we beat up each other every day in the United States Senate

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/08/the-perfect-palin-response.aspx

Today in Green Bay, Biden effectively dismantled this notion. Noting that "it's 2008" and not some sort of "time warp," the Democratic No. 2 reminded his audience that "there are an awful lot of very, very accomplished women holding office that I debate, and we beat up each other every day in the United States Senate." He continued: "Try debating Barbara Mikulski. Try debating Barbara Boxer. Try debating Olympia Snowe. So the idea that there's a woman and somehow we go, 'Oh my god, I don't know how to deal with this'... the only guys who think that way have never been around strong women." He'll assume, he said, that Palin is "as smart as I am, as thorough as I am, and knows as much as I do"--and that's that. "She's going to have to answer questions," he added. By tackling the specter of sexism head on, Biden has cleverly reframed the debate. It's not "sexist" to hit Palin hard, he's saying. Instead, it's sexist to pull punches, show her deference and treat her any differently than he would treat, say, John McCain. By repeating this line of reasoning ad nauseam until Palin actually engages with voters and reporters, Obama and Co. would be conditioning the country to take offense if they DON'T go after her with their usual gusto, not if they do. Who knows if that's enough to overcome what Cottle calls "all those stupid, gut-level, subconscious, knee-jerk instincts that would lead voters to feel protective" of Palin when she winds up on the receiving end of one of Biden's bloviations. But it's a start.