Make a notation in your PDA of choice for Thursday night at 9 p.m. for the vice presidential debates between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. I’ll be here (sorry, I was on the road traveling last Friday night for the first presidential debate) ready at the enter key for the veep battle, and I will open a thread just before the show starts.

In the meantime, some reading material background for you to digest so you can have informed and intelligent comments (along with the usual barrage of partisan insults and snarky remarks). This is from the Marist Poll, full text after the jump:

This Marist Poll reports:

THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE:

WAIT AND SEE…NEARLY ONE IN FIVE VOTERS UNSURE
WHO WILL WIN VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE:
A plurality of registered voters nationwide — 45% — think Senator Joe Biden will beat his Republican opponent, Governor Sarah Palin, during Thursday night’s vice presidential debate while 36% think Palin will make the better showing.  However, close to one in five voters, including nearly a quarter of Independents, say they just don’t know which candidate will be victorious.  Republican and Democratic voters stand along party lines.  Regardless of whom they support, 71% of Democrats say Biden will win the debate while 66% of Republicans think Palin will.  By a difference of 6 percentage points — 41% to 35% — Independents believe Biden will win.

VOTERS DIVIDE…THINK BIDEN TO APPEAR MORE
INFORMED…PALIN MORE LIKEABLE:
Voters’ expectations differ when it comes to the candidate who will come across as more knowledgeable on the issues and the one who will leave a more likeable impression.  61% of registered voters nationally say Biden will have a greater understanding of the issues compared with just 28% for Palin.  Looking at the parties, Democrats stand strong behind their candidate.  84% think Biden will have a better grasp of the campaign’s key issues.  Although a majority of Republicans — 54% — believe Governor Palin will appear better informed than her Democratic rival, about a third of voters in her own party report Senator Biden will be more knowledgeable.  Independents agree with the Democrats.  61% of Independents believe Biden will show a greater depth of knowledge on the issues.

However, voters expect Palin to take top honors when it comes to likeability.  65% of registered voters believe she will come across as more likeable during Thursday’s debate while just 23% think Biden will present a more pleasant demeanor.  Even Democrats are divided on how likeable Biden will appear.  Just slightly more voters in Biden’s own party — 46% — are confident he will appear more likeable compared with 42% who think Palin will.  When it comes to the GOP, there’s no question where they stand.  89% of Republicans expect the Alaskan governor to appear more pleasant compared with 6% who anticipate Biden will.  Here, Independents agree with the Republicans.  Seven in ten Independents believe Palin will outshine her Democratic opponent in this way.

STILL TIME TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION?
Neither Joe Biden nor Sarah Palin are viewed favorably by a majority of voters.  49% of the national electorate says they have a favorable impression of Sarah Palin compared with 45% who have a positive image of Joe Biden.  But, 13% are still unsure how to rate Palin while 21% have yet to form an opinion of Biden.  38% have a negative of impression of Palin, and 34% view Biden unfavorably.

NATURE OF THE SAMPLE: 801 AMERICANS
This survey was conducted on September 24th and 25th, 2008.  801 adults 18 years of age or older within the continental United States were interviewed by telephone. Telephone numbers were selected based upon a list of telephone exchanges from throughout the nation.  The exchanges were selected to ensure that each region was represented in proportion to its population.  The results of the entire survey are statistically significant at +/-3.5%.  There are 693 registered voters.  The result for this sub-sample is statistically significant at +/-4%.  The margin for error increases for cross-tabulations.

• The latest on Fay.
• Down goes Pakistan’s Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
• Who’s it gonna be for V.P.?
• The candidates give their opinion on how much income makes you “rich”? Obama: $250,000. McCain: $5 million.
• Obama rakes in $51 million in July.
• Did McCain rip off one of his prison camp anecdotes?
• R.I.P. Jerry Wexler.
• The Bucs beat down the Patties.

It’s a boulder made of legos rolling down a hill.

• Ok, she’s really out. I think.
• The V.P. hunt begins.
• Obama vs. Lieberman.
• Oprah does the “happy dance” over Barack’s victory.
• You might want to avoid the Ellenton outlet mall for a few days. (Sorry Ham Gravy.)
• Go fuck your cousin! No, really, it’s OK.
• Heeeerrrrreeeeeessssssss foreclosure!
• The Red Wings win the cup.

All the slams against Crist’s veep appeal notwithstanding — he’s too moderate, he’s too “single,” his hair is whiter than what’s left of McCain’s — the buzz does seem to be getting a little louder. The Romney/ Jindal/ Crist face-off this weekend might be almost as much fun (or every bit as excruciating) as those ubiquitous Alltel battling-nerds ads.