John Nefflinger Has the Palin/Biden Nightmare Scenario:

And it's this: that Palin does well for herself, fighting to even a draw, and Biden tries to drop the hammer on her and misses wildly, building up her public sympathy.

It could happen. Expectations are so low for her tonight that she almost can't help but beat them, and as Nefflinger points out, she is aided

by a regimented debate format, because unlike in the wide-ranging interviews she has flubbed, there is usually much less room for follow-up questions to try to pin her down. Put all this together and you see it was no fluke that Palin did well in her gubernatorial debates.

Can't disagree, especially if she uses the sort of "folksy anecdote, segue, talking points" style that generally dominates American political debates. She may do better than anybody expects.

Not that I think it'll really help McCains' sagging poll numbers, but it is something to consider.