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Play it again, Sam … Yes, watch the Palin/Biden debate a second time ….
So I watched … and, like the rest of America, held my breath to see what gaffes either Joe or Sarah might make …
I was certainly taken with Sarah’s poise > how she dug her high (actually very high) spike heels in to exude confidence … loved her new highlights (they added a warm soft glow to her face)… the black suit was just the right touch to demonstrate professionalism … and, of course, the flag pin was perfection.
Honestly, I can’t remember what Joe was wearing except for that large sparkling smile and look of what seemed to be genuine amusement that I found quite charming. The woman next to me shared that she now wanted to marry Biden (yes, she knows he’s happy with Jill).
OK. So, while sounding absolutely sexist — isn’t that part of what this is about — I’ve diverged. Here’s my point:
All of us were so busy watching Sarah’s composure, attitude and manner that we overlooked her inability to answer the actual questions - in fact, after agreeing to the format, she basically said she wasn’t going to answer the questions and, then, proceeded not to do so. And Gwen (for all those reasons we understand*) never called her on it …
So, yes, like the rest of America, I was saying with surprise, “Hey, she certainly stepped up to the plate and showed she could do it.” But, then, a funny thing happened. A friend who had just flown in from out-of-town who missed the debate wanted to see my tape. And I found myself watching it again …
Wow! Altogether different impression. Sarah seemed almost as ditsy to me as in those network interviews. My first watch of the debate I must have been distracted by what my eyes were showing me versus what my ears were telling me. The second time around, I was listening differently >and came away with an altogether different impression.
“The race has not been transformed, but few could have expected as vibrant and tactically clever a performance (my italics) as the one Sarah Palin turned in Thursday night.” **
Yes, it really was a performance. Watch it again. See what you think.
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*She’s an African American writing a book on African American politicians - not completed yet - that was made into a cause célèbre as to why she couldn’t be unbiased. (Some real cynics think that was a Republican ploy to cower her.)
** This is the last sentence from The New York Times, OP-ED Columnist David Brooks column, “The Palin Rebound,” October 2, 2008
Palin Exposed – The Empress has no Clothes
While the image on the screen during the debate was of a confidant woman dressed in black, smiling and talking, the substance was naked of understanding and knowledge. Most damaging was that Sarah Palin was not able to rebut any of Biden’s attacks on McCain. Biden swung at McCain hitting him time and again with well aimed blow after blow of specific facts. Instead of her being able to defend her President the way Biden aggressively defended Obama with facts, she left McCain totally exposed. All that came from her mouth was silence on the issues covered up by transparent unsubstantiated party mantra. Many times she even changed the subject leaving the Biden accusations of McCain to go unchallenged. I can just imagine that while McCain was happy with the image he saw, what he heard must have had him steaming over all the undefended blows he sustained.
Not only can Vice President Palin not do her job to support her President, the thought of a President Palin as our negotiator with Putin or any other world leader is simply horrifying. We shouldn’t need a mirror to see that Palin is just plain naked.
Have you seen the “Palin Debate Flow Chart”? I’ll email it to you as the “paste” work.
Please go to Palin Pulse to see the flow chart Karin sent!
I actually did not need to watch the debate a second time to recognize Sarah Palin’s inability to answer the questions. I was alternatively baffled by her incoherence and enraged by her blatant disregard for the “content” of this election. Folksy did not do it for me, even as a facade for lack of experience and, perhaps worse, intellectual weakness.
A colleague of mine who was unable to watch the debate read a transcript instead and was able to see most clearly how unintelligible many of Palin’s responses were. This is a good barometer. If we strip back the superficiality which seems to be the basis of Palin’s popularity and - sadly - the basis for much of the critique , there is nothing to suggest a core competency to run this country.