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Kathleen Parker is one of America's most popular opinion columnists, addressing the country's mental health through her views on current national ...
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Kathleen Parker is one of America's most popular opinion columnists, addressing the country's mental health through her views on current national ...
Read more about Kathleen Parker.
Sarah Palin's Bridge To Somewhere
Kathleen Parker
I mean the one who bases foreign policy experience on the proximity of
Russia to Alaska and who speaks cutely about Vladimir Putin poking his
little head into American airspace. Where did they put her?
The Palin who performed so miserably in one-on-one media interviews was nowhere to be seen during Thursday night's debate with Joe Biden. Instead, the affable, tough, determined pit-bull-hockey mom presented to the GOP convention was back with a jaw-jutting, happy-warrior vengeance.
So, yes, I am relieved. I had been concerned that she would stumble badly and humiliate herself. No fair-minded person wanted that. In fact, she managed to control the debate in many respects by bridging from the question asked to the talking point she wanted to hammer.
She was often too cute by half -- winking and gosh-darning her way through the debate -- but she did what she needed to do. Among other things, she declared a populist war of Us vs. Them -- everyday, honest, hardworking Americans against Wall Street, greed, corrupt politicians, liberals and, of course, the media.
Poor Gwen Ifill was irrelevant -- a second-tier actor in Palin's morality play. Over and over, Palin skipped past Ifill, as well as Biden, to speak directly to the American people. I am one of you, she told them. And these people -- Democrats and the media -- are neither of us, nor for us.
And she said it in the nicest, gosh-darn way, bless her little heart. The GOP loved it, but did anyone else? Did Palin change hearts and minds? Probably not. My suspicion, bolstered by early polls, is that people left the debate with their original impressions intact.
To Democrats, she's still a dangerous lightweight, though possibly more so than they suspected because she is also a charming and effective manipulator. To Republicans, she's a bright light, a change agent, a reformer and a maverick who identifies with real people around the kitchen table.
With the very first question about the bailout bill -- was this the worst of Washington or the best of Washington? -- Palin went straight to her hockey mom narrative, though she switched to the more mainstream soccer field.
"As we try to figure out has this been a good time or a bad time in America's economy, is go to a kid's soccer game on Saturday, and turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, 'How are you feeling about the economy?' And I'll betcha you're going to hear some fear in that parent's voice."
Of course, if you go to a Starbucks today and ask the iPodder blogging on her Apple about Sarah Palin, you're gonna hear some fear in that person's voice, also. Betcha!
Palin's strategy throughout the evening was to avoid questions to which she didn't have answers and rely on the American people to like her so much they didn't care.
"I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also," she said when asked to respond to a Biden comment about deregulation.
Repeatedly, Palin moved the debate to her own territory -- to her record as a mayor and governor, her message of reform and, yes, that she and McCain are mavericks.
The governor of Alaska had an excellent night, there's no question about it, though the early debate polls showed Biden winning by a healthy margin.
Before we relax into giddiness or cynicism, however, it's important to consider that a debate differs from an interview in significant ways. A debate is a point-counterpoint exercise that allows little opportunity for probing or follow-up. An interview requires that a candidate explain an idea in depth and offer specifics.
The Katie Couric interview that was such a disaster for Palin -- and that prompted me to conclude that she was out of her league and should leave the ticket -- was awful precisely because Palin couldn't explain anything. For whatever reason, she couldn't even speak coherently.
The debate format clearly worked better for her because she could control her message and keep pounding well-rehearsed talking points. Does that mean she's ready to lead the free world should circumstances warrant?
That question remains. Right next to same question about Barack Obama.
========
Kathleen Parker's e-mail address is kparker@kparker.com
(c) 2008, Washington Post Writers Group
This news arrived on: 10/04/2008
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Posted Comments:
10-06-2008 13:54
HHJ wrote:
President/VP Qualifications
Our Constitution lays down very strict qualifications to be President and Vice President. I believe if i can recall correctly my government class you have to be minimum age of 38 and a natural born citizen. I do not know the age demographic of our country but that would qualify about 150 million of our citizens to be president.
We had a Dutch exchange student in our home for almost a year and he took US Government in school here and he was amazed that our politicians had to know little to nothing to hold top seat in our government offices. He said in Holland that had to pass a proficiency test in economics, political history and finance. You wonder why we have such morons in our government. Most of them hold the second place to the oldest profession know to man kind that being a lawyer(legal thief)and i suppose you know what the oldest profession would be. We need to have some common sense in our political system.
We had a Dutch exchange student in our home for almost a year and he took US Government in school here and he was amazed that our politicians had to know little to nothing to hold top seat in our government offices. He said in Holland that had to pass a proficiency test in economics, political history and finance. You wonder why we have such morons in our government. Most of them hold the second place to the oldest profession know to man kind that being a lawyer(legal thief)and i suppose you know what the oldest profession would be. We need to have some common sense in our political system.
10-06-2008 08:21
Jodee wrote:
The Couric interview.
If you watched both the interview with obama and Biden, then Palin...you could see that the look on courics face was that of a pitbull, herslf, ready to attck Palin at any moment. Maybe she was a bit throw off by the way she was being treated. I even emiled Couric telling her to watch the look on her face during that interview, as it was very obvious the daggers she was shooting as Palin TRIED to ansewer, palin knew, no matter what she said, just by the way Katie was acting during the questioning, that she had inteneded on chewing her up and sopitting her out on Obama's plate! I think she was uncomfortable, not used to mean tactics with our media and it threw her. Give her a break, she is just beginning! As she showed during the debate, she CAN and WILL answer the questions AMERICAN PEOPLE want to know, not what the Bias Media and the other side wnats to know. I must commend her for that and poking fun at her vocabulary is just another way of the sick media and the fact that they have nothing else to get her on, like Obama. If all you can do is make fun of her "golly gee's", she is the one I will vote for. Not for the one who has proven terrorist relationships, 20 yrs in a Black thoelogy church who hates whites and everyone but blacks, unpatiotic...the whole works. Who would you want running our country between the 2 of them???
10-06-2008 02:24
Sunshine49 wrote:
To Igorvitch
You wrote: The American people polled overwhelmingly in favor of Biden. Obama needs 4 electoral votes: McCain over 100. "Say goodnight, Lucy.
Where in the world are you getting your FALSE information? It seems that you and Biden have a lot in common. If he "won" the debate, it was on the usual Democrat mantra. "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance -- baffle them with bulls**t."
Again I ask -- Are you getting paid by the Obama campaign to write this garbage? Maybe you should ask the rest of us who are informed if we want to bend over while the Democrat party destroys what's left of America!
Note Obama's connections to ACORN, who forced bankers across the country to loan money to unqualified home buyers in the name of equality. What ever happened to responsibility and common sense. They, too, don't matter in the name of equality.
Your statements continuously show your far-left agenda and your total lack of common sense.
Where in the world are you getting your FALSE information? It seems that you and Biden have a lot in common. If he "won" the debate, it was on the usual Democrat mantra. "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance -- baffle them with bulls**t."
Again I ask -- Are you getting paid by the Obama campaign to write this garbage? Maybe you should ask the rest of us who are informed if we want to bend over while the Democrat party destroys what's left of America!
Note Obama's connections to ACORN, who forced bankers across the country to loan money to unqualified home buyers in the name of equality. What ever happened to responsibility and common sense. They, too, don't matter in the name of equality.
Your statements continuously show your far-left agenda and your total lack of common sense.
10-05-2008 19:05
Chris wrote:
Palin's "abuse of power"
To Igorvitch:
Governor Palin's "Troopergate" incident stems from firing a corrupt police chief who tased his ten year old son and was abusive toward his wife.
Governor Palin's "Troopergate" incident stems from firing a corrupt police chief who tased his ten year old son and was abusive toward his wife.
10-05-2008 19:00
Chris wrote:
mortgage crisis
Obama Aware of Intimidation Tactics
The Woods Fund report makes it clear Obama was fully aware of the intimidation tactics used by ACORN's Madeline Talbott in her pioneering efforts to force banks to suspend their usual credit standards. Yet he supported Talbott in every conceivable way. He trained her personal staff and other aspiring ACORN leaders, he consulted with her extensively, and he arranged a major boost in foundation funding for her efforts.
And, as the leader of another charity, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Obama channeled more funding Talbott's way - ostensibly for education projects but surely supportive of ACORN's overall efforts.
In return, Talbott proudly announced her support of Obama's first campaign for state Senate, saying, "We accept and respect him as a kindred spirit, a fellow organizer."
In short, to understand the roots of the subprime mortgage crisis, look to ACORN's Madeline Talbott. And to see how Talbott was able to work her mischief, look to Barack Obama.
The Woods Fund report makes it clear Obama was fully aware of the intimidation tactics used by ACORN's Madeline Talbott in her pioneering efforts to force banks to suspend their usual credit standards. Yet he supported Talbott in every conceivable way. He trained her personal staff and other aspiring ACORN leaders, he consulted with her extensively, and he arranged a major boost in foundation funding for her efforts.
And, as the leader of another charity, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Obama channeled more funding Talbott's way - ostensibly for education projects but surely supportive of ACORN's overall efforts.
In return, Talbott proudly announced her support of Obama's first campaign for state Senate, saying, "We accept and respect him as a kindred spirit, a fellow organizer."
In short, to understand the roots of the subprime mortgage crisis, look to ACORN's Madeline Talbott. And to see how Talbott was able to work her mischief, look to Barack Obama.
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