Veep debate to bring huge audience

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By Joseph Curl

ST. LOUIS — ST. LOUIS -- Millions of Americans are expected to tune in Thursday night to the high-stakes debate between usual-also-rans of the presidential contest: the candidates for vice president.

The spin has been intense from both sides.

First, Democrats portrayed her as a small-time mayor from the nation's most remote state, a one-time beauty queen who was wholly unworthy of becoming vice president of the United States.

Now, though, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is a wily political tactician, skilled in the sublime art of debate and fully able to go head-to-head with one of the Senate's most cerebral veterans, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.

What happened? Simple - a vice-presidential debate is scheduled for Thursday, and the time-honored tactic is to talk up your opponent's prowess in hopes of lowering expectations for your own performance.

"You've got to build up expectations so you can knock them down. That's the way the game is played, but fortunately, it's only played by people who know better. Nobody else takes it seriously," said Steve Hess, a longtime presidential historian who was a White House speechwriter for President Eisenhower.

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Despite the posturing, there is little doubt that Mrs. Palin must answer the question: Is she qualified to be a heartbeat away from being the next commander in chief?