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ST. LOUIS?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.
The lone match-up of the vice presidential contenders before the Nov. 4 election promises more than the usual drama, most of it supplied by Palin?s debut in an unscripted format.
The encounter could draw a larger television audience than the 52 million who watched last week?s first debate between the presidential candidates?Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
McCain?s surprise choice in August of the relatively unknown Palin as his No. 2 rallied conservative support for the Republican ticket and turned the moose-hunting Alaska governor into a political celebrity.
But her lack of national experience and her hesitant performance in rare media interviews have raised doubts about her readiness and prompted criticism even from some prominent conservatives.
CBS interview
In an interview aired on Tuesday on ?The CBS Evening News,? Palin repeatedly failed to cite a newspaper or magazine when asked what she had read regularly before McCain picked her as his running mate, saying only that she had read ?most of them.?
Anchor Katie Couric asked Palin what publications she had read to stay informed and to understand the world.
?I?ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media,? Palin replied. Asked for examples, she said, ?Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.?
Asked again for an example, Palin told Couric: ?I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn?t a foreign country, where it?s kind of suggested, ?Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, DC, may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?? Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.?
Palin has only agreed to a handful of interviews by major news media since joining the Republican ticket nearly five weeks ago and has not held a news conference.
Obama?s momentum
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. McCain, 72, would be the oldest president to begin a first term.
In a Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Thursday, 60 percent of the voters surveyed said Palin did not have the experience to be president, up from 45 percent in a similar survey a month ago.
Reports from Reuters and AP
