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Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had her first big (elitist?) media interview yesterday. The McCain-Palin camp selected Charlie Gibson of ABC News to conduct it, and ABC News spread the footage out between World News Tonight, Nightline, Good Morning America and 20/20 over last night and today. She told Gibson that she's "ready" to serve the country and did not hesitate when John McCain asked her to be his running mate, "I answered him yes because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink."
Overall, the consensus is that Palin seemed poised and confident--though she gave canned responses. Per the NY Times, "At times visibly nervous, at others appearing to hew so closely to prepared answers that she used the exact same phrases repeatedly, Ms. Palin most visibly stumbled when she was asked by Mr. Gibson if she agreed with the Bush doctrine. Ms. Palin did not seem to know what he was talking about. Mr. Gibson, sounding like an impatient teacher, informed her that it meant the right of 'anticipatory self-defense.'"
Below is video of a 10 minute segment of the interview, and the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz also delves into her appearance and looks at some of the other critiques. Kurtz believed Gibson did a good job, but the Daily News' David Hinckley was disappointed. He says that while Palin and ABC got what they wanted, but viewers are losing out, in the way that ABC conducted the interview in a number of segments with Palin (inside while sitting, outside while walking): "That diluted the conversation and made it harder to start getting a fix on this mystery woman who could soon acquire life-and-death powers." That'll be tough, as the McCain-Palin camp is making sure she campaigns more often with McCain than not.
Some notable things from the interview: She emphasized she wouldn't second-guess Israel, says the U.S. should take on Russia if it invaded Georgia again (if Georgia were in NATO, which she supports), and now says some man-made activities contributed to global warming. Politico has a roundup of some pundits' thoughts--some loved it, some are scared. Earlier in the day, when addressing her son's Iraq-bound squad, the Washington Post reports she linked the September 11 attacks to Iraq--"a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself."
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she came off to me as someone running to be president of their high school student government.
ha! pit bull lipstick hockey mom! she's a riot!! she's got my vote!
oh wait, sorry, I was having a brain hemorrhage there.
Now I suppose it's all up to evangelical voters. Again.
The whole "Minorities become the Majority" demographic shift can't come soon enough.
But she lives next to Russia!!! The moves into Georgia were just a feint....they're really after the Aleutians!
At the very least we know she can memorize (canned party line tripe) very well.
"Not great but not terrible?" Is this where we set the bar???
No one is saying she's stupid. The ability to deliver canned responses (unevenly), in an extremely friendly interview setting, after days of intensive preparation is not exactly impressive.
The question is whether she is an individual who has exhibited even a shred of interest in matters of public policy and foreign affairs prior to being thrust into the spotlight. The average poli sci undergrad knows more about these matters than she does.
And the only evidence we have of her "judgment" points to a person who is overtly guided by pentecostalism, shallow right-wing ideology, personal ambition, and a complete lack of respect for the rule of law and constitutional institutions.
You realize if we would have just let the south form their own country we would be enjoying a wonderful European-like post-consumerist society ruled by intelligent people, and the South would be a third world shithole but NO we had to include them and now we have to deal with shit like "Sarah Palin is qualified to lead the nation cuz shes a mommy like me i like that"
What's up with her fist? Can anyone decipher body language? I gather she perfected her ability to do interviews during her pageant years.
not terrible? are you on crack?
she basically said we need to go to war with russia over this georgia thing.
the worse part of it, she didn't want to say that... but the interviewer made her realise that her responses lead to that conclusian.
so, she came off ill-informed and not capable of thinking on the spot... not to mention possibly reckless (as a pitbull would be, right?) to the point of starting a nuclear war just to show how tough she is.
and that's a potential commander in chief?
bush seems like a genius now!
That 'not second guessing Israel' nonsense comes from someone trying to kickstart the apocalypse and second coming of Christ.
By comparison, Nancy Reagan's astrology interest was a harmless joke.
I thought she was defensive and arrogant. but that could be bloomberg. you know those types would LOVE to go to war with Russia or Soviet Union or USSR.
@Quidnam, the bar shouldn't definitely not be at "Not Great, Not Terrible," but given the way the campaign has been so far, I don't know what the GOP is expecting. I think the interview just continued to make her supporters happy while still scaring her detractors.
uh, that was pretty terrible
stop lowering your standards and stop contributing to the dumbing down of America
First time I've ever wanted to vote for a Democrat and you guys are going to blow it by focusing all this rage against Palin. The bottom line is people like her. Even if people don't agree with all her political views, she's the closest thing we've had a to a regular person running for national office that I can remember. The weakness of McCain/Palin is McCain himself, a genuinely nasty, unlikeable person, and those are the faults the Dems and the left need to be exploiting.
"In what respect, Charlie?"
13
We don't need 'regular person'. I want a fucking genius....someone so smart they carve his face in a mountain....even if he's a nasty, unlikeable person.
Nothing but the issues/political views should matter. We're not voting for the goddammned prom king/queen....are we? You want a likeable dope, go to a bar, or the white house before January.
@longacre
People like her because they know nothing about her in a local sense - like how most Americans outside of NYC don't know much about Guiliani except as the 9/11 mayor.
Check out comment #29 here:
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/palin_tells_her.html
People will not lake her after Biden makes her cry. So much for the 'pitbull' crap!
Um, slight correction on the Russia point.
HERE is what was actually said.
GIBSON: Under the NATO treaty, wouldn’t we then have to go to war if Russia went into Georgia?
PALIN: Perhaps so. That is the agreement. When you are a NATO ally, is, if another country is attacked, you are going to be expected to be called upon and help.
On this, Palin is absolutely right. That's what NATO is all about. It would be bigger news if one of the other candidates said that we WOULDN'T do so for a member of NATO.
Indeed, even without being a member of NATO, Biden and Obama have both talked tough against Russia.
From Joe Biden's acceptance speech:
In recent days, we've once again seen the consequences of this neglect with Russia's challenge to the free and democratic country of Georgia. Barack Obama and I will end this neglect. We will hold Russia accountable for its actions, and we'll help the people of Georgia rebuild. struck me as fairly war like.
From Barack Obama's acceptance speech:
You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances...
I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts, but I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression.
lake her = like her
Billiamsburg, I'd almost agree if I wasn't from the south! Those of us born behind the Great Wall of the Confederacy wouldn't be able to move to your socialist paradise.... Of course I guess my parents wouldn't have been there in the first place.
Let's make it happen! And Alaska can secede too for all I care, those seal-eating oil monkeys.
Oh and actually that socialist paradise already exists, it's called Canada and if McCain gets elected I'm sure they will build a very high wall along the 49th parallel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Doctrine
The Bush Doctrine is not as narrow as Gibson defined. Palin's answer talked about Bush's effort to rid the world of terrorism and radical Islam. Bush Doctrine I was about attacking countries that harbor terrorists. Bush Doctrine II was about pre-emptive strikes. Bush Doctrine III was about _____.
And, besides, this is not worse than Obama asking NATO to decide Russia-Georgia.
The Bush Doctrine question was a good one.
-If she knows what it is and says she agrees with it, then we're not getting "change" from Bush.
-If she knows what it is and doesn't agree with it, then we're not getting the apocalyptic hawk the Lunatic Fringe Right wants for their leader.
-If she doesn't know what it is, she's uninformed, but she went this way anyway because among their constituents it's better to be ignorant anyway.
I meant the UN, not NATO.
Obama/Palin '08
Someone who doesn't Blink? I just don't see how someone who has 5 kids can be in such a high office. something's gotta suffer. Her responsibilities to the Nation will outweigh them to her children. If her children were 5 years older this would be a moot point. then they could fuck and have babies of their own, like bristol, but what about baby trig? who's gonna be feeding him at night when mommie's holding down putin's legs so McCain can whack him in the face? who's gonna tell baby trig "you're special cause you're a political tool"? she'll be too busy using him as a political tool to do that.
"Even if people don't agree with all her political views, she's the closest thing we've had a to a regular person running for national office that I can remember."
What makes her more or less "regular" than Obama? Keep in mind she has been in politics longer than Obama, by about 5 years.
GOP: McCain has also called for UN action: "The United States and our allies should continue efforts to bring a resolution before the UN Security Council condemning Russian aggression... " August 11, 2008.
We should attack Russia if they invade Georgia *again*? It's amazing this is a vice presidential candidate.
I don't think they make those "carve their face into a mountain people" anymore.
Amercia is stumbling toward a real time Idiocracy in a big way.
can charlie gibson be more patronizing? i mean his tone with her... like she's his little girl going off to college out of state is not helping the dems at all.
I am on the fence still.. and the way the men in the media treat her is really pissing me off.
Thanks for the great link jibbly. It really does tell the whole story, and truthfully too. The press should go back to her home town and expose her for the fraud she is.
Gibson could have done a lot better on the Bush Doctrine question. The Bush Doctrine is *preventive* war, meaning the US will be free to attack at its discretion countries that pose no immediate threat (e.g. Iraq in 2003), which is a violation of both longstanding international norms and of common sense.
He allowed Palin to respond in terms of *preemptive* war, meaning launching an attack in the face of a clear and imminent threat (e.g. Israel in 1967), which is consistent with international law.
While Gibson started off with some of the right words, he failed to force the distinction with Palin and apply it to the Iraq war.
miz coaster: What's confusing is how Palin's supporters can be so thrilled that Palin is a "plain-ole, down-home, jus'-folks, regular person" -- and then get upset when people fail to take her seriously or question why she is someone who should be elevated to a high office.
Obama's "experience" has been questioned for many months now, and his campaign has both taken the questions seriously and done a great deal to provide answers. They've treated it as a substantive matter worthy of discussion. Any suggestion that it amounted to racism was marginal at best.
When it comes to Palin, the McCain campaign's approach has been to aggressively (and in some cases preemptively) lob charges of sexism in order to cow both the media and Obama campaign from being so bold as to question her suitability for the office.
Gibson is not the one being "patronizing," I can assure you, and we are the ones being patronized.
This woman is a bad joke. A bad,bad,bad,scary freakin' joke. Do you really want her a heartbeat away from the button? Really?
Billamsburg,
That is the best thing I have heard in a long time. I would only add that we include Quebec and create our own nation.
pretty embarassing
eyekantspel #18:
The point is:
This is exactly the reason why Georgia should NOT be allowed into NATO: becaue they already have a conflict in Russia.
What value does Georgia bring to NATO? A certain war with Russia? I think we can do without that little perk.
I thought evertyone knew that, but McCain managed to pick the only imbecile who doesn't for his running mate, because 'people like her'.
I seriously doubt that people will like her enough to follow her into a nuclear war.
Biden simply has to tear her up on that one, it's just too easy.
God help us if McCain is elected and croaks.
Sarah Palin Action Figure
It walks, it talks
Without any strings,
Just press a button
It says the Right things.
To most of the respondents: I think a little bit of objectivity is called for here. She certainly didn't embarass herself. In fact, I though it was pretty slick how she didn't lose her poise on what was, in retrospect, a slick/trick question. Remember, unlike Obama, she's been busy running a state the last couple of years, not running for president.
Let me ask this: pretend she was on the democratic ticket - aside from her stance on the issues, how would you view her executive experience as a governer and mayor, working her way up from relatively humble beginnings, her union, average joe husband, her "super-woman" image, her popularity in her state, and especially her undeniable reformist credentials (which propelled her to her current level)?
You would like it. I'm telling you, you would like it if she were on your side. It's like in sports - you hate the guy on the other side until he's traded to your team. Then all is forgiven.
So examine the motives for your hostility. Are they due to what she is, or more due to the fact that she plays for the other side? And reflect that if people didn't come across as knee-jerk, reactionary, shrill, hostile, aggressive, hate-driven and fearful, but rather as calm, reasoned, objective, unbiased and humorous, people might actually pay more attention to them.
41
"Aside from her stance on the issues".
So how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
on reformist credentials: Kill the bridge project, keep the earmark money
on humble origins: which unfortunately include a humble education
on popularity in her state: about as popular as Strom Thurmond was in SC
The whole BS 'super-woman' shtick was just as impertinent now as when HRC used it.
ixvnyc #38 in repsonse to my post #18
Jen Chung wrote: Some notable things from the interview: She...says the U.S. should take on Russia if it invaded Georgia again (if Georgia were in NATO, which she supports)"
ixcny, you claim that the REAL point is that Georgia should not be allowed into NATO because of the conflict with Russia.
Now, without disagreeing with your opinion on this, if that's a criticism of Palin, it should be noted that Obama and Biden both support Georgia entering NATO.
For instance, on August 11th Obama said:
I have consistently called for deepening relations between Georgia and transatlantic institutions, including a Membership Action Plan for NATO, and we must continue to press for that deeper relationship.
Biden also. For instance, this press release from Biden: http://georgia.usembassy.gov/pr-04272008.html
Or Biden's statement last month that "When Congress reconvenes, I intend to work with the administration to seek Congressional approval for $1 billion in emergency assistance for Georgia . . ."
#41
There's no way to pose the hypothetical "Democratic Sarah Palin," because there are too many specifics that would get in the way. Like if Obama had engaged in the same sort of crass tokenism that the GOP did in her pick, he would have been eviscerated (for picking a lightweight over Hillary and a number of other potent female leaders). Even if he had picked Claire McCaskill, you can bet there would have been screams of bloody murder rather than everyone falling in line and praising the ticket effusively as in the GOP. Democratic politics is often like herding cats.
Moreover, I can tell you that I would personally be troubled by a "Democratic Sarah Palin." The issue is not "inexperience" measured as time in office X or position Y -- it's a lack of any demonstrable interest in public policy issues and a lack of depth in general. An unconventional political resume (like Obama's) is not fatal, but it means you have to make up for it in other ways.
Palin's "reformist credentials" are certainly not "undeniable." For those that have bought into her political marketing and personal charisma, her credentials are simply something they refuse to question. Palin's selection was a transparently political choice to mobilize the right-wing evangelical base. It has worked, for the most part, especially considering where McCain would likely be had he picked Romney. But don't try to pass it off as reasonable from the standpoint of governance.
@jackb #41
exactly. this is not about her position on Georgia, or whether she gave a good response to Gibson's question about her support of the "Bush Doctrine".
She really hasn't made any serious missteps yet. This basically boils down to (1) she isn't a Democrat and (2) she isn't pro-abortion. It's sad that those two facts are a litmus test for everything in the narrow world view of some, and justify the media and blogosphere insanity of the last two weeks. Rumors about her pregnancy, mischaracterizations about her position on sex education and almost everything else...
If Palin was a pro-choice Democrat, the same people who are crazily attacking her would be silent (except for defending her from attacks from the right, who would also take the opposite position).
The rabid blindness of some of these attacks force independent, rational people to come to her defense, instead of just focusing on what the issues are.
Palin is definitely NOT the most experienced possible pick. She's probably NOT ready to step in should McCain die unexpectedly (but probably still better than Dan Quayle, who actually had been a congressman and senator for several years before becoming VP).
Her abortion position might NOT agree with everyone, but -- newsflash-- the VP doesn't set U.S. abortion policy. Nor does the President. The only way Roe v. Wade would be overturned is through the Supreme Court or the Legislature. And considering that BOTH houses of Congress are controlled by Democrats, and that the Democrats are widely expected to build on their majority, there's no way that a Supreme Court justice who would overrule Roe would get through the required Senate confirmation. So for all the hand-wringing, it's basically a non-issue.
The ignorance displayed by otherwise intelligent people when it comes to the powers of the President (or in this case, the VP), is scary.
With regard to RvW:
I think it's feasible that a Court recently stuffed by W, and added to by a potential McCain presidency, would create an opening for abortion restrictions by the zanier state governments.
The right to appoint SC Justices allows for the longest lasting positive impact/damage of any presidential administration. What sort of Justice do you think Palin would appoint, if circumstance allowed?
beautiful... you can see charlie begin to drift off, totally bored and dissapointed by her answers, because they are just on the same no info talking points McSame and the crew keep throwing out. They have nothing else to say.
if Obama had engaged in the same sort of crass tokenism that the GOP did in her pick, he would have been eviscerated (for picking a lightweight over Hillary and a number of other potent female leaders).
The immediate reaction was that McCain picked Palin because she's a woman, but I don't think that's true. The fact she's a woman was certainly a factor, but there is a lot about her that is appealing, not just to the right, but to independents. She's different, and not just because she's a woman. The way the Clintons campaigned against Obama made it impossible for him to pick Hillary. And picking another woman would have been impossible, as the Hillary supporters would never accept a substitute. McCain's NOT going to win Hillary supporters by picking Palin, but he does energize his base, including conservative women. In addition, Palin is young, energetic, strong and a Washington outsider.
Hillary's supporters, and a lot of Democrats have a mindset that if you don't fit their definition of what a woman should be, you are not really a woman. Conservative, pro-life women don't exist. Same with conservative minorities-especially African Americans. Blacks who are Republicans are as rare as they are not because the party wouldn't welcome them, but because Democrats have defined the requirements for acceptance in such a way that changing party is almost like renouncing your race.
Anyway, Palin was a brilliant pick, not because she's a woman, but because of all those characteristics. Her flaws are acceptable because they are largely balanced by Obama's flaws. Not experienced enough, not enough foreign policy. McCain and Biden both have experience, tons of it, and neither are as compelling as their running mates. I can't think of any other named potential VP candidate who McCain could have picked that would have given him a chance against Obama this year, and Palen seems to have done that.
"So for all the hand-wringing, [her pro-life stance] is basically a non-issue."
In terms of Roe being overturned, yeah. But we've seen how pro-life views can affect other areas, such as the Bush Administration's prioritizing of abstinence-only programs (both here and abroad), stem cell research funding, etc.
I do agree with you there Politburo. Her pro-life views are certainly a legitimate issue in those regards, anything that's within the control of the Executive branch. I just don't think it's the end-of-the-world scenario that some people truly seem to believe it is. Also, if Republicans were going to retake the House and Senate, it would be a completely different story, and the concerns would be justified. Bush and Cheney have basically killed any Republican dreams of that happening.
Allow me to state what most Americans REALLY want from Sarah Palin: we'd like to see her doing anal.
I will personally build a church with my bare hands if it would ensure that her and her dad don't take office.
The fact that I no longer yearn for an intelligent President, but simply for someone who isn't utterly incompetent, is sad.
She hasn't been out of North America before last year? This bitch as President? WHAT???
The attacks on working mothers, and small-town America aren't helping Barry and Joe guys!
BTW... It isn't about winning over Clinton fans, it's about gaining swing voters.
So she swatted at a few softballs from that miserable anchor chair-grabbing prick. You learn nothing from this overly coached political shapechanger. And Charlie's interview with Barack Obama was even more weak and unenlightening. I want her across a table from Keith Olberman, if only for the entertainment of having her attempt to describe the difference between Byelorussia and Ukraine. Vice Presidents are supposed to know something more than how to drag a dead moose home. And I wonder if Palin even knows that.