How do you solve a problem like Sarah Palin?

The Alaska governor has become a drag on her ticket; strategists who've worked with vice presidents and hopefuls on both sides offer advice on how to relaunch the Palin brand.

Editor's note: You can find Salon's complete coverage of Sarah Palin here.

By Alex Koppelman and Gabriel Winant

Read more: John McCain, Politics, News, Joseph Biden, 2008 election, Alex Koppelman, Sarah Palin, Gabriel Winant

Oct. 2, 2008 | Only weeks ago, Sarah Palin seemed like an unstoppable force of nature. Propelled by the success of her convention speech, she gave John McCain a boost in the polls, injected much-needed enthusiasm into his campaign and struck fear into the hearts of Democrats.

Now, the honeymoon is over. Poll after poll has shown voters' opinion of the Alaska governor in steep decline, and she may be dragging McCain down with her. A series of disastrous interviews has made her a figure of ridicule and pity. Practically every opinion-maker on the right seems to have offered an opinion on the flaws in the McCain campaign's Palin strategy. One prominent conservative columnist, writing for the National Review, even asked her to bow out of the race.

So, with the first vice-presidential debate looming Thursday night, Salon went to the experts -- people with experience working at a senior level for a vice-president or vice-presidential hopeful -- to get their take on Palin. How can the Republicans relaunch this flawed product? What should she do at the debate? And, more important, what should their strategy be for the month still left between now and Election Day? Is it a good idea to keep shielding her from the media, and if not, to whom should she be giving interviews? What should she say on the stump?

Weighing in were:

• Mark Gearan, campaign manager for Sen. Al Gore's vice-presidential campaign in 1992
• Dan Gerstein, national press secretary for Sen. Joe Lieberman's vice-presidential campaign in 2000
• Ron Kaufman, national campaign director of then-Vice President George H.W. Bush's 1984 re-election campaign, former national political director of the Republican National Committee, currently Republican National Committeeman for Massachusetts and co-chair of the finance committee at the Republican Governor's Association
• Kenneth Khachigian, chief speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, traveled with Dan Quayle for 10 weeks during 1988 campaign and helped him prep for debates, national senior advisor and California campaign director for Sen. Bob Dole in 1996 and for McCain in 2000
• Mark Kornblau, press secretary for Sen. John Edwards' vice-presidential campaign in 2004, national spokesman and senior advisor for communications for Edwards' 2008 presidential run
• Alixe Mattingly, press secretary for Sen. Jack Kemp's vice-presidential campaign in 1996
• Lisa Schiffren, speechwriter for then-Vice-President Dan Quayle, contributor to "The Corner," a National Review Online blog

On Palin's performance, and the McCain campaign's Palin strategy so far: Schiffren:I think the criticisms of the McCain campaign are basically correct. Here's the one question I have: I question to what extent this is the McCain campaign and to what extent it's the handlers they gave her.

One of the worst things about the political side of the Bush presidency is that they've essentially kept him sequestered. There are these candidates -- Palin is one, Bush is one and Quayle was one -- that have an amazing ability to connect with voters. Not all voters, but the ones they need. [But] they're not intellectuals. They're plenty smart, they're just not intellectuals. And these handlers get a little spooked about how they're going to sound talking to Jim Lehrer.

[The reason we know who these people are is] because they can connect with voters. I have to presume that's the case with Sarah Palin. This woman got elected governor of Alaska. This woman is a serious politician. So I find it just appalling that they won't let her out there.

She doesn't have a Washington insider's mastery of the jargon and the details. That's okay; that's something John McCain knew and thought was okay. But in order to mitigate her deficiencies, they have also managed to stifle her virtues, and that's idiotic.

Gerstein: They've created a perception problem for her. And by hiding her, they've raised suspicions that she's not ready, and that she can't even handle talking to reporters. Which raises questions about how she can handle negotiating with leaders on the world stage -- if you're scared of Chris Matthews, how are you gonna go up against Putin?

But I think what it also did is that what she said and did became dissected under a magnifying glass, to an extent that it was really setting her up to fail. And I think they would have been much better off rolling her out gradually, to recognize that she has to face the scrutiny sooner rather than later and take advantage of her natural likeability, and you know, raw political talents ... [P]eople are reasonable, they're not going to expect that she's going to know the name of every world leader the moment she was picked to be McCain's running mate.

Mattingly: I think she’s had a great couple of weeks ... I think she’s changed the dynamic of this race, she put energy into it, she’s connecting to the average American voter, certainly in a way that Joe Biden isn’t. The scrutiny has been really intense, but you know, at the end of the day, people don’t vote for the bottom of the ticket, they vote for the top of the ticket. She’ll get the post-debate bounce, and put her right back up there on the hustings as an effective campaigner. I’m speaking to you as somebody who now lives in California, I’m not affiliated with the campaign, I think she’s a phenom. On how to deal with the media -- or not: Kaufman: They have not done enough local media -- I would not do any national media whatsoever. Back when I was doing this in 1980 and 1984 [for George H. W. Bush] every time we went to a media market we did local media, and it really has impact. And then you get the national stuff anyway. Each time you go to a local media market, you set up interviews with all the local anchors. You get better coverage, you get more coverage, and they permeate better ... When you do that, let the national media whine -- where's it written in the Constitution that the national guys have to get time? Schiffren: I think she should do local media everywhere. I don't know that you want to put her up against Katie Couric. Katie's entire goal is going to be to prove that she's smart and not a pushover, and that's going to cut against any candidate like Palin. You send her to talk to the people who -- in every city and state, there are people who host the more serious local news. They have questions, and they will give her breathing space to express herself. Kornblau: If I were her press secretary and it was clear to me that she couldn't withstand the media scrutiny and answer the tough questions in a way that could serve McCain well, I guess I'd be left with no other option than try to hide under the desk until November and not get called on it. But you do reach a point in an election where there's really a responsibility on the part of the media to call them on it.

Most vice-presidential candidates ... are accessible to the media on a daily basis. They do as many local interviews as possible. One of the most important things that they can bring to a campaign is doubling the surface area that the ticket can cover.

Gerstein: I think at some point -- I couldn't tell you right now whether this is the right call to do before the debate -- she should have had a full-bore press conference. I don't think it's a question of going on one venue or doing one interview. But I think they've been so single-minded in defending her readiness for office, it doesn't meet the laugh test. It's hurt her credibility.

Next page: "I have sort of a dream closing statement for her"