The conctration on Biden misfiring against Palin is the wrong way to analyze tonight's debate. It's all about Biden. If he achieves his own goals, Palin doesn't matter.

The media's focus has been on the tantalizing prospect of Governor Palin embarrassing herself or, on the other hand, outperforming expectations.

This is fallacy. Sure, Palin will help herself by a good performance and hurt herself by a bad one.

But regardless of her performance, this thing is all about Senator Biden. If he doesn't knock this one out of the park on this particular night, one has to wonder about his preparation and judgment.

All he has to do is:

1. Stay serious because 90% of his gaffes come from his lighter side. He has a hard time making a joke without saying something offensive. If he uses humor at all it should be a carefully planned remark from which he does not stray even by a syllable.
2. Avoid any criticism of Palin. If Palin is going to blow it, she's going to do it herself, not as a result of anything Biden can say.
3. Hammer the Bush/McCain Economy. Tonight is precisely the right night for a debate. Biden is tougher and more direct than Obama and can drive home the obvious theme of a failed Bush administration that has led to the very thng America perceives to be catostrophically wrong with our economy at this very moment.
4. Hammer on Change. Quit using the stupid phrase "main street" and talk directly about the hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, the shrinking retirement accounts, the irresponsible & unregulated Wall Street gang, the unending war, and the sense of the country's "wrong track" on every issue. This is Biden's night to attack McCain and Bush and to resonate Obama's change message in real terms.
5. Calmly Demonstrate His Superior Knowledge. When not hammering on change (which should be about 10% of the time) he should calmly demonstrate his qualifications and superior knowledge by simply and confidently answering questions directly and wisely. If Palin is unable to match it, that's her problem, but not his concern.

Whether or not Palin is a disaster or a surprising success, Biden will win this debate by following the above guidelines. On any other night, this might not work. But with the country spinning in uncertainty and anger toward Bush, it is a sure fire winner.