Sarah Palin

[Huckleman2000]

You know, if this guy had expanded on this to include the candidates for president who are, after all, the main event, he would have said something like this:

In 2000, Obama was in hs fourth year in the Illinois State Senate and challenged a sitting congressman of his own party in the primary election. McCain was in his 14th year as a senator and his 18th in Congress, after a 22 year career defending America as a member of the Navy.

On the other hand he probably wouldn't have mentioned those facts.

Maybe he would have mentioned those facts if he was writing about the McCain/Obama debates. This article happened to be about the VP candidates debate, though.

Besides, I thought Palin's "Executive experience" is a so much more important qualification for the VP job than Biden's years of experience as a legislator. And also, Palin is the new, outside-the-beltway 'mavrick'. Why, that article is biased against Biden!

 

[Boxlicker101]

Maybe he would have mentioned those facts if he was writing about the McCain/Obama debates. This article happened to be about the VP candidates debate, though.

Besides, I thought Palin's "Executive experience" is a so much more important qualification for the VP job than Biden's years of experience as a legislator. And also, Palin is the new, outside-the-beltway 'mavrick'. Why, that article is biased against Biden!

Yes, of course, this political rival of Palin had no real reason to mention McCain and Obama. Had he done so, I'm not sure what he would have said. I was strictly speculating.

Generally speaking, executive experience is a better training for the presidency than legislative, for reasons that have been covered many times.

 

[shereads]

"In what respect, Charlie?" -- Sarah Palin

 

[Guest]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/sweetsubsarahh/political-pictures-sarah-palin-j-1.jpg

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

What was wrong with Christine Todd Whitman? Oh, yeah, she was not a social conservative.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Or, more obviously, Condoleeza Rice? No one could argue that she lacked foreign policy experience.

 

[sr71plt]

Or, more obviously, Condoleeza Rice? No one could argue that she lacked foreign policy experience.

except about two-thirds of the diplomatic corp folks who have to clean up after her.

 

[sweetness6280]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/sweetsubsarahh/political-pictures-sarah-palin-j-1.jpg

That one is probably closer to the truth than any of us would like to believe.

It's not that they didn't give her the answers to study and practice. It's that they only gave her one answer for each question. She seems to have taken "here's your answer" literally, and when a question is rephrased, or asked again, she either can't, or doesn't elaborate. She simply repeats the same answer, almost verbatim.

I swear you can see McCain's hand pulling that string at the back of her neck. SNL should do a bit using the "They Both Reached for the Gun/Razzle Dazzle" song from the musical Chicago, with Palin on McCain's lap.

It's a shame too. I don't like her politics, but I believe if they would just let her be "Sarah," she would perform much better.

 

[impressive]

SNL should do a bit using the "They Both Reached for the Gun/Razzle Dazzle" song from the musical Chicago, with Palin on McCain's lap.

Brilliant!


(McCain does the repeat-answers-ad-nauseum thing, too.)

 

[rgraham666]

Well, as one of my favorite foreign policy writers pus it, the American electorate is one especially uncomfortable with nuance.

By having single answers McCain/Palin are just playing to the electorate.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I think she's going to do fine in the debate.

A debate is easier than an interview. There are only like 20 questions they're going to ask in a debate and she'll be prepped on those, and they're not going to press her or try to pin her down like they do in an interview. She'll be able to evade and sidestep and hide behind her charm and personality, and Biden will be more than happy to pick up the slack. When she can't answer, she'll just go on the attack and most people won't notice that she's not answering.

People prefer personality over brains. Bush proved that. I think she's going to do fine.

 

[impressive]

People prefer personality over brains. Bush proved that.

Bush has personality? You have far different standards than I.

 

[ishtat]

Bush has personality? You have far different standards than I.

Palin and Bush both have personality, shallow, simple to beyond stupid, both are "B" grade celebrities at best. But most voters regrettably respond to "B" graders. Bush however is also utterly dishonest wheras she has yet to prove it.

 

[rgraham666]

Bush, like Reagan before him, and Clinton for that matter was a product carefully promoted to the market.

Since most people have a nearly Pavlovian to advertising, it worked.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Bush, like Reagan before him, and Clinton for that matter was a product carefully promoted to the market.

Since most people have a nearly Pavlovian to advertising, it worked.

Most recent presidents, certainly Ike and JFK and Carter and Reagan were products. LBJ was an accident, and he defeated Goldwater, something of an extremist, to be re-elected. Nixon was an exception. Although personally dislked, even hated by some, he was seen as having qualities that could take on the Soviets and win the Vietnam War.

 

[rgraham666]

Now, this is funny!

Sarah Palin: Rock n' Roll personified

 

[neonlyte]

Sarah's Favourite Songs

'Hi, Hi, I'm American Pie'

'It's Raining Dems, Hellwe'llbeat'em'

'Abstinence makes the Heart Grow Fonder'

'I Love Paris... from a Jet at 35,000ft'

She's a great fan of Gershwin:

'Porky is Best'

'An American in Alaska'

'Rhapsody in Blewing away a Moose'

 

[Varian P]

Most recent presidents, certainly Ike and JFK and Carter and Reagan were products. LBJ was an accident, and he defeated Goldwater, something of an extremist, to be re-elected. Nixon was an exception. Although personally dislked, even hated by some, he was seen as having qualities that could take on the Soviets and win the Vietnam War.

True, in our mediatized age, all presidents and presidential candidates are products, carefully packaged by their campaign strategists.

But it's scary, in Palin's case, how little substance seems to be under that veneer. Like them or not, JFK, Carter, and Clinton had brains, and could articulate coherent thoughts that were products of those brains.

Palin's brain seems only to be able to produce stream-of-consciousness floods of vague evasions. But she does it with stunning consistency and impressive determination. I'd have had thoughts of suicide if I'd turned in the performance she gave with Couric or Gibson. Hell, I'd have gone home and cried if I'd done that badly on my grad school orals, which was only in front of three people, and wasn't a bid for the trust of millions of people I was pretending to be worthy of leading.

 

[Varian P]

SNL does the Palin Couric interview

Normally SNL would have to write a comedic script to spoof the event, but Palin was so pathetic, all SNL really had to do was abridge the transcript of the actual interview.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Well, as one of my favorite foreign policy writers pus it, the American electorate is one especially uncomfortable with nuance.

By having single answers McCain/Palin are just playing to the electorate.

It's true, and it's worked. The Republicans, especially, seem to have picked up on this during campaigns. As much as the dems complain about Palin (or Bush, or even McCain) being idiots, they're smart and savvy enough to know what people want, and they give it to them.

If big daddy keeps saying, "It's all gonna be okay," the ants keep working.

 

[shereads]

except about two-thirds of the diplomatic corp folks who have to clean up after her.

Rice is an expert on Russia, you know. She was right on top of the Georgia invasion as soon as it was in the news.

 

[shereads]

SNL does the Palin Couric interview

Normally SNL would have to write a comedic script to spoof the event, but Palin was so pathetic, all SNL really had to do was abridge the transcript of the actual interview.

Sweet Jesus. She self-spoofs.

 

[Huckleman2000]

[...]
Generally speaking, executive experience is a better training for the presidency than legislative, for reasons that have been covered many times.

If that's the case, Box, then why did you try to paint the writer as anti-Palin? Here's what he said, according to the post:

"In 2000, Palin was the mayor of an Alaskan town of 5,500 people, while Biden was serving his 28th year as a United States senator. Her major public policy concern was building a local ice rink and sports center. His major public policy concern was the State Department's decision to grant an export license to allow sales of heavy-lift helicopters to Turkey, during tense UN-sponsored Cyprus peace talks . . ."

Isn't this an illustration of Palin's 'Executive' experience, leading the charge for a new public facility? While Biden was mired in the swamp of trying to influence foreign policy from outside the Executive branch, but inside the Beltway/Georgetown cocktail party circuit? I mean, export licenses for helicopters? WTF? Why can't you just put those suckers on eBay?

 

[Safe_Bet]

Rice is an expert on Russia, you know. She was right on top of the Georgia invasion as soon as it was in the news.

I just had this mental flash of hot lesbian sex between Conde Rice and Georgia O'Keeffe! Muahahaha!

 

[dr_mabeuse]

How She Can Win

From the Huffington Post: Some sage advice.

=================
Winning the debate is about connecting with them emotionally, showing them that you like people like them and that you're tough enough for the job.

So what does a good debate answer sound like? Start with that emotional connection: tell a story about how the issue you were asked about affects regular people, either something you heard on the trail, or better yet something personal. Ideally, you spend most of your 90 seconds here, because this will hold voters' attention and convey that you care. Don't have a good specific story? Just talk with some feeling about how and why people care about the issue. The point here is to demonstrate that you share voters' concerns.

Only after you've won their hearts do you answer the question - at least, sort of. Start with a few words of general principle that no one could disagree with. This makes you look sympathetic and strong, the candidate of common sense. Then offer a couple lines about specific policies that would further those aims, just enough so no one accuses you of dodging the question. Tack on a dig at your opponent to put them on the defensive, and you're done.

Does Palin have folksy stories? You betcha. Can she memorize a few talking points about each of the dozen issues she might get asked about? Sure thing. Can she deliver a barbed line mischaracterizing her opponents? No doubt.

Not only do standard debate questions work in Palin's favor, she's also helped by a regimented debate format, because unlike in the wide-ranging interviews she has flubbed, there is usually much less room for follow-up questions to try to pin her down. Put all this together and you see it was no fluke that Palin did well in her gubernatorial debates.
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This is pretty much the way I see it going, and why I think she's going to do pretty well.