Palin vs. Biden VP Debate Under Large Scrutiny Tonight

After a week of bad news for the John McCain camp, many experts expect it to get worse tonight. The highly anticipated vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin may be Palin's latest last chance to make a positive impact on the Republican ticket. For Biden, who has been almost invisible in the race compared to Palin, Obama and McCain, he can make his mark and provide even more momentum for his ticket in the debate. But most eyes will not be on Biden in the debate, as Palin's skill or lack of it will be under watchful eye.

Soon after joining the ticket, Palin instantly gave McCain a big boost after the Republican convention. But over the last few weeks, as Palin's gaffs in interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric have cost her in the polls, and as other media pundits criticize her for not taking news conferences, Palin's standing has dropped significantly.

According to the Baltimore Sun, a new poll from the Pew Research Center has only 37% of pollsters say Palin is qualified to be president. This is down from a 52% majority in favor of Palin in early September. Ironically, it is women who feel more likely in this poll that Palin is unqualified.

For Biden, the veteran senator from Delaware, the same poll has pollsters agreeing that he is more qualified to be president by a 3-1 margin.

But Biden has had several gaffs of his own that have not gotten the same backlash of Palin's. In past weeks, Biden has said some questionable things like how "FDR got on television" during the Great Depression, and admitting to not seeing an anti-McCain attack ad that he had criticized.

Because of the Palin factor, Biden has largely gotten off with little attention or criticism from the public and media. But tonight, any gaffs either running mate makes will be welcome media fodder as the press takes a break from hyping the economic crisis.