Sarah Palin blunders over talks with British ambassador that never took place as her first TV debate looms



Half of U.S. voters think John McCain is too old to be president



Sarah Palin has committed yet another political blunder after claiming she had held talks with a British ambassador - talks that never actually took place.

In an answer to questions about her foreign policy experience ahead of tonight's make-or-break vice presidential TV debate, her aides listed numerous contacts with foreign officials - including Britain's ambassador to Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald.

However the meeting never occurred. Officials at the embassy swiftly contacted the McCain-Palin campaign to inform them of the discrepancy.

A British Embassy spokesman said the error arose after Sir Nigel's name was listed among those who had attended a US Governor's meeting in July.

Blunder: Sarah Palin has been forced to apologise after she mistakenly claimed she had met with British ambassador Nigel Sheinwald at an event which he did not actually attend



Mrs Palin was at the meeting in her role as Governor of Alaska. However Sir Nigel pulled out at the last minute, leaving his name on the guest list.



The embarrassing mishap comes as Mrs Palin faces the biggest challenge of her political life tonight in a head-to-head vice-presidential debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden.



In what has been billed as the must-see TV event of the election campaign, the self-styled "pitbull in lipstick" has the future of John McCain's White House bid in her hands.

Senior Republicans acknowledge that - bearing in mind the Alaska governor's lack of political experience - an embarrassing performance before a TV audience of more than 50 million could kill off Mr McCain's campaign.

The debate comes as a new poll dealt a blow to the McCain campaign, showing that half of voters are uncomfortable with Mr McCain taking office at age 72.



Ms Palin goes up against Joe Biden tonight in a debate moderated by Gwen Ifill

Sixty per cent of those polled in total said Palin did not have the experience to be president, up from 45 per cent in a similar survey a month ago, the Washington Post/ABC News poll said.

But if the 44-year-old can hold her own against Mr Biden, 65, she will have gone a long way towards silencing her many critics.



Never before in the US election history has so much been riding on a single vice presidential debate.



Such is the interest in the moose-hunting mother of five from Alaska that her debate has almost grabbed as much attention in the US media as the struggle to sort out Wall Street.

TV executive Chuck Todd, political director for the NBC network, said: "Whether you're a fan of hers or not, it's a white-knuckle affair." It is mostly Republicans who have the white knuckles as they await the outcome of the 90-minute debate at Washington University in St Louis.

Concern has been mounting Mrs Palin does not have what it takes to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Scene setter: Two students help ready the set for tonight's showdown

She has faced widespread ridicule for the few interviews she has granted, including for citing Alaska's proximity to Canada and Russia as giving her foreign policy experience.

The debate will be the first time millions of Americans will have seen her in a question and answer forum.

Mrs Palin has spent 48 hours closeted at Mr McCain's ranch near Sedona, Arizona, to prepare for the contest. In particular she has undergone an intensive crash course in foreign policy - a perceived weak area that Democrats hope to exploit.

The encounter follows last week's first presidential debate between Mr Obama and Mr McCain. Opinion polls judged Mr Obama the winner, and the Illinois senator has since solidified his lead in national polls and gained ground on Mr McCain in some crucial battleground states.

A flurry of new surveys showed Obama with significant leads in traditional battlegrounds like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and building a solid edge in states like Virginia and Nevada where Democratic presidential contenders rarely do well.

Barack Obama, right, has taken a significant lead since his televised debate showdown with John McCain last week

Mr Obama has picked up steam during the crisis on Wall Street over the last two weeks, with polls showing voters preferring his economic leadership. Mr Obama and Mr McCain, an Arizona senator, voted for the $700 billion financial bailout in the Senate last night.

The television audience for the vice presidential debate on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, could surpass the 52 million who watched the debate between McCain and Obama last week and could become the most watched vice presidential debate ever.

The previous record was the nearly 57 million who watched the 1984 debate between then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, the current president's father, and Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman vice presidential nominee for a major party.

Ms Palin and Mr Biden have spent several days off the campaign trail to prepare. Ms Palin has been at Mr McCain's Arizona retreat and Mr Biden at home in Delaware.

Both camps have tried to drive up expectations for their opponent.

"I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade," Ms Palin, 44, told CBS News in a sly reference to their differences in age. "I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas -- and he's got the experience."

Obama aides said they have studied her debates during her 2006 campaign for governor of Alaska.

"Anyone who has watched any of her earlier debates would agree she is a skilled debater," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said.