The Vice Presidential debate is scheduled for Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at St. Louis University. The two candidates, Governor Sarah Palin, Republican, and Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat, are deep into rehearsals for the event. Their staffs are shooting questions at them that are likely to be asked by the moderator, and a team of media experts are evaluating their answers and suggesting improvements.

It is an event that only happens once every four years. The tens of millions of people who will be watching the debate will be polled as soon as the debate is over, and they, along with pundits and pollsters, will pick the perceived winner. The winner will get a boost in his or her standing in the polls and generate enthusiasm among likely voters. More enthusiasm allows a campaign to raise more money and attract more volunteers, two essentials for winning an American election.

Where Do Questions Come From?

The questions are divided between foreign and domestic policy, but specific questions are chosen by the moderator, in this case, Gwen Ifill of “The NewsHour” and “Washington Week” of Public Television. Ifill moderated the Cheney-Edwards Vice Presidential debate in 2004. More people are expected to tune in this year because of the high interest in this campaign and the economic crisis facing the country.

More than 50 million people watched the first presidential debate on September 26th, 2008, but interest in Governor Palin’s candidacy could boost viewership even higher. Gwen Ifill, the moderator, says her goal is to help viewers learn something about the candidates they didn’t know before. She gets questions from people everywhere she goes. Colleagues suggest questions. So do viewers, people at her gym and folks she meets on the street. She politely takes them all, recognizing she has no monopoly on wisdom, but it doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll actually use them.

The candidates are not told which questions they will be asked and they usually are given two minutes for each of their answers, a brief time for rebuttal and, at the discretion of the moderator, two minutes for mutual discussion. Candidates can ask each other questions and also have a chance to make short final statements. The debate takes place over a 90 minute period without commercial interruptions.

What national policy questions would you like to see Governor Palin answer? You can submit your questions to the comments page and we will pass them along. To get your juices going, here are our choices of questions, divided into foreign and domestic policy areas, that you might want to send to Gwen Ifill at CSPAN or to any of the news anchors on TV networks carrying Thursday’s debate. All major networks will carry the debate. Or, you can leave your questions on our website and we will mail them in to the moderator for you before the debate.

Foreign Policy Questions

Here are our questions, based on a review of the previous statements and positions of Governor Palin.

• Governor, you have been heard saying to President Peres of Israel, in your recent meeting with him at the United Nations in New York that, “The only flag at my office is an Israeli flag, and I want you to know and I want Israelis to know that I am a friend.” What did you mean by that, and do you think you could participate in negotiations for a lasting peace in the Middle East, given your expressed partisanship toward Israel?
• Please explain to us your foreign policy credentials. In the past, you’ve spoken of trade missions between Russia and Alaska. But recent reports from Alaska have said there aren’t any trade missions and there haven’t been any for many years. Are there any other foreign interactions that you have had with Russian diplomats or other foreign officials in your official capacities as Governor or Mayor?
• You have said that Alaska is a first line of defense against Russian invasion of the US air, water or ground space. Governor, what do you know about the national air-ground defenses of the United States, and what vulnerabilities at our borders concern you?
• You have used the fact that you can see Russia from your bedroom window and monitor whether Russian planes or people on the ground are invading Alaskan airspace or territory, as an indication of your foreign policy experience. Would you care to explain how that prepares you for a role in international affairs and making foreign policy decisions?
• Today we face more challenges around the world than in recent memory. In addition to the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Pakistan, Venezuela, North Korea, and China present challenges to us. How do you see us engaging in meeting these challenges in the next four years? What would your priorities be? And what should be the goals of our diplomatic missions and assistance?
• You have spoken about the war on terror and the need for the US to take the fight to any and all who wish to destroy us at home. Who are those people that we should be prepared to fight and what do you mean by “taking the fight to them?” Another part of that question that you have spoken about is bringing our American way of life to other cultures. Should we be doing that with guns and bombs or some other ways?
• You told Katie Couric in your recent interview that the US has achieved victory in Iraq and now we can turn our attention to Afghanistan more completely. According to Senator McCain your running mate, we will continue to occupy Iraq for many years to come. What is the purpose of the continued occupation of that country if the war is won?
• You visited the United Nations in New York, last week. Do you think we should continue to support and work through that organization? What are the pluses and minuses of working with the UN? How does NATO help us in ways that the UN does not?
• Governor Palin, the US is a party to a number of multinational global treaties and conventions covering weapons of mass destruction, the environment, nuclear non-proliferation, treatment of prisoners of war, maritime safety, and many more. Are there some of these you favor more than others?
• There is a global effort underway to increase literacy in the world, especially in less developed and more rural societies where the literacy rates are low. Based on your experience as the mayor of a small, rural town, in what ways should the US contribute to this worldwide effort? Should we be doing more to encourage learning to read by children and adults? What are some ways you favor?

Domestic Policy Issues

• Governor Palin, we find ourselves in an economic crisis of historic proportions. Banks are going out of business and Wall St. is rocking and rolling. Hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs, and a million people have lost their homes. Credit has frozen up and kids can’t get their school loans, and pensions are shrinking in value. Money is tight, gas is high, food is high, and consumers have stopped buying anything else they can do without. How do we resolve this credit crunch and the pain people are feeling on Main Street?
• Given our economic contraction, how can we continue to fight two wars and lead the global fight against terrorism while giving people in our communities hope that their economic future will be secure, that they will have better jobs, healthcare, access to education, and homes they can afford? This is what we used to call the American way of life.
• Many seniors depend on their monthly social security checks, yet your running mate, Senator McCain has said he would like to privatize social security. Do you think we should do that?
• A lot of single mothers are working two and three jobs to make ends meet. Yet, when you were Mayor of Wasilla, sexual assault victims were charged for the cost of rape kits and forensic examinations. What was your thinking that to cut costs-a few thousand dollars a year- assault victims were made to pay instead of insurance companies? One result of billing rape victims was to discourage women from reporting sexual assaults and to protect their attackers. We know that the Alaska State Legislature approved a bill to stop this practice in 2000, but please explain why this policy was followed under your leadership.
• You have said that you would like to see Creationism taught in classrooms side by side with the teaching of evolutionary science. Do you believe that teaching creationism is scientifically comparable to the study of evolution? What is the scientific proof for that, the studies and reports that show that creationism is as powerful a way to explain observed reality as scientific evolution?
• As governor, you recently sued the Interior Department to keep the polar bear — the symbol of your state - from being listed as a threatened species under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. You argued that additional protections might inhibit oil and gas drilling and pipeline construction in the region. Are you prepared to sacrifice any species of wildlife to your drive to drill for more oil and gas in Alaska, even when scientists say that many animal and bird species depend on scavenging bear kills for food, and that bears are a keystone species and their value to biodiversity can’t be overstated?
• Finally, what is your perspective on the fact that 47 million people have no health insurance, and many more who are losing their jobs in record numbers right now, can’t afford to buy health services. What would you do about this problem as vice president, a heartbeat away from the presidency?

Do you have a question you would like to have Governor Palin answer? Write it down as a comment and we will submit these questions to Gwen Ifill, moderator of the vice presidential debate. But please submit your question by 12:00, Thursday, October 2nd, 2008.