Watering Down the VP Debate

It seems that the McCain campaign fought hard to have a strict Q&A-type format for the the VP debate between Biden and Palin. Why?

McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms.
Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the
defensive.

It’s too bad she couldn’t see Joe Biden from her house. Because then she’d be an expert on him and know just what to say in the debates.