Their advice for Sarah Palin is simple.

Those who know Palin, and have watched her swift rise from small-town mayor to Alaska governor to history-making vice presidential nominee, say she needs to be herself in her debate Thursday with Joe Biden -- even if it means slipping up or appearing to fall out of step with John McCain's campaign.

"What I would tell her is ... Let Sarah be Sarah," Palin's former pollster David Dittman told FOXNews.com.

But Palin's talents as an orator, and as a debater, are well established in Alaska. Those who crossed paths with her during her successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign extol her ability to speak plainly and convincingly and connect with ordinary people.

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Those long Alaskan nights must just fly by.

Then again, perhaps she ought to take a tip from Biden and "borrow" a speech from a Brit politican to pass off as her own.

I know that Palin has been compared to our own dear Maggie Thatcher and it is true that Maggie had very little experience before climbing to the top of the greasy pole.

However, inexperienced or not, it was always clear that Maggie had a razor sharp mind. This doesn't come across with Palin.

Thatcher also had the good sense to surround herself with equally sharp minded experts where as Palin seems to prefer surrounding herself with old school friends.