Friday, October 3, 2008

Gidget Goes to Washington (University)

Bottom line: Sarah Palin did FINE in last night's first and only vice-presidential debate, held at Washington University in St. Louis. Although clearly nervous (and who wouldn't be?), she stayed on message, didn't make any major gaffes, looked good (more about that in a minute), and even sounded good (though what is the deal with Republicans being unable to pronounce the word "nuclear"?).

Similarly, Joe Biden, who had me totally tearing up when he talked about the death of his first wife and daughter (at Christmastime no less!), being a single parent, and nearly losing his sons, did FINE. Actually, I thought he did better than fine. But Palin's proverbial bar was set much lower for this debate and let's face it, everyone was watching and focusing on her and what she would say or wouldn't. So no matter how erudite or knowledgeable or thoughtful Biden was or sounded, pretty much no one cared.

So what are my takeaways from last night's debate?

* Coaching and practicing goes a long way -- possibly all the way to the White House. And clearly both of the VP candidates were coached and practiced their lines, many times, before going on stage last night. Perhaps a little too much. As my friend and neighbor, G., said this morning at the bus stop (in exasperation), their performances bordered on the robotic. You could ask these two pretty much anything and they would just spit out some piece of party rhetoric, no matter what answer the question called for (though Biden actually did answer most, if not all, of the questions before veering off; something Palin did less often).

* Palin looked NERVOUS and was actually shaking at the beginning, which made me feel sorry for her -- and really angry at the people who shoved her into this role, including John McCain. I do NOT want to feel sorry for the person who is running for VP and could very well be president in a year or five. That scares me. And Palin, in the beginning, and at other points, looked SCARED, though she did fine. She also seemed awestruck by the whole thing and in meeting Joe Biden (who, when I last checked, was not a rock star or celebrity, though he is kinda cute with those twinkly blue eyes and big ole toothy smile).

So, is Palin Dan Quayle in a skirt? I'm not willing to go that far. But I like my vice presidents to look confident and secure and, dare I say, vice presidential, not like a starry-eyed teen on her first trip to the big city. (Speaking of which, in "Gidget Grows Up," which starred a very Sarah Palinesque-looking Karen Valentine, shown at right, Gidget goes to the United Nations, where she meets all sorts of foreign dignitaries, just like Sarah Palin!)

* Sarah has lost weight. Could it be the stress of the campaign has gotten to her? Hey, women notice these things! Not saying whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. Just a woman thing. Clearly, the last few weeks have been stressful for her, and she probably hasn't had a lot of time to eat or eat much. That or she was wearing Spanx.

* And did you check out the shoes Governor Palin was wearing?! Those babies must have had four-inch high stiletto heels on them! Amazing she could think straight in those things. And my were they shiny! Back in the day, my friends and I used to call those type of shoes "kiss-me f**k-me's." And I am sure there were plenty of Republicans in the audience, both at Wash U and at home, who would like to have (and probably some Dems, too).

* I genuinely think (from watching last night's debate) that Palin truly believes her ticket is going to really help working class families -- and that she, personally, really cares about education (which may be why she spent time at not one but six different colleges). OK, but SERIOUSLY, I felt she was genuine and sincere when she spoke about helping working class families (though I didn't hear a lot or any specifics, except for drilling more in the U.S., including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and education, though I literally fell off the bed when she did the shout out to her brother's third-grade class. I am sure thousands of viewers found that endearing, but it was far more appropriate for a game show than a debate show, though these debates have plenty of gamesman-or womans-ship.

UPDATED AT 12:00 NOON:
I was just sent this article from The International Herald Tribune, titled "Estimates show Palin assets top $1 million." To me (and probably a lot of you) that doesn't exactly sound middle class (or that the Palins are really struggling), though both Palin and her husband work (so could be considered "working" class, if you stretched the definition). But with an income of at least $230,000 and valuable property and a plane and the government paying her to stay in her own home, I think Palin's definition of "working class" and mine are different. Thanks to Lietzy for pointing this out.

* While at times looking and sounding a bit robotic or wonkish, Joe Biden looked and sounded knowledgeable, thoughtful, and yes, vice presidential. And, OK, there's just something about the guy that makes me like and trust him -- just as there are those of you out there who really like Sarah Palin and trust her, no matter what she says or said, did or does.

* I may be going soft but I found the scene after the debate ended with the families all going up on stage and chatting and shaking hands with each other very touching -- and sweet.

So, was this debate, as the pundits like and continue to say, a "game changer"? I don't think so. I think Republicans are breathing a HUGE sigh of relief today (except maybe those in the House who are going to have to vote on the "Rescue Plan," again, today) and many Democrats and pundits are disappointed Palin did OK (or worse, better than OK).

As Chris Matthews said the other day, "Que Sarah Sarah," whatever will be, will be.

Will Gidget and Moondoggie make it to the White House with the Big Kahuna? Or will it be that tall skinny black guy with the exotic name from Hawaii and Fightin' Joe who will go?

Stay tuned for the next debate, scheduled for October 7 (unless, of course, McCain decides to suspend his campaign again and refuses to debate Obama).

Btw, for those of you interested in knowing which slings or statements were true, mostly true, barely true, or false, got to Politifact.com, which is a non-partisan fact-checking service of the St. Petersburg Times and features the "Truth-o-Meter."

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

A post that mixes a political review of last night's debate, fashion, and name drops Karen Valentine (why, BTW, isn't "Room 222" available on DVD?) is always worth the price of admission. All we really needed here was your take on Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers' chances of winning the National League pennant.

Anonymous said...

I thought Palin pulled a
James T. Kirk:
She avoided a train wreck by not answering the questions.

I agree with your ultimate conclusion: She didn't screw up, but it wasn't a game changer.

TommyMac71 said...

Here was my takeaway on Palin (Biden was Biden, nobody cares about him. Really.)

She did something we teach in Public relations -- use each question as a chance to deliver a message. don't think about answering the question directly, but deliver the message that most closely aligns with the question.

However:
1. She was was too clunky at it and was not seamless at all....Her answers sometimes had nothing at all to do with the question.
2. You can't use that method in a live debate. You use it with a print reporter and if you're really good at it, on a broadcast interview. If the interviewer didn't feel you answered the question, he or she can ask it again.

Seldom does the moderator call on the candidates to directly answer the question. So in this case Palin could get away with it (or NOT get away with it, as it was several times)

Anonymous said...

The winking!!! My Vice President doesn’t wink!

Anonymous said...

NOOOOK YOU LURRRR
OR
NOOK LEE UR???
Why can't they get it right!!!!

Anonymous said...

Didn't Biden seem melancholic? I was rooting for him to look directly into the camera (which he did only after several questions had been answered). Palin, on the other hand, looked dead on into that camera lens and out of our TV's from the get go. Another nuance- Biden said the word "God" several times- Didn't Palin instead use the word "heaven", and only once at that? I liked the split screen on Fox, but then you didn't get the nifty "man vs. woman" take on the bottom of CNN HD. I was DISGUSTED by the focus group follow up on Fox. How dare they broadcast the meeting in a Budweiser meeting room? Those lit Bud signs were ablazing. It's nauseating to think that Cindy McCain's biz is the beneficiary of the VP debate. Guess we should expect Bud signs in the White House should he win.

Lietzy said...

J., I respectfully disagree with your contention that Gov. Palin truly believes that she will help working class families. The closest we came to hearing what Palin really believes is when she extolled the virtues of Dick Cheney's unitary executive theory of government, which contains the remarkable contention that the vice president is not part of the executive branch. Of course, the unitary executive theory of government is what has led to the most egregious trampling of the Constitution by the Bush Administration in the history of this country. In the manner in which she has conducted her affairs as governor of Alaska, Palin has demonstrated that she truly does believe in this unitary executive theory, which when boiled down to its basest elements means essentially this -- if the President and Vice President say its lawful, then it is lawful. Extremely scary stuff. This isn't helping working people -- this is a naked power grab, for power's sake, and to reward those who support you.

Anonymous said...

Your current post is long, full of salient detail, and (for me) surprising. I had never seen or heard Biden before last night, so was all but blown away by his knowledge and delivery. He gave McCain the kicks in the *** that Obama can’t risk giving. And the moment when he choked up was far more sincere than Palin’s soap-opera ploys. It therefore really annoyed me to see so much of the media attention going to her. Yes, she did not mess up and yes, she effectively appealed to her constituency. But the woman appears to know next to nothing about the crises facing this nation. Her answers to far too many questions were shallow, the good ones evidently rehearsed. Would you want her running the country if anything happened to McCain?

On the other hand, I’m glad your blog was fair, possibly fairer than I have been. But after seeing Biden in action last night, I knew that if he had to take over, the country would not be sunk. In fact, quite the opposite.

J. said...

Thanks again for all the great comments. I love hearing from readers.

Loved the PR angle, Tommy.

"A Bud in every fridge" should be McCain's new campaign slogan. Would definitely get him some younger voters. (I didn't watch Fox, so didn't know about the Budweiser meeting room. Thanks Anonymous.)

Lietzy,I do not disagree with your comments, but I don't think Palin would understand what you are talking about. You are giving her too much credit. This woman is clearly street smart but not book smart. And I think she's been fed the line that McCain is going to help working families and she ate it up.

As for the last Anonymous, I am a big Joe Biden fan, and I think he is infinitely more qualified than Sarah Palin to be pretty much anything. But I was trying to be fair and was reacting to or commenting on the expectations.

Everyone expected Biden to do well and sound more knowledgeable, and he did. I also happen to think he is a stand-up guy. Palin made some gaffes and sounded over-rehearsed most of the time, but compared to the Palin we saw with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, she if not knocked it out of the park got at least a double.

There is totally an unfair double standard at work here. Palin is in no way, shape, or form qualified to be president or vice president or even the mayor of a major city. She is a mouthpiece in a cute package. And I am FURIOUS that she is a VP candidate and getting such a free pass/media attention (which, I know, I am adding to). But what's done is done.

Lietzy said...

J., I wouldn't underestimate Palin in that way. She is plenty smart when it comes to power, and has been pretty ruthless in exercising her power once she has obtained it. And she already has all the Cheney tricks down pat -- secret email accounts, using lawyers to stonewall legislative investigations, etc. In fact, she has probably one-upped Cheney (if that is possible) by using the power of her office to pursue personal vendettas (i.e. Troopergate).

Anonymous said...

To Lietzy's point, I was intrigued by Palin's answer on the VP powers question. I am torn between thinking she didn't understand the question and being terrified that she understood it perfectly and would out-Cheney Cheney if given the opportunity.

As someone who has dealt with power-mad PTA mombies who will claw one anothers' pancreas out for a committee slot, I'm not sure Palin is smart about power in the sense that she would use it wisely (even in the narrow sense of using it wisely for her own benefit). But she sure knows how to sniff it out and position herself to acquire more, which is smart of a kind, I suppose.

PS: About Palin's losing weight -- I think it's from hanging out with Cindy. They're probably living on Vicodin and Bud Light.

Anonymous said...

I checked a dictionary for pronunciation of "nuclear" when I heard Sarah's mispronuncation. "nyoo kle-er" is an alternate pronuncation, "nucular" is not!

And someone should advise her to stop droppin' her "gs" on "ing" words. It drives me crazy!

J. said...

Wanted to share an offline comment I received as I enjoyed the article the commenter sent me, which I linked to:

"we had a very different take on the debate. I thought SP sucked the hairy wazoo. There, I said it :). Here's exactly how I felt (down to the quotation marks)."

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you about Palin. I found nothing genuine, sweet or naive about her. I couldn't watch the whole debate without waking up both the kids with my screaming out of frustration. I don't care how low a standard the general public set for the moron, no one should be nominated for a governmental position who doesn't even know which newspapers she reads or that the Supreme Court has tried such cases as Brown v. Board of Ed. (citing your opinion that she really cares about education).

It is my opinion that this country's standards were disgracefully lowered to sub-human intelligence when W. took office, telling students, "see what you can do with a c-average grade?"...or something like that.

As an aside, I will tell you that my students at Manhattanville College who didn't follow directions for their first assignment (by turning in an encyclopedia article about their chosen topics) were given an extra-credit project this week to find an article in an encyclopedia about the importance of voting and/or any relevant article about the process of voting. They are going to discuss the articles on discussion boards in a couple of weeks.

I'm not being a snob, I really think that we need to stop dumbing down the U.S. population and start holding them to higher standards - ethically, morally and - most importantly - intellectually!