ABC’s Charlie Gibson scored a major media coup last Friday, when senior McCain adviser Steve Schmidt offered him exclusive access to Republican vice presidential pick Sarah Palin. Despite essentially being an unknown candidate, Palin has yet to participate in any major interviews.

Since Friday’s announcement, every media outlet worth its salt has released its own list of suggested questions for Gibson to ask Palin. Google “questions to ask Sarah Palin” and you’ll get 289,000 hits. The voting public is hungry to get straight answers from Palin. Hundreds of readers submitted questions to ABC’s World News blog, and NPR got more than 800 suggestions on its own blog post when it called for questions. At one point yesterday, the blog’s monitors, who approve each comment, said they were completely overwhelmed by readers’ submissions.

Some writers have imagined the entire interview, like Slate’s media critic Jack Shafer, who even suggests follow-up questions for Gibson to ask when Palin starts getting evasive with the original question line.

This assumes, of course, that Gibson will ask hard-hitting questions. He has every reason to do so, because he was soundly criticized for the Democratic primary debate he co-anchored that critics claim avoided substantive topics.

But sometimes realities get in the way of one’s best intentions. Gibson will interview Palin multiple times on Thursday and Friday, so he can’t begin with tough topics. The McCain camp has a notably itchy “cancel” finger—it stopped the candidate’s interview with today’s premier softball question tosser, Larry King, after fellow CNN anchor Campbell Brown pushed McCain advisor Tucker Bounds about Sarah Palin’s leadership experience. Charlie Gibson also has a relationship with the McCain campaign, which Gibson has a strong interest to preserve. He  was the only major network anchor to secure an interview with John McCain during the Republican National Convention.

ABC World News Executive Producer Jon Banner said all questions were on the table for the Gibson/Palin interview. But when it comes to interviewing, it’s all about how you phrase the questions you ask. We have a prediction of what Gibson is working on during his flight up to Alaska. Here are 10 questions undoubtedly on his list.

1. Tell me about the triumphs you’ve had as a working mother, balancing political life with home life. What additional triumphs do you expect to experience as Vice President?

2. You speak frequently of the change you and John McCain will bring to Washington. As a proven reformer in your home state of Alaska, which of your qualities will be most effective in bringing change to our nation’s capital?

3. As governor of Alaska, you have executive experience—something Barack Obama doesn’t have. Why aren’t you running for president?

4. Your 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant. How excited will you be when you become a grandmother?

5. John McCain is one of this country’s great war heroes and patriots. How has he inspired your son Track as he prepares to deploy to Iraq and fight extremists?

6. Voters look for a Vice President with foreign policy experience. Talk us through your decision-making process when you were picking between a Russian and Chinese restaurant.

7. Faith in God strengthens us and keeps us going when times are tough. How important is your faith to you?

8. At age 44, you have an infant with Down Syndrome. Isn’t he just the cutest?

9. Will global warming and the melting of polar ice caps make it easier for us to drill for oil in Alaska?

10. How thrilling is it when you’re eating fresh moose that you hunted yourself?

Sarah Palin may have played basketball in high school, but she’ll be able to hit these softballs out of the park.

Tags: ABC, Charlie Gibson, sarah palin, softballs for sarah palin