Some brief thoughts on ABC's Charlie Gibson interview with Sarah Palin last evening. It was a partial interview, with my understanding as, more is supposed to be aired tonight.
1. It was a tough interview, no coddling. In all fairness, Gibson has a reputation of being tough. In fact, many Obama supporters felt Obama was blind-sided by Gibson, after others had softballed him with easy open-ended questions. Gibson is one that tries to pin someone down and can be relentless at times, in order to do so. He was respectful, but not yielding.
2. Sarah sounded and looked nervous, but fairly confident in her answers. She sat with her back positioned to the back of the chair, unlike Obama in his interview with O'Reilly. She did lean in slightly when trying to emphasize her points. One thing, she needs to do is stop saying Charlie so much in her answers. This isn't a talk at the kitchen table.
3. Her biggest weakness will be foreign policy. A legitimate criticism is the fact she has not had to deal with many foreign dignitaries during her tenures as a mayor and governor. But we must keep in mind, she is not running for President here. Just because McCain is 72, it does not mean he is going to die in office. His mom is in her 90s and appears to be of sound mind and body.
4. I do not know what the media's fascination with anyone's religion is. There has been no evidence that she has allowed her religious convictions to cross over into her civil service life. One time when there was a debate in the Alaska legislature on one topic, a lawmaker (in her own party) tried to tack on legislation on abortion. That would have been a superb opportunity to reverse abortion for her, she could have made the case to get A she had to agree to B. But she didn't.
5. The interview was obviously spliced. I am sure the Obama interview with Billy O was too, but it wasn't quite as obvious. Somehow I felt we got the bulk of his answers. In Palin's case, it looked like she was cut off.
5 comments:
One thing, she needs to do is stop saying Charlie so much in her answers.
I noticed that as well. It's patronizing. Obama keeps doing it as well.
Her biggest weakness will be foreign policy. A legitimate criticism is the fact she has not had to deal with many foreign dignitaries during her tenures as a mayor and governor.
What she should answer is that she'll have a great mentor in John McCain, who has a 30+ year career steeped in foreign policy and military matters - almost as many years as his opponent has been alive. She might also point out that instead of using his 3 years in the Senate (including his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) to learn about foreign policy, he's basically been rubbing elbows with people, getting cozy with lobbiests and running for President. She'll use her time as VP to hone her expertise. Finally, she might point out that foreign policy is more than having tea with foreign dignitaries and giving speeches to your fellow "world citizens" - it's about understanding the issues. Something along those lines would be a good approach for her.
I've got more where that came from. I offer my services to Gov. Palin at a discounted rate....
Hi Greg !
/// .../... foreign policy is more than having tea with foreign dignitaries and giving speeches to your fellow "world citizens" .../...
Yup, that's for darn tootin ' ! Wish the Press could understand that !
Some of us expatriates with kids raised 'over here' are in no doubt that Obama's reflexes are more internationalist than American. That might turn out to be bad news for the USA if he's elected. (sigh)
Best,
L'Amerloque
Fine analysis, LA. Your observation about her sitting back for most of the event rattled the memory, reminding me of Bill Clinton leaning forward and constantly touching Chris Wallace's knee on their Fox News interview a few years ago.
She did look nervous, and who wouldn't be? Her answers seemed to be OK for the most part--instantly spun into insanity by the lefty bloggers no doubt--but I'm still concerned about her being the Decider if McCain can't make it. Even if he can, on 9/11 Cheney made a lot of the important split-second calls.
That said, the other guy has hardly been under such a hot-light grill at all other than Bill O's show. Any flip-floppy answers can always be explained away as badgering or "shouting down" by his supporters, negating the answer.
//She might also point out that instead of using his 3 years in the Senate (including his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) to learn about foreign policy, he's basically been rubbing elbows with people, getting cozy with lobbiests and running for President.//
Excellent point. This brings to mind the fact that even with the 3 years of grooming, his answers still fall short.
AC,
I think she probably didn't win anyone over that hadn't been won, but she didn't lose anyone either. What a person brought to the interview is pretty much what they took away. If they liked her before, they still do. And if they hated her before they probably hate her just the same.
//I'm still concerned about her being the Decider if McCain can't make it. Even if he can, on 9/11 Cheney made a lot of the important split-second calls.//
Two things.
1. I think that if something does happen to McCain sooner than expected, there will be enough intelligent good thinking people around her in the Administration to advise her when she gets into the tough spots.
2. The way I see it, we really don't have any other choice. The only other viable option is to allow Obama with his light resume to be the President and a plagiarizer as VP. Personally, I'll roll the dice with McCain and Palin and mention him in my prayers, daily..
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