Concerns about Palin's readiness as test looms

Ms. Palin is getting ready for the debate at a time of enormous uncertainty about a highly complicated issue, the unfolding crisis on Wall Street, which makes preparing for the face off especially hard.

And the McCain campaign appears to be leaving nothing to chance. Ms. Palin will spend her preparation time at Mr. McCain’s vacation compound in Sedona, with her husband and children. She is practicing for the debate with Steve Beigun, a former staff member of Mr. Bush’s National Security Council; Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy aide; Mark Wallace, a deputy campaign manager for Mr. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign; and Ms. Wallace, who was a communications director in the Bush White House.

“This debate will probably determine her political persona for the rest of the campaign,” said Saul Anuzis, the Republican chairman of Michigan. “I expect Palin to show the country she is capable, articulate and has the leadership skills necessary to serve.”

Katon Dawson, the Republican chairman of South Carolina, said the debate was important to clear up what he described as misapprehensions about her created by “a pile-on by the media elite.”

“You don’t have this kind of negative, media attack without a question mark being put up,” he said. “She’s going to have a chance to erase that question mark.”

But Mike Murphy, who used to work as a senior adviser to Mr. McCain, said Ms. Palin’s performance in the campaign had underlined his argument that she was a bad choice for Mr. McCain. Mr. Murphy said he was skeptical that she could turn it around in one debate.

“She has the opportunity to undo some of the damage with a very strong debate performance,” he said. “That’s plausible. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

The rapid change in fortunes has led some Republicans to question the decision by Mr. McCain’s advisers to restrict her exposure to unscripted settings — town-hall-style meetings, news conferences or interviews — saying such events would have helped her prepare her for such high-profile interviews as the one with Ms. Couric, and the debate.

“I disagree with the campaign’s approach,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican consultant. “I think they ought to toss her into the deep end from the outset; let her get it over quickly. Everything else after that is, you’ve seen the elephant.”

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Ms. Palin has traveled with a briefing team since Sept. 10. Two people close to the campaign, addressing her difficulties, said she had been stuffed with facts as if preparing for an oral exam and had become nervous and unnatural in the few interviews.

Advisers said she was a diligent worker and was frequently up until the small hours of the morning in her hotel room trying to cram as much information as possible before the debate.

“I think she has to be careful not to be overprogrammed for the debate,” said Robert T. Bennett, the Ohio Republican chairman. “I think she’s a lot brighter than people are giving her credit for.”

Elisabeth Bumiller and Patrick Healy contributed reporting.

This article, Concerns about Palin's Readiness as a Big Test Nears, first appeared in The New York Times.

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