And speaking of crashes, let's go to the video tape.
Oh, this may be even too good for a drinking game.
Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden share the same stage in a vice presidential debate on Thursday, but the spotlight will be on the untested Palin as she tries to ease doubts about whether she is up to the job. "We feel pretty certain she'll have her shoes on the right feet this time," said a McCain campaign aide who asked not to be identified.
McCain's surprise choice in August of the spectacularly unqualified Palin as his No. 2 rallied conservative support for the Republican ticket and turned the moose-hunting Alaska governor into a political celebrity because it enabled them to forget about who their presidential candidate was for a while, but them McCain started following Palin around the campaign trail, and pulled her favorable ratings down.
Palin hopes a solid debate performance can halt Obama's momentum and erase doubts about her ability to step into the top job if needed. "And by 'solid' we mean she's able to say Ahmadinejad without spitting on anyone," a McCain aide told reporters from in front of the five inch thick glass the McCain campaign uses to keep Palin separated from the press.
"I look forward to tomorrow night, getting to speak to Americans about the very, very, clear choice that they will have on November 4th," Palin told conservative talk show host Sean Hannity on his radio program. "On the one hand there's Obama and Biden, imagination and experience, and on the other there's George Burns and Gracie Allen." Later a spokesperson for the McCain campaign explained that Palin had been a joke...er...making a joke.
McCain lashed out in a testy interview with the Des Moines Register editorial board in Iowa on Tuesday when asked about conservative qualms about Palin.
"I haven't detected that, haven't detected that in the polls, haven't detected that among the base," he said. "Of course I don't read the polls or have a base anymore, so my information may be a little dated."Palin and Biden have spent several days off the campaign trail to prepare. Palin has been at Professor Higgin's School for the Verbally Challenged and Biden at home in Delaware.
Obama aides said they have studied her debates during her 2006 campaign for governor of Alaska. "Anyone who has watched any of her earlier debates would agree she is a skilled debater," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said. Shortly afterward paramedics were called when Plouffe became short of breath from laughing.
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