UPDATE: Good discussion in the comments. I think we can say with assurance it all will depend on which Sarah Palin shows up Thursday night: the one who has been less than impressive in the mainstream media interviews, or this one. I will admit, not being able to name which newspapers you read is the very definition of stifled.
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It was made evident in the first debate that John McCain revealed Barack Obama’s understanding of international relations to be puerile at best, yet Obama seems to have been judged winner according to the early polls (polls towards the end of this week will be more instructive). What this tells us is the general public is not looking for facts but rather presentation.
More specifically, authenticity.
Barack Obama can say he visited 57 states and would sit down face to face with the leaders of Iran and North Korea, and the public gives him a pass because he says it mellifluously. The bar is not set too high.
So with regard to Sarah Palin’s apparent current task to memorize a host of McCain talking points, I suggest two adjustments which will give her more room to operate and free her of the burden to be a Chatty-Kathy doll for the McCain campaign.
1) Be able to say what she thinks, and if it diverges from the talking points, respond “John and I are almost on the same page but I will try to bring him over to my point of view.” She has done this well on the topic of ANWR.
2) If asked something she doesn’t know about, say “I never took statistics but I learned to have excellent statisticians on staff for the information I need to make a decision” or some such.
Barack Obama clearly will need to be blanketed with knowledgeable experts in order to make decisions above the pay grade of a community organizer.
Sarah Palin, who presumably will have the opportunity afforded every vice president for some on the job observation (men apparently assumed by the mainstream media to be more adept at this than women), would not be immediately stripped of her Cabinet if John McCain became disabled. So she and Obama would be on equal footing.
Oh, and there is also
3) Hey McCain campaign: Ease up on the force-fed talking points. You are falling in the polls, (after Sept 30 that link will be meaningless so don’t click) so might as well allow your VP nominee to say whatever the hell she wants. Let her go off the reservation. Let her contradict you completely. She connects with the voters in a way that you don’t.
We’ve seen how the “schooling Sarah” strategy has worked. It diminished a key asset of your campaign. Screw the McCain platform. Let the woman talk and even be a renegade VP.
Like it or not, this is “American Idol” America: Thus we have Barack Obama.
The McCain campaign needs some style points and I respectfully submit that John McCain ain’t gonna deliver the goods. Sarah could deliver the goods in an avalanche if you take the blinders and shackles off her. Let her go off the reservation. It’s the only way she can do what you brought her on board for.
Plenty of Americans who won’t vote for John McCain will vote for Sarah Palin.
The second CBS interview looks to be even worse than the first, which says a lot considering rumors abound that clips of the first interview to be released Wed and Thursday are even more damaging…..not being able to quote a single SC decision without even a “I’ll have to get back to ya” comment.
Bringing her back to CBS with Daddy McCain sitting next to her answering questions directed to her made even me cringe (when I should have been jumping up and down with glee)
There is a very good chance she has lost so much control over her public image that not even a decent performance in the debate will stop the blood loss
AFF I could not agree with you more. I watched the second interview and you are right it was worse it was like watching Her papa McCain making sure daughter Palin did not make any mistakes or he could correct them right on the spot.
Palin the novelty wind up doll is finished and has destroyed any chance of McCain becoming president. Like I said before McCains BAD JUDGEMENT PALIN needs to get some mysterious illness and disappear forever. I still can’t believe he picked this woman for his VVP when there are so many other much better qualified woman out there he could of picked. He would of been better if he even would of picked Hilary and I bet she would of said yes.
Why would McCain want to pick Hillary after her own party and party ticket turned away from her ?
Can’t be much more damaged goods than that now can you ?
With Hilary as VP, any president would have a very short life expectancy.
Hilary is still better then Palin who is destroying any chance McCain needs to become very very ill. As far as Hilary on the Republican ticket is not near as odd as Palin being picked.
I meant palin needs to be become very very ill.
Well, if Hilary were VP, the president would be at very high risk of rapid-onset pneumonia.
Actually, I think “pulmonary edema” is the proper term.
Leej,
He picked Palin because he needed conservatism and that is what Palin brings. Liberals are always giving liberal advice on how to do things and that is why this congress is so screwed up. Conservatives need a champion and Gov. Palin is a very good choice for the time. What “other” better women were you thinking of (and liberals are nullified choices)?
Kay Bailey Hutchison to start with.
Romney who I don’t like but he would of made a good vp
BTW I am not a liberal just an ex republican since the bushes
“Palin brings conservatism…..and is a good choice”
Palin said, regarding the bailout:
“That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in. Where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. It’s got to be about job creation, too. Shoring up our economy, and getting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade — we have got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing, but one in five jobs created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation.”
I’m sorry to say this, but damn near any contributor to this blog could have provided a more articulate response – even me, and even after slamming 7 lemon-drop shooters consecutively, at the tail end of a 3-day, non-stop, sleepless bender in the Big Easy.
I’m sure Palin is an intelligent person – but it’s one thing to be intelligent, and entirely another to project intelligence and depth of thought.
What “other” better women were you thinking of?
Off the top of my head-
Condi Rice
Elizabeth Dole
Olympia Snow
Christine Todd Whitman
Susan Collins
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Almost any female GOP member of the House
Any one of the other nice female GOP Governors
My 84 year old grandma, hell ANYONE
It just gets better and better. Palin on what newspapers she reads:
COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —
COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name any of them?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/30/palins-news/
Any of the women named above are more qualified than Palin and then some. Not to mention quite a few men as well. I thought conservatives were supposed to be against tokenism anyway.
zimzo, she refuses to play Couric’s pop quiz game is how I read this..
I want Zimco and all the other bleeding hearts to read as much into her answers as they possibly can…and the more they are put here in front of the public court….the better. That way, it’ll be even MORE difficult for them to explain it away when she hands Biden his ass in an ornamented package.
When it gets this bad and reporters are asking her 3rd grade questions and she still can’t answer them. Well thursday evening is going to be real interesting. Biden should allow her 3 life lines the audience, a friend, and take away two of the four answers. When saturday night live is doing the kind of skits they are doing on her and the american public is enjoying it it is time for her to go. It will only get worse. And seriously it is McCains fault for keeping her under guard in the first place, it is his fault that this is getting out of control. If she was real VP and presidential material she would be able to handle all this with no problem. The dems will be thanking the republicans for this pick which is making Obama and biden look like intellectuals on their way to winning the white house.
Bulletproof I will make a deal with you if McCain wins I will fund the beer bust if Obama wins you fund it. Deal??????
Interesting list of alternatives you all provide. There’s that pro-choice litmus test again !
Of course she’s going to win the debate Bulletproof. Expectations are so low that she will be declared the winner if all she does is bark like a seal. Which, actually would be an improvement over her interviews.
[...] exchange is a great symbol (thanks to Zimzo for sending it) of how thoroughly the McCain campaign geniuses have dissolved the savor from the salt of their [...]
[...] « More advice for Sarah Palin [...]
zimzo,
you mean like Obama and McCain?
Oh…so zimco is already preparing his excuse for why she won….
That’s FUNNY RIGHT THERE!!!!
Socialism’s only product: excuses.
BlackOut just said something similar. Weird expectations-lowering game for Biden going on right now.
Stay home Sara, you’ll do more good there, you’re an a complete embarrassment to the VP slot
# Jack said:
September 30th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Socialism’s only product: excuses.
There is one other : Misery.
Sarah Palen a product of two teachers marries a union fisherman and has five kids along the way people note shes a babe so becomes beauty contestant who unlike many woman can really WEAR a bathing suit in public! So stays at home gets the meal thing down and tucks in the kids just happens to have mental capacity to do other things. So decides without a HARVARD education to put herself out there politically husband who obviously is strong in constitution says go for it and she does. No powerful moneyed background she is supported by family also middle class fails, tries, succeeds. Takes on corruption unlike many powerful politicians John McCains sees greatness not gender here, Greatness. Geezers like Bill Bradleys wife (sleep around) Sally Quinn or that comedian S. Bernhardt could ever and have not aspired to the level of skill and intellegence Sarah Palin has. They rage on to the press. Palin is gifted and if you want to see how frightened the Obama base is by this little woman look at the jealous rage directed at her for what? Being a woman who can and does. Joe Biden teared up during the debate talking about and accident that happened 36 years ago he shares this accident with voters over the last 36 years over 300 times most people dont get to vent this often even in grief therapy. Now married to a different woman and having children with her dont you think he could toughen up a bit? Can you imagine if Palen had gotten teary what the media would have said about her weakness? Nice show Joe but no cigar.