Palin has a plan, it seems. She will paint herself as the gal next door. While she’s not bright in comparison to the more cerebral fraction of the Washington crowd, not bright in comparison to the regular posters here, left or right, and not bright as in knows her way around Milton Friedman or Hume or organic chemistry, she’s bright enough that the average voter will recognize that she’s brighter than he/she is, and thus, plenty bright enough. [ahem!]

Attacks on her intelligence are likely to backfire, because they are implicitly a dismissal of all those yet less gifted, which is the majority. Majority. MAJORITY. As in, she wins if the other side plays that game.

Snide, bitter, and almost certainly unfounded attacks on her marriage are another losing tactic. This may be all in good fun among those who dislike her or just recognize that she isn’t presidential timber, but again, it will be seen as a snide and condescending attack on all marriages involving a manly man and a woman who has an overtly feminine side. Many a man considers himself manly, many a woman considers herself feminine. This sort of talk gratifies the trash-talker but it costs votes.

Attacks on her judgment, experience, authenticity, and factual knowledge will be more likely to gain traction. As to authenticity, my previous post in this very thread is a start. As to factual knowledge, the game plan for any opponent has to be to constantly set up situations where she has to demonstrate knowledge of some widely known fact that she probably doesn’t know.

There are rhetorical dodges people use to get off the hook in such situations and it takes skill to force the issue without appearing rude.

Senator Biden, can you please tell us how much 9 times 8 is? If he doesn’t know, he can dismiss the question with a how dare you!

As to experience, well, she was short on experience the last time around and she’s done nothing to improve her standing in the meantime.