For Palin, catastrophe averted

BEFORE last night's vice presidential debate, expectations for Sarah Palin's performance could hardly have been lower. In fact, all she needed to claim a moral victory over Democratic counterpart Joe Biden was to avoid major gaffes, promote Republican candidate John McCain's agenda, and make a few jabs at the opposing ticket.

Palin met that undemanding standard, avoiding any immediate damage to her ticket's prospects.

Biden had a different task. The Delaware senator proved long ago that he can talk at length - and length and length - about a variety of issues. In this debate, he made a crisp case, articulating the nuances of ticket-mate Barack Obama's economic policy and connecting McCain's policies with those of George W. Bush.

Palin, meanwhile, needed to undo the damage from recent interviews with Charles Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS. In those settings, she sounded vague, ill-informed, and at times incoherent.

Last night, playing up her homespun image, she railed against Wall Street greed and urged American families not to live beyond their means. But after a while, the tape started to repeat. "Maverick," "a team of mavericks," "consummate maverick" - these have hollowed into mere talking points, yet Palin deployed them in place of policy detail.

Palin has shown some comfort in scripted settings and in last night's well-structured debate. She has yet to show voters she can deal with unexpected problems and less-than-friendly questions. Since McCain chose Palin five weeks ago, she has not held a single press conference. Last night's debate offered Palin a chance to put to rest some fundamental questions about her readiness to be vice president. And she failed to do so.