The guys and gals at The Corner got into a discussion this morning that I agree with completely. Let Sarah Palin be Sarah.
The gist of the conversation centered on the fact that it appears the McCain camp has crammed her so full of policies that she is not that confident woman we saw not to long ago:
First up is Kathryn:
She looks like a woman who’s been cramming talking points and great Matt Scully lines and Mark Salter-McCain war stories and Steve Schmidt marching orders into her head since that first plane ride from Alaska. She looks like a woman who has ceased being the confident, successful executive who got herself elected governor of Alaska without the full force of her party behind her and managed to have an approval rating of which most can’t even dream.
This seems wholly unnecessary. People love Sarah Palin when they see her. When she’s firing at full force, she comes off as authentic, self-possessed, and ready for a fight. If that is Sarah Palin, that’s the Sarah Palin who should be talking to everyone she can. That’s the Sarah Palin who should call up Rush Limbaugh. That’s the Sarah Palin who should go on The View. Heck, I thought she should have dropped in on Keith Olbermann while she was in the Big Apple and charm his official Bush-Derangement-Syndrome socks off or be cheered for trying.
Conservatives are inclined to love Palin. Hard-working, all-American family men and women who don’t have their head full of left-wing theories about Republicans are frequently warm to her — if not outright excited. Even the Left knows the attraction or they wouldn’t be going so insane over her.
She’s a rapist! She’s a fascist! She’s not a woman!
If Sarah Palin is John McCain’s secret weapon, let her go, whoever is holding her back.
On Fox News Sunday this morning Bill Kristol said let Palin go – that the McCain team is roping her off from the press and surrounding her with Bushie advisors, which sounds like the third ring of hell. She’s a talented politician, Bill advises, so let her out to do what she is good at doing. I think Bill is mostly right.
Palin is under extreme pressure. But walling her off will only increase that pressure. She needs the give and take with crowds and with the press to get her feet back under her.
I’m with the Free Sarah Palin crowd. That doesn’t mean you have to dance to the MSM’s tune. But I’ve been totally flummoxed why they haven’t been putting her on conservative talk radio and, more importantly, on local news stations. If the McCain strategists actually believe any of this elitist-vs-populist stuff when it comes to Palin, why not actually have a media strategy that conforms to that story line? The Bush campaign was very good at “going over the head” of the MSM in 2000 and 2004. The MSM even helped by shrieking their displeasure about it. Why not do the same thing with Palin? This would be a dual track strategy: it would help her get her groove on, and it would force the MSM to whine that this bumpkin from the hustings doesn’t show them due deference, which always makes the press look bad.
And finally Mark Steyn:
The Palin nomination has generated the only real enthusiasm on the Republican side and keeping her under wraps until she can mouth the appropriately nuanced platitudes isn’t worth it. There’s nothing to be gained by taking Miss Authenticity and turning her into a Foggy Bottom bore.
Plus a gazillion interviews a day with WZZZ-AM Presque Isle, Maine would lessen the Elimination Round stakes attached to the once-a-month highwire acts with Couric and Gibson. And, as Charlie Gibson’s condescending schoolmarm act suggests, the “Name the Deputy Fisheries Minister of Hoogivsastan” school of questioning is likely to wear thinner a lot quicker than any duff answers.
~~~All Governor Palin should insist on, after the desperate editing of her words by Gibson, is that every interview be live. And, if they’re all disasters, they’ll wind up like Biden’s gaffes or Clinton’s adulteries. As Stalin remarked in another context, one is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.
This is the thing. She will make gaffes. Obama has. McCain has. And god knows Biden has. She will also, but at least allow her to be herself. That is what the country fell in love with and walling her off and cramming her so full of policy positions in a few weeks so that she doesn’t appear to be herself anymore is NOT the way to win this election and prevent our country from falling to a Socialist.
See author page
Yes…Let Sara go. Take the muzzle off and let the pittbull loose, and you will find the seats of the good ole boy’s pants scattered all over the place, stained with lipstick of course
Yes! They need to let Gov. Palin be herself! She is terrific. She knows what she belives and why. I know Senator McCain wants Gov. Palin to make certain she always knows he’s the guy at the top of the ticket… but come on! Gov. Palin is a fantastic governor. No, it has not helped that the interviews with Gibson and Couric were editted so poorly as to make her look like a fool — insist on live interviews and tell the MSM where they can stick it! The MSM is biased and full of crap. No one can do anything about that. Just go on and let Gov. Palin speak and be herself!
Free Her!
I have to believe that McCain’s campaign strategists are at least as smart as I am. And surely, they remember that when President Reagan tried to master briefing books in his first 1984 debate with Walter Mondale it was a disaster.
Knowing the approved party line on every issue is much less important than communicating a sense of competetance and likeability that gets lost if you turn the candidate into a playback machine for campaign talking points.
As usual, I agree with Mark Steyn:
Though Sarah Palin depicts herself as a pit bull fighting good-old-boy politics, in her years as mayor she and her friends received special benefits more typical of small-town politics as usual, an Associated Press investigation shows.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ijvcK8P0ztXwMgir7NnkIy4rcI0AD93FQIA81
Xavier – troll. She bought a house, she wanted to sell it. She asked for a zoning variance and it was granted. Even here in suburban California that’d be normal. The rest of the stuff sounds very, very typical of small-town politics. Someone in Obamaville pulled the AP’s chain to come up with more dirt, that’s all. Where’s their story on Jim Johnson’s and Goldman’s and FNMA’s contributions to Obama?
Now, back to the point here. Gov Palin has, for her entire political career, been acting on her own beliefs, her own positions, her own goals. She’s been forceful and brutally competent in pursuing them.
She does not, however, have the benefit of an acting background (Reagan) or a very expensive legal education (Obama) or decades of political experience in which one learns to be comfortable with being a paid mouthpiece for the positions and beliefs of others and wherein, by focusing on the mechanics (and the profitability) of such advocacy, you become desensitized to the moral contradictions of presenting those positions as your own.
John McCain can get up and say what he says with conviction because he believes it.
Barack Obama can get up and say what he says with conviction because he believes that the end justifies the means.
Joe Biden gets up and says what he believes, then he shrugs his shoulders and he says what he’s supposed to say and the press gives him a pass on his retake.
Sarah Palin gets up and tries to say what she’s supposed to say but she doesn’t quite believe it herself, and she’s not yet comfortable with playing the hired advocate. The contradiction here is that the base and the libertarian-leaning independents want to vote for HER positions, not HIS, anyway.
Xavier,
So she got flowers and a free facial… big f… deal! The Dems are really afraid of her, that is why they are continuing to try to find crap on her. They should dig the dirt on Obama and his terrorists and communists friends instead. Poor Xavier… I really pity you for being on the wrong side. Please try to get some real facts on your stupid and very dangerous Obama. I pray every day for your country that Obama won’t win this election. You will be so sorry if he wins and that the United States becomes another Cuba or Russia. Ignorant people like you drives me nut.
Oh no! Tell me it isn’t so. She had a zoning variance. Yikes. Big deal. You appeal to the City and they make a decision. So what. That’s all 30 lawyers from the Obama campaign and a bunch of AP reporters could come up with? What planet are you living on? Good grief.
Tell me about Chicago! Tell me about Acorn! Tell me about real corruption. Tell me about terrorist that Obama cohorts with or the hate America crowd he loves. Yes, she put people she trusted in positions of importance. Look at any Presidency… from Carter (they were all from Georgia, imagine that) or Clinton (they were all from Arkansas) or Bush (they were all from Texas). Yikes. Of course, she wouldn’t keep many of the same people. We had real corruption in Alaska. The kind where special interest groups were hurting our state and enriching just a few.
This lady has real guts. She takes on corruption. What has Obama done? Stayed with the political machine — threatens voters, has totally misleading advertisements (lies), flip-flops and wants to surrender our freedoms to other countries (yes, the terrorist are for Obama!). Take a look around and see what this guy is all about.
After were done with global poverty and global healthcare, there will be nothing left in America. It will have been bled dry.
Come on. Read what the other guy is about. It isn’t pretty and America (not just the state you live in) will suffer.
Xavier, clearly hates America… we are wasting our time with him. He is on the terrorists and communists sides. Remember that many Americans comes from these countries, he is probably one of them. Ignore him!
Xavier, you obviously don’t have much experience with planning commissions, grandfathering and zoning variances. Great fodder for AP to attempt to generate scandal where there is none. Only one official opposed granting the variances. The others did what was logical.
Or perhaps you believe the Wasilla planners should lose property tax revenue, and just mandate they tear the house down because it was built by the original owners too close to the shoreline.
Duh…
What I find missing as a component in their huge scandal is: were the setbacks were in force when the home was built by the original owners, or were they enacted after?
Also was the shoreline in the same place as it was when the house was built? Details, details…
UPDATE INRE the above: also called erosion and accretion Or the natural effect of water changes on land boundaries, which also affect setbacks.
Yes, Biden makes gaffes, but they are usually contained within sentences. In the Couric interview, Palin had trouble with both gaffes and sentences.
That’s true Jim, but at least she had the nerve to go on CBS. I don’t see Biden doing Hannity, Rush, or even Bill O. Being in the Senate and stacking a resume with meetings sans accomplishments doesn’t make him ready to be Pres. He’s an empty hat. Experience isn’t always good, or welcomed. For example, Pres Bush has been President for 8yrs, do you think he has enough experience to be President for another 4 if there was no term limit and partisan lemmings pulled the lever for him? Me, I don’t. Similarly, if Joe Biden’s been in the Senate for 20yrs please list 10 accomplishments he’s made.
Jim obviously hasn’t read about the creative editing that cBS did on their interview with Palin.
The techniques and results were comparable to the Gibson interview over at ABC.
Here you go, Jim.
A little light reading for your Sunday evening.I agree with the premise in full here. Palin may need national issues updates since, as Governor, she was concentrating on state issues. But to remake her into a McCain mimick monkey is absurd. Let Sarah be the same person she was who energized the base. A maverick with a fresh eye on old politics. I neither expect, nor *want* her to agree with McCain on everything.
However, to defeat the purpose of Palin – herself an appealing entry as that fresh eye – is absurd.
Then again, it won’t be the first complaint I’ve had with the McCain campaign.
Truthfully, I view campaigns much the same way I do as I do criminal court trials. The guilt-innocence (i.e. efficiency-qualification factor by comparison) really depends on the presentation of the lawyers in the courtroom. Trials are more a battle on one lawyer vs another’s presentation of evidence, vs the evidence itself. Unless, of course, it’s smoking gun irrefutable. Whoevery is more adept at swaying the 12 people in the jury box… wins.
I still say that having one with gubernatorial experience in this race makes me feel better. I have an inherent distrust of Senators as POTUS. And I’m not alone. There’s a reason that few Senators are elected into that position. Trouble is with this election is, that’s all we have to choose from.
WOW, Aye, that video of Palin is incredible (#12). I am not surprised at all that CBS cut off those sequences… they are great and should be seen by everyone, especially by people like Jim who are completely ignorant.
Steyn hit the nail on the head – the campaign should require that any interviews be carried live.
Aye’s second link isn’t working for me. Here’s a nice article about Governor Palin that I put in my favorites today, enjoy:
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/09/28/columns/columns01.txt
Yes… absolutely. Let Sarah Palin be Sarah Palin. Mother… Hockey Mom… PTA member… hell, even governor of Alaska. This is crucial for her and for our nation, because when she tries to play “vice presidential candidate”, she only embarrasses herself. How much more abuse do you want to subject this woman to? It’s just not humane.
Merge divide, why don’t you go and play with the Obama’s leftists blogs. They need you there… they are so scared of losing this election, they are going out of their minds because they haven’t found one single thing on Sarah that could mess-up her campaign.
Missy,
I don’t know what is going on with the link.
I double checked it and can access it from the blog that I originally found it on.
Here’s the home pagefor that site. You will have to scroll through to find the Palin post.Sorry Missy.
It seems that site is not allowing any traffic through from Flopping Aces.
mrkwong,
I would actually go one step further.
I read recently about a politician who brings his own camera equipment and camera operator to every interview.
That person then tapes the entire event from end to end in order to have a complete, untouched recording.
ROTFLMAO… this would be like the naive, inexperienced Obama playing POTUS candidate? Do give me a break…
Suggestion, “merge divide”… drop the “merge” part from the cyber moniker.
Of course I have no intention of voting for the McCain/Palin ticket, but I frankly think that this race will eliminate any future she has in national politics. You people have to keep looking for your next Reagan/Thatcher inspirational figure. Certainly there are plenty that have unconditional love for her (many who apparently frequent this cheer-leading site), yet she is beginning to represent a large drag on the ticket now that she has been exposed. The only interview where she’s appeared passably articulate is the CNBC spot, where she was lobbed pep-rally questions about Alaska by a “journalist” that actually seemed less prepared than her for a serious discussion (no small feat). 25% of America (the same folks that still give Bush good approval ratings) have professed undying loyalty to some ideal they have created out of her GOP-created persona, and the remainder is starting to view her as either a laughingstock or an albatross for the Republican ticket.
Merge divide, you are full of it. OBAMA is a Media-created persona. Obama is a complete FRAUD. Without the help of the leftists Medias, he would be a NOBAMA. An empty shell, an empty suit. He hangs around with terrorists and USA/Bashers… this guy is your enemy and you don’t even see it… unless of course if you are an Islamist yourself. I pity you!
“you people”?? I always love such language from those in the “love the one you’re with” party… the same who believe they are above classes, race and engaging into creating pigeon-holes of people. Ya know, I actually got a judge to recuse himself from a case by using that language when addressing me. Guess that bias must have some legal base, eh?
Yes, “divide”. I never thought for a minute you’d be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. We have many here that won’t be. Few, however, are so info challenged that they label Palin as thinking she was “anointed by God”. Or that has as little legal concept of the Trooper’gate saga as you demonstrate on your site.
If this is a demonstration of your grasp of politics, you will forgive me if I take your dusty crystal ball prediction with a grain of salt… that would be, of course, that this race will eliminate any future she has in national politics.
But, if you ever have anything of value to add that you can back up with more than just what you “feel” about something… do let us know. We’re kind of a “red meat/source data” group here. Otherwise, you’ll find it hard to hold our attentions.
mataharley… if you insist on quoting me, I require that you link… it’s simply good manners.
SERENDIPITY
“Few, however, are so info challenged that they label Palin as thinking she was “anointed by God”. Or that has as little legal concept of the Trooper’gate saga as you demonstrate on your site”
You are welcome to provide examples… either here or on my site.
“We’re kind of a “red meat/source data” group here. ”
Quite. It’s exceptionally obvious from the level of discussion in this thread.
“divide”, your name is in red, and already a hot link. Any one with a modicum of cyber sense knows that’s a link to your site. Hardly necessary for me to be redundant with what you already supplied.
And sometimes it’s a good idea to read thru a blog more thoroughly than one post to get to know a community before you pass judgment. Hint: there is an “archives/category” link above. You can click on a subject, as in “Palin” and subcategories, or others. Then you will know that even our dissenters here wander in with more than emotions on their platter.
Since you are “kind of a “red meat/source data” group here” (that’s never going to get old), you might want to check out the tepid defense that Bernie Goldberg was able to muster for your hero Sarah Palin… After all, you are advertising his book, so he must be fairly well cherished around these parts.
WATCH IT HERE
After that, you can check out
THE LIST OF PROMINENT CONSERVATIVES turning on Palin. You should enjoy that.
George F. Will
David Brooks
Kathleen Parker
David Frum
Charles Krauthammer
Ross Douthat
Chuck Hagel
I’ll try to keep you guys updated as the reports come in.
“divide”, media opines don’t mean much here. We’re pretty strong on historical local archives for Palin’s performance as a city council member and mayor, as well as her Governor performance.
That Bernie doesn’t like her, based on her interviews with the press, doesn’t hold much water. I also don’t use a movie critic’s review on whether I view, or enjoy a movie either.
We’ve pretty thoroughly vetted Palin here with comments and posts on her entire political career. Sad statement of fact is that the press does not. Not our fault.
But if you want to believe what the LA Times or the MoveOn.org clones, NewsHounds, tells you about Palin, feel free. Afterall, you never intended on voting McCain/Palin anyway. You prefer your Marxist/socialist Obama. However don’t assume we are so limited with our info sources.
See ya at the polls, bubba
Don’t worry “divide”, I will never go on your site. Yurk! There is enough bias MSM out there, we don’t need another one who writes trash on Sarah. But please do come back here on november 5th, so we can laugh at you. Meanwhile, try to stay on your site, Obama needs you badly right now to trash the Republicans. Keep lying, it might help THE ONE and only!
What’s with this Merge troll.
Yo Merge, don’t bother telling us who else thinks what. Conservatives think for themselves. We don’t need, nor want, some collective to do all the cerebral work for us. we have minds and we make them up ourselves.
So if you have something intelligent to say, say it. Otherwise shut the fark up and watch how the adults discuss and dissect issues.
Merge troll is just another one that thought it could handle Mata, I didn’t notice it addressing anyone else. Been noticing that a bit lately, I think it’s an ego thing, they want to be a contenda.
To merge divide, better study up before you take another swing.
Big evil chuckle!
Good job Mata, see what happens when your threads go viral.
merge – one thing you should understand about that list of ‘conservatives’ is that they are almost all Beltway types, and liberal and conservative Beltway Barons alike will circle the wagons at the prospect of an assault from Outside.
Oh, if you’re going to pull lists out of your posterior regions, can we start the list of ‘prominent liberals’ who think Obama isn’t qualified to be President? We’ll just put Bill Clinton at the top. Everything he’s said post-convention has sounded like an endorsement of McCain.
While the call to ‘let Sarah be Sarah’ is increasing, the McCain campaign appears to be more concerned that ever about letting ‘Sarah be Sarah.’ Yesterday…
And then this morning on FOX news…
And then there is this little ditty:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/28/AR2008092802587_pf.html
I’m certainly willing to entertain that idea that Palin is intelligent, sharp, alert and an aggressive player in the body politic as some out there, but I’m still more convinced than ever that she’s simply not prepared for the national stage, yet.
Further, I don’t believe she will ever be “freed” by the McCain camp, or that these ‘calls’ for her to be herself are even authentic. That’s right, I think many of these calls are ‘calls of desperation’, calls of ‘last resort’. How is that having faith in Palin? I find at bottom these calls more in line with casting her over the side, to see if she can swim.
And even if these calls were authentic, I believe the ‘free Palin’ proponents harbor more trepidation than faith in Palin’s abilities, more concern than confidence … and when these Palin proponents step away from the noisy thunder cloud of politics and silently reflect for a few moments about her present potential, then their deeper hidden concerns increase, while their confidence in her fades.
Look for more from the McCain camp this week to make sure she is “not freed” (coddled) for the debate.
…another moment for reflection (concern):
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/the_two_missing_cbs_palin_answ.php
Since you’re an Obama guy, our regular Doug, why would this “concern” you? You should be kicking up your heels with joy that Palin is… in your opinion… so incompetent.
The bar has been lowered for Obama in the debates… ala he “won” because he didn’t lose. The bar is set even lower for Palin… thanks to your DNC, your media and left bloggers. Won’t take much to impress at that rate. And if Sarah can actually be Sarah, she may hurdle the challenges beyond everyone’s wildest expectations.
I am in bewilderment to think that she should not be receiving counseling from national advisors. Any Governor is busy running their own State. But of course she should be receiving advice on the national and international scene to get up to speed. It wasn’t her daily arena…. unlike the picks from the do-nothing Senate we all have in the other three.
The test is to see how she absorbed those consultations, and how she takes them in stride. I’d wager that Obama couldn’t tackle what she is doing in his first month or two on the scene. He had plenty of cover to get comfortable and appear “Presidential” in front of massive visual sets.
But it bothers me not that the DNC and left are pronouncing her an abject failure based on a Couric and Charlie Gibson interview. But as Scott said, Palin tackled traditional liberal hostile territory first. Obama? It’s taken over a year before he made his single Fox appearance. Bold, eh?
I’ll take Sarah’s guts – considering her new arrival and fast track catch up – over Obama’s coddled environment thru the primaries and now any day.
ANd about that “experience” because she was a Gov and not in the US Congress? A little walk down memory lane from another Govenor with no foreign policy experience. Teflon Bill from the 1992 debates, Oct 11, 1992.
Dang… all that “hope and change” crap.. Not an original thought in Obama’s campaign. And Clinton himself is more aligned with experience to Palin that the lofty, fast rising IL Senator with little accomplishments to be proud of to his name.
“Conservatives think for themselves. We don’t need, nor want, some collective to do all the cerebral work for us. we have minds and we make them up ourselves.”
The amusing thing is that you don’t even realize how ironic these statements are given your choice of pronoun. I generally find that when folks can’t respond substantively to an alternate view, they tend to project their insecurities on to those they perceive as “opponents”, manufacturing an “us vs. them” paradigm. It’s a shame that I can’t find any serious discussion here- the behavior here (especially that of Mata Harley) has quickly devolved into personal attacks. If you ever feel like discussing issues like adults, you know where to find me…
Good luck with your Sarah.
Wow… the air on this thread is cleaner already… LOL
What I find really amazing is how the left are so fixated on Palin. When has a VP candidate ever caused such a stir. Is it the fact the Hillery was not tapped for VP? Fear not my liberal friends, I believe you will be seeing much more of her and the likes in the coming years.
Wow, Mata….you really let him have both barrels with those “personal attacks”….how could you be so mean?