Could the Vice Presidential debate really make a difference in the final outcome? This one has gotten more advance press coverage than the Presidential debate and will probably get a larger audience.  But will people be tuning in to see what the candidates really have to say, or will be just out of curiosity to see how Sarah Palin does on her own up against Joe Biden?

According to the latest poll from Rasmussen Reports, more than one third of the voters say the Vice Presidential debate will make a difference in how they vote. The proof will come with the first polls next Monday, but here is what the voters told Rasmussen.

Sarah Palin is going to have to be in top form because 54% said they believe Joe Biden is the better debater.  Now the Governor did very well in her debates with her rivals in the Alaska Governor’s election.  She showed a lot of poise and knew what she was talking about, but this is a different stage.  And when it comes to how important the Vice Presidential debate is, 34% said very important, 38% somewhat important, 22% not very important and 6% not important at all. That is 72% who consider the debate at least somewhat important in deciding how they will vote.

Many of the voters already have their minds made up as to who will be the biggest help to the ticket.  Palin has 43% who say she will and Biden 45% who say he will. One of the reasons Palin was chosen was to attract women who were Hillary Clinton supporters, but in this and in other polls the results show the opposite.   On the question of who would be the one to help his/her ticket the most, 50% of the men and 37% of the women said Palin while 37% of the men and 51% of the women pick Biden.  This is the one question that had a lot of undecided – 12% of the men and 12% of the women.

The poll also asked the voters to pick who the winner would be if there were to be a race for the Presidency between Biden and Palin.  In this case, it would be Biden 50%, Plain 40% with 11% undecided. Again, Palin does better with the men, 47% than with the women -33% and Biden does better with the women- 57% then with the men- 43%.

Now, it is time to sit back, watch the debate and wait for the next polls.  With just a month to go, and all of the recent events, anything could happen.