters, particularly women, toward the McCain ticket.”
The Courant panelists point out that televised political debates are rarely about substance, but instead revolve around the nuances of personality that the audience detects. Relative unknowns like Palin have to establish a strong image that voters will remember until November. Veterans like Biden often have to recover from negative impressions from the past.
Foyle believes that one element of America’s changing media scene will be particularly important for Palin.
“I’ve seen a lot of credible research lately that a significant percentage of the public now gets its political information from entertainment shows — Jay Leno, ‘The View,’ ‘The Daily Show’ or Ellen DeGeneres,” Foyle said. “These are the places where Palin’s mistakes have been endlessly reviewed. So, her big assignment for Thursday night is simply avoiding giving ‘Saturday Night Live’ any new material.”
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