As John McCain's campaign carefully orchestrates a tightly held press unveiling of Sarah Palin to the media, the interviewers allowed to ask Palin questions are carefully vetted not for their journalistic integrity, but by how well they will shape Palin's image with viewers.

McCain first chose ABC News' Charlie Gibson because he's known for not exactly asking hard (or relevant) questions. Then they pushed Palin to Fox News' Sean Hannity, where, following MSNBC's tactic with Barack Obama, the network offered to fluff her seat cushions before beginning the softball Q&A. And then came Katie Couric, whose womanhood was intended to lend a softness to Palin's ball-busting image.

So, in the eyes of media on-lookers, who came out on top? So far, just Gibson and Couric. While Hannity put out the tea and biscuits for Palin, Gibson and Couric completed friendly tete-a-tetes — complete with walk-and-talk segments — that earned them the respect of their peers by doing one simple thing:

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Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin last night confirmed what many already feared: That for all the McCain-fueled vitriol towards the media for portraying her as some sort of dumb hockey mom, she doesn't know more than the Mighty Ducks when it comes to foreign policy. Palin did as expected: She dodged questions, filled her answers with vague postulating, and eventually forced Gibson to explain to her just what the hell he was talking about. Though big ups to Charlie for holding his own, and making sure viewers were aware that she didn't have a clue on what, say, the Bush Doctrine is, before he had to tell her about it. To be fair, George Bush would have probably been queasy on the question too.

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