From the ArcaMax Publishing, Kathleen Parker Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/kathleenparker/s-420743-115738
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.
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Kathleen Parker's e-mail address is kparker@kparker.com