How To Win a Debate Without Really Trying

I'm seeing a lot of stuff like this from CNN:

[S]ince Biden was supposed to destroy Palin, and didn't even come close, this was a good night for the Republican.

As P.G. Wodehouse once wrote, "what frightful horse-radish."

Most of the talking heads now annoint debate winners not in terms of who actually performed better, but who performed above or below expectations. In this case, Sarah Palin didn't accidentally set the podium on fire as expected, so she won.

OK, here's my plan: I'm going to challenge Michael Phelps to a 100-meter butterfly. But first, I must tell you that I'm a terrible swimmer. I'm not sure I could finish a 100-meter race. There, now your expectations for my winning are pretty low, right? So, when I do eventually crawl out of the pool, you'll be surprised that I failed to drown.

Which will make me the winner. All I need to do is perform better than expected.

PS to Sarah: in a debate, you're really not supposed to say "I may not answer the questions...." It's a debate, the point of which is, well, that you answer the questions.

Sounds Vaguely Familiar

This from the Times rings a bell, somehow:

Interviews show that Ms. Palin runs an administration that puts a premium on loyalty and secrecy.

I've heard this about some other administration, but I just can't put my finger on it.

A few other tidbits:

• Palin has said that polar bears are not endangered and has sued the federal government to keep them off the endangered species list because doing so would hinder oil and gas exploration. She argued that the bears are well-managed and not in danger, and that "there is not enough evidence to support a listing." But email records show that the scientists who studied this for her concluded that the bears are in danger.
  
• She fired the Wasilla city attorney after he issued a stop-work order on a home being built by a campaign supporter.
  
• She ordered city employees not to talk to the press.
  
• The Wasilla high school yearbook now "now doubles as a veritable directory of state government."
  
• Ms. Palin and her staff used personal email accounts in order to work around possible subpoenas of official records.
  

Laura Chase, Palin's mayoral campaign manager, is quoted as saying, "I’m still proud of Sarah, but she scares the bejeebers out of me."

Me too.