As I wait for the debate

At work we were discussing tonight's Vice Presidential debate, and we noted that Palin's goal should be to not look like a total idiot, and Biden's should be not to come across as a condescending ass. Both of them could achieve their goals by not saying a word throughout the debate. Not one word from either of them the whole night.*

Biden had better not underestimate Palin. Now I'm reading that her strategy will be Rule 1 from How to Fight Like Karl Rove: Attack, Attack, Attack. If she attacks, living up to her barracuda / pit bull reputation, how will Biden respond? The concern is not that he will look like a meanie in this case; the concern is that he will flub his attack and pull out some of the gaffes for which he is justly famous.

Seventeen minutes until it begins...


**There's something about the end strategy in a certain type of bicycle race hovering on the edge of my consciousness here, something I read in a magazine 18 years ago or so, involving two racers maintaining a solid pace until the final lap, and then freezing just before the sprint to the finish line, because whoever started that final lap first would always end last. I know nothing about bicycle racing, or why or how this strategy would work - something about muscle fatigue, I think, and long and short muscle. But I dunno. Anyone?