Palin Didn't Bomb, But She Didn't Help

The New Republic: Republican Saves Herself In Match Against Biden, But Obama's Prospects Remain Bright

(The New Republic)  This column was written by Michael Crowley

The good news for Republicans in last night's vice presidential debate is that Sarah Palin saved herself. Sure, her paper-thin grasp of policy issues and reliance on canned talking points was an embarrassment. She was barely able to cope with a question about the gravest responsibility of the presidency--the potential use of nukes. And many of her sharpest talking points--about funding US troops and the fiendish mainstream media--seemed tailored more for a conservative base already supporting her ticket anyway.

Still, before an audience that was prepared for 90 excruciating minutes of Miss South Carolina, Palin avoided committing the kind of indelible, viral-on-YouTube gaffe that would destroy her candidacy, as well as her future political prospects. She drew no blanks, made no major errors of fact. There was no "e" on her potato.

So the calls to dump Palin from the ticket will now stop, except among those hardy Republicans who actually care about her qualifications to be president. (President! Remember that's what we're talking about here, not some high-stakes reality show. In theory, Sarah Palin could be signing executive orders, appointing Supreme Court Justices, and even ordering air strikes on Iran by the time Super Bowl XLIII kicks off in Tampa on February 1.

The debate's seemingly-cowed moderator, Gwen Ifill, did disappointingly little to bring that scenario to life.) And with her debate prep and the drip -drip of her network interview gaffes behind her, Palin can now return to whipping up conservative crowds on the stump and charming the obsequious hosts of right-wing talk radio.

Yet what Palin did to actually help--as opposed to not hurting--John McCain is a different question. It's hard to imagine that anything happened last night which dims Barack Obama's very sunny prospects. Palin certainly didn't introduce any damning new facts about Obama's record, or even particularly clever new iterations of old ones. John McCain may have gone to bed last night pleased with the thought that Palin didn't melt down. But as Palin would say, that's looking backwards.

Ahead of McCain now is a gruesome tableau, mainly consisting at the moment of the financial crisis, still convulsing on the table like a trauma patient, with McCain in the role of a hapless doctor tangled up in his own stethoscope. Given that prospects for a clean House vote on a financial bailout package are still uncertain, the campaign is sure to spend at least a few more days stuck on an issue that eats away McCain's poll numbers like acid. Meanwhile McCain's team is writing off Michigan as lost, and is now placing bets on weird scenarios like stealing away northern Maine's one electoral vote.

In recent days McCain's cranky demeanor has increasingly suggested a man with a sense of creeping doom: He refused to look at Obama during last Friday's debate and frostily accepted his greeting on the Senate floor Wednesday night; he snapped and groused at the Des Moines Register's editorial board; and in B-roll footage of his meanderings around the Capitol hallways these past few days, he has seemed to be grimacing with annoyance (a stark contrast to his rival's unfailingly winning smiles). So, yes, Sarah Palin saved herself tonight. But John McCain is the one who really needs to be saved, and soon it will be too late for that.

[noloyalisti]

I bet Bushoccio and his Neo Con crooks are happy that the fascists passed the Corporate Welfare Bill. It takes the news away from McPalin and the completely failed Government of Pigs (GOP) party.

This bailout will last a week before the crooks spend the money. I just hope it crashes while the Pigs are still in office.

[interobserv]

Well...golly gee whiz and aw-shucks guys. Don''''t ya all know that you are too busy looking back in time at the past, pointing your fingers? What are you going to do about the future? Aw-shucks!!
Up here in Alaska, you can hut Moose all day! And you''''ll get a nice, big, fat check from the state when I get that huge natural gas pipeline built!!
Aw-shucks! Don''''t ya know us hockey moms got it together!!!


LOL!!ROFLMFAO!!!

[lisa459]

Thank-you, definitely best article I''ve read so far on the Palin-Biden debate. Yes, Palin didn''t choke. But really, what consolation is that? My guess is, people will forget all about this debate by the time the next Obama-McCain debate rolls around, and will remember exactly what an old grump McCain is. And then they won''t vote for him, see? Palin may have sparkled and shined, and winked and gurned, but really just because you''ve stopped hurting your ticket, does that really mean you''re helping it? You''re doggone right it doesn''t.

[andor3]

Palin looked like an ambitious but naive soccer mom from the boonies. She needed to look like someone who could run the country.

[rjs1955]

Very good points, Mr. Crowley.

The analogy to reality shows is striking. More and more people are treating politics and the world as a reality show that we all know isn''t real... just turn it off or turn it to another station. As I grew up the great fear was that violence on TV would make children callous to real-world violence. Maybe it does, but it is probably much easier to treat politics like reality TV than it is to really kill someone after seeing it on TV. Good work Mr. Crowley, and HELLO WORLD this is real journalism and analysis, not ''reality'' journalism.

[hungry4goodg]

Gosh golly gee!! Well, ya know...looky there....Sarah did a whizbang job, funny as ever doncha know! Now THAT''S for sure, you better believe, what the White House needs! Ya sure you betcha! *wink* ''Well hiya ya Putin-y...ain''t ya lookin'' darlin'' *wink* take a load off!'' [More GREAT SNL material for Ms. Fey.]

[christimari1]

Was Palin on some kind of drug? She talked frenetically and would jump topics in the middle of a sentence. She would be scary anywhere near the "red button". Did anyone else think she looked like she was on some kind of drug?

[ubrew12]

tbgtom said: "JOHN MCCAIN co-sponsored a bill in 2005 to try to stop this crisis we''re going through today. It was stomped out by crooked democrats. "

It was stomped out by a Republican controlled committee and never brought to the full Senate for a vote. You guys keep acting as though you haven''t had full control of the Federal government for 6 of the last 8 years! If Repubs had wanted it passed, it would have passed.

THATS the reason Palin didn''t bring it up.

[ubrew12]

Lisa459 said: "Thank-you, definitely best article I''ve read so far on the Palin-Biden debate. Yes, Palin didn''t choke. But really, what consolation is that? "

And what does it say about her choice as VP candidate that that''s the best we can hope for her (that she doesn''t choke)? She illuminated NOTHING, preferring a ''song and dance'' ''SAY IT AINT SO, JOE'' delivery. That would have worked wonders in 2000, when Bush used it to win the Presidency.

But we are all 8 years older and wiser by now... we need substance over style.

[itsaname]

Palin is an embarrassment to this country. She can''t even answer the questions put to her. She kept avoiding them by changing the subject back to energy or praising herself and McCain as mavericks. She didn''t even seem to know the meaning of achilles heel. She just regurgitated her memorized lines back to the public -- there was no thinking on her part, except to find a way to keep from straying from her talking points. Is it too much to ask to have someone who knows and is interested in the issues as our vice-president?

[vpo610]

I think the fact that Sarah Palin completely ignored the purpose of the debate and used the platform as an infomercial is a disgrace. We, as Americans, had a right to ANSWERS from the Vice Presidential candidates. Palin simply ignored the questions and turned the Vice Presidential Debate into a cheerleading competition. Quite frankly, as a woman, I am INSULTED. I also find it appalling that the public would let this slide. It is sexist NOT to hold Palin up to the same standards we would require of a male candidate. As a life-long Republican, I have to admit that Biden was the only serious candidate on the stage. Palin is a joke and a gimmick. We need the brightest and the best at this critical time. Palin does not fall into this category. McCain continues to insult our intelligence by trying to frame this woman as a "populist." Get real. She''s simply not qualified. For the first time ever, I am not voting for the Republican Party. My vote goes to Obama/Biden this November.

[noloyalisti]

How can you help the GOP, with their completely failed economic and foreign policies. They are no longer a valid political party in America. Time for change, not more of the Same.

[opinco]

She said Newclear for nuclear and Talibanie for Taliban, was anyone listening? She had several "Bush moments" for sure.

[atatum5]

The vast left wing conspiracy has done a bang up job of scaring us into a socialist economic plan with a liberal congress and possibly one of the most liberal...ah socialist... candidates ever. Pucker up folks and get ready to kiss your American dream goodbye. A vote for Obama is essentially serving socialists your dearly fought freedoms on a silver platter.
Don''t believe in a vast left wing conspiracy? Case in point- after watching last night''s debate every single news show, save FOX, had every analyst agreeing that Biden had won. When have you EVER seen every analyst on the news agree? They have an agenda... you haven''t been given the full story... you''ve been fooled. The socialist/liberals will now control the White House, Congress, your pocket book, and the media... and we''re just giving it to them willingly. Now that''s scary!

[atatum5]

The vast left wing conspiracy has done a bang up job of scaring us into a socialist economic plan with a liberal congress and possibly one of the most liberal...ah socialist... candidates ever. Pucker up folks and get ready to kiss your American dream goodbye. A vote for Obama is essentially serving socialists your dearly fought freedoms on a silver platter.
Don''t believe in a vast left wing conspiracy? Case in point- after watching last night''s debate every single news show, save FOX, had every analyst agreeing that Biden had won. When have you EVER seen every analyst on the news agree? They have an agenda... you haven''t been given the full story... you''ve been fooled. The socialist/liberals will now control the White House, Congress, your pocket book, and the media... and we''re just giving it to them willingly. Now that''s scary!

[bobbyduck1]

I wish school had been as easy as this debate was for Palin. If so, when a professor asked a question we couldn''t answer, we could have just ignored it and talked repeatedly about what great third-graders we were!

God help us if she is ever Prez!

[rmonroe401]

ATatum5,

Every one except for Fox said Biden won. Wow, isnt that a suprise. Of course when I am making a decision and need help from experts, I go with the minority opinion all the time. Are republicans really this stupid? I knew they weren''t real bright, but wow.

[jimbo554]

It''s not just Democrats who are saying she isn''t qualified, I''m hearing it from many Republicans as well. True, she didn''t totally bomb, but she didn''t answer many of the questions she was asked. It was like she had about 5 answers, and no matter what the question, she had to use one of those answers. And God help me if I hear the word maverick again -- she must have used that about a hundred times.

I couldn''t believe she actually winked at the camera. Talk about being sexist, does she think she''s going to get elected by acting all girly?

[noloyalisti]

Palin is simply an embarrassment to every women of the United States. To think that a women would vote for a right wing bimbo just because she is a woman is a freakin'' INSULT. How dare McSame want to treat the fairer *** like that. Of course he is used to that.

[ken1dall]

If McCains running mate was a "pile of rocks", I''d still vote Republican. Anything but you commie, pinko, one-world sissys.

[mac4440]

WAKE UP PEOPLE....the democrats already control the house and senate. So how can you keep pointing fingers at republicans? Democrats preached change at the election 2 years ago, and look what happened.

[ken1dall]

I''ve looked at a cross section of WEB sites and media TV stations. It is interesting that the few conservative sites think Palin won, while the majority (the left-wing, drop your pants and whine pinko socialists) think Obiden won. I guess we have to chalk up another one for the Obamakrats

[aaabee-2009]

I guess we have to chalk up another one for the Obamakrats" Posted by ken1dall at 07:57 PM : Oct 03, 2008

Your well-thought out and mature take on the next president of your country is so refreshing from the usual empty stereotypes and generalities on these boards...

I jest. However...

Sarah Palin will make a formidable opponent for the White House some day. I, as a liberal, can see that.

Just not this year.

We need serious help from our leadership right now, to guide not only our own nation back to sanity, but to allow the world to follow suit.

We lost our standing, our cool, and our heads after 9/11 and we have upset not only ourselves but our allies and our enemies planet-wide. We are once more in a race to arms and our economy is affecting everyone elses economy.

Stability, Peace, Calm are not code words for giving into terrorists, they are actual states of being that we here in the US and they out there in the rest of the world probably prefer to all this Threat Level Orange and Fear and Immediate Action Required.

Biden has it over Palin today, but it doesn''t mean she wouldn''t be an excellent candidate later, when she has a wider scope on the issues (if she pays attention to them) and a wider view of the world than Alaska has afforded her.

Now back to the stereotyping and the nonsensical generalities...all yours, ken1dall.

[noloyalisti]

WAKE UP PEOPLE....the democrats already control the house and senate. So how can you keep pointing fingers at republicans? Democrats preached change at the election 2 years ago, and look what happened.

Posted by mac4440

You are just in dreamland. The Republi Cons have set the record for filibustering this session. They have blocked every bit of legislation the Dems have created. The Dems don''t have the votes needed to over rule the Bushoccio moron''s vetos. We will fix that in the next Congress though, you can be sure along with having a Dem president.

[blackyowe]

McCain is a cranky old man who should retire to a rocker on the porch!

[worldviewer]

i cannot believe in all seriousness that there are some people who will vote for an incompetant and thoroughly spoon fed sarah palin to be vice president and not biden, or vote for someone who would choose sarah palin as a running mate over someone who chose the likes of biden to be president. folksiness is not a leadership quality!! if it was bush would have to be the best president america has ever seen!! vote for someone with intelligence, good judgement and integrity not to sell his soul just to win an election. put the legacy of racism in america''s past where it belongs

[element51]

AaaBee....Nice post except for one thing. Sarah Plain will never be a serious political player. You can take the girl out of the trailer but you can''t take the trailer out of the girl. There are so many intelligent educated smart women out there who are leaps and bounds better than this backwoods moose hunter that one wonders how she ever became govenor. But I guess that same question could be asked about Bush. There are still many unanswered questions about Palin and her activities as govenor that have yet to be answered. I see her as a vendictive opportunist who would not hesitate to destroy anyone who questioned her. I find it amusing that there was a ceremony performed over her to keep the witches away when she is actually one of them. What utter nonsense! Our national leaders should be people that can handle themselves on the world stage, think clearly with a cool head and represent the United States with dignity and grace. This woman falls far short.

[filmguy107]

I dunno...I kept waiting for the swimsuit competition!

[nina281]

She did miserably, I don''t think she even broke even. It is a group of NeoCons that say otherwise, the same Bush loyalist who lie and serve this stinking Mafia like administration that excludes anyone who isn''t with this crowd. As a conservative (Not a NeoCon) I''ve noticed during Reagan''s second term, how this movement has highjacked the Republican Party and turned it into some right wing fanatical soap box, I can''t even reconize the GOP anymore. One thing is for sure, certain sociopathic mindsets tend to relate better to a political party - in this case the NeoCons who mirror their view of the world.

When one looks into it, Democrates and Independents are statically open to vote a Republican ticket if it is genuine, a die hard NeoCon will never vote anything other than a Republican Neo Con, no matter how bad they stink. That''s why I registered Independent.

[heartman001]

Palin is as shallow as a kiddie pool!

[phantiasmic]

"WAKE UP PEOPLE....the democrats already control the house and senate. So how can you keep pointing fingers at republicans? Democrats preached change at the election 2 years ago, and look what happened."

So you mean to tell me in 2 yrs they should already have fixed ALL of the mistakes Bush has done? Not to mention the fact things must be voted in, it''s a process involved they cannot just wave a wand and WHAM everything is fixed.

I love how people try and use this one lol.

[rjstolba]

I am in a state of shock!! This lady doesn''t have an original thought in her head. Instaed of answering any of the question last night, she regurgitated the REPUB pap that her trainers fed her. Unfortunately, most of what they fed her were lies and half truths. My shock comes from what I hear people saying about her performance.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! This uniformed, unintelligent woman could be your President. If this is what you want to show to the world as America''s finest, God help us!!!

[hillarynow]

Grampa needs to go take a nap and Hacky Mam needs to go back to guarding Alaska from the Russians. THESE two dimwits are what America needs right now? what a joke!

[yoy91913]

The McCain/Palin ticket is a dangerous ticket. Even Bush recognized we need to exit Irak but McCain/Palin will not give up. They want to stay until we succeed. I think Bush is a far better alternative. . .

[skysoldier75]

My impression of Palin was that she''s incredibly naive about the real-world difficulties, pitfalls and enormous complexity of both national and international politics.

Palin has a very child-like world-view and political understanding.

She obviously has neither the knowledge nor the skills to function effectively in the global political arena.

[joshirlc]

RE: David Letterman''s biased, slanted, cut-and-pasted videos of selected parts of Gov. Palin''s debate responses, which were actually superb in all respects, far superior to those of the bitter, inept Joe Biden whose responses were rife with lies, inaccuracies, non-relevancies, and more than a little sheer stupidity. You should cancel Letterman''s contract immediately if you have the guts to do so, which I seriously doubt. But it was obvious in the debate that Sarah Palin knows more about responsibilities of the Vice Presidency in five weeks of familiarization than Biden does from his many years in Washington. ----John Cook

Sun247, you are not wrong. Many Americans were very offended by Palin''s sophomoric behavior. I find her position on the ticket to be threatening, infuriating, and unbelievable. How could McCain stoop to giving us this sad excuse for competence!

[jcr103]

I thought Sarah Palin did a good job in her own folksy kind of way. But, I was bothered by the fact that more often than not she utterly refused to answer the questions asked of her. I don''t think I have ever seen a debate like this where one of the participants nearly always neglected to answer the questions they were asked.

[rjstolba]

Thank GOD that there are rational people in this country who know a lightweight when they see and hear one. The only reason this lady sounded remotely coherent is that she evidently can remember her point sheet better than she can speak extemporaneously. She doesn''t have an original thought in her mind. Anyone who thinks this lady is being judged by her "accent" or other personal characteristic needs to wake up and get in touch with reality. There comes a time when these people need to stop being hateful and start being human beings

[mrtutto]

My wife teaches grade 3 and when her students bomb a test, she goes over the answers with them and then lets them take the test over again. When Sarah Palin did the Fox interview, she was able to recite answers to Katie Couric''s questions about Supreme Court cases, and the magazines she reads. She claims that she reads the New York Times, what she doesn''t realize is that anyone who reads the Times do so religiously, not part time. Was she lying ? Probably, but she has been able to get away with it. I would probably say that there aren''t three places in all of Alaska that carries The New York Times.

[baby54boomer]

As a woman I was glad to see Palin at least not look as "deer-in-the-headlights" as she has looked during interviews. BUT, lets be honest, this country is circling the rim of another great depression and cute winks, sophomore little cliches and gestures are just too trivializing for someone who wants me to place my trust in their ticket to run this country.

[baby54boomer]

As a woman I was glad to see Palin at least not look as "deer-in-the-headlights" as she has looked during interviews. BUT, lets be honest, this country is circling the rim of another great depression and cute winks, sophomore little cliches and gestures are just too trivializing for someone who wants me to place my trust in their ticket to run this country.

[baby54boomer]

As a woman I was glad to see Palin at least not look as "deer-in-the-headlights" as she has looked during interviews. BUT, lets be honest, this country is circling the rim of another great depression and cute winks, sophomore little cliches and gestures are just too trivializing for someone who wants me to place my trust in their ticket to run this country.

[elz523]

BO and Nancy Pelosi both should be prosecuted for violating the Logan Act. The MSM never reports anything negative about BO and everyone has negatives. Aren''''t you even curious why they are pushing for his election instead of informing us about all there is to know about him. Geez! He could be our POTUS and there are still a lot of unanswered questions about him. Even Hamas and Gaza has contributed to his campaign. I fear he will look the other way when jahidists come to this country and he allows them to take us from within our borders.


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Posted by joule3 at 06:21 AM : Oct 04, 2008

You are a *******, but fortunately most people see through your bigotry. Note everyone who opposes Obama is a bigot, but those who talk about these vague fears of jihadists and are.

I contruibuted to Obama''s compaign and I am a white maile Christian from northern Indiana. Obama loves his country and will be one of the best Presidents this country has seen. We need someone who can inspire in the American people becuase that is the only way we will recover from teh Bush/Cheney/McCain policies of the last 8 years.

[elz523]

I thought Sarah Palin did a good job in her own folksy kind of way. But, I was bothered by the fact that more often than not she utterly refused to answer the questions asked of her. I don''''t think I have ever seen a debate like this where one of the participants nearly always neglected to answer the questions they were asked.


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Posted by jcr103 at 03:00 AM : Oct 04, 2008

Right. What scares me is that her foreign policy advisers are Max Boot and Robert Kagan. They are the chief neocon cheerleaders of the Iraq war. What happens when McCain dies and they have Sarah Palin to themselves?

[elz523]

My wife teaches grade 3 and when her students bomb a test, she goes over the answers with them and then lets them take the test over again. When Sarah Palin did the Fox interview, she was able to recite answers to Katie Couric''''s questions about Supreme Court cases, and the magazines she reads. She claims that she reads the New York Times, what she doesn''''t realize is that anyone who reads the Times do so religiously, not part time. Was she lying ? Probably, but she has been able to get away with it. I would probably say that there aren''''t three places in all of Alaska that carries The New York Times.


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Posted by mrtutto at 10:08 AM : Oct 04, 2008

Good point. There are no do-overs when it comes time to push the nuclear button.

[amrt5016]

I thought Sarah Palin did a good job in her own folksy kind of way. But, I was bothered by the fact that more often than not she utterly refused to answer the questions asked of her. I don''''t think I have ever seen a debate like this where one of the participants nearly always neglected to answer the questions they were asked.
Posted by jcr103 at 03:00 AM : Oct 04, 2008

This didn''t surprise me. I had heard the debate format for the VP was not the same as for the principal candidates at the behest of Republicans and obviously to make it easy for Palin to come through the debate with as little damage as possible. And notice that Biden did not aggressively engage Palin to avoid being seen as a male bullying the weaker ***. In the real world out there, you wouldn''t always get this kind of favorable treatment and you would sink or swim on your own.

[amrt5016]

Right. What scares me is that her foreign policy advisers are Max Boot and Robert Kagan. They are the chief neocon cheerleaders of the Iraq war. What happens when McCain dies and they have Sarah Palin to themselves?
Posted by elz523 at 11:10 AM : Oct 04, 2008

This kind of belies the claim of change the McCain/Palin ticket wants to run on. Can''t they even be subtle about this?

[msay3]

Good point. There are no do-overs when it comes time to push the nuclear button.

Posted by elz523 at 11:12 AM : Oct 04, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aw, don''t worry...She won''t even find the button...She''ll be looking for the nucular button, and there ain''t such an animal....

[element51]

joule3....Your attacks on Obama are nothing more than hot air. Your claims have been out there for ages and have been proven to be totally false. This election is not going to be won with lies so I would suggest that you bone up on policy issues that are relevant to the differences in the candidates. And trying to paint Obama as the boogy man is grasping at straws. To even suggest that he will open the country up to the jahidists so they can attack us from within is just to ridiculous to even consider. If you think that turning the country over to an old man and a religious nut case is in our best interest you might want to re-examine your position. If you want to debate the real issues I welcome that but if all you want to do is post nonsense we have no grounds to talk.