Low Expectations
The fact that Sarah Palin didn’t crash and burn during the Vice Presidential debate is being hailed as a great victory by some in her party who were seriously worried that she might embarrass the Republican ticket to such an extent that Barack Obama and Joe Biden would easily sail to victory next month. In fact, shortly after the debate, arch conservative Pat Buchanan reported that Palin’s performance brought great joy to the conservatives he had just spoken to.
It’s a sad commentary on our political process when the standard for a potential Vice President’s performance in a national debate is so low that her surrogates can claim a huge victory because she didn’t end up looking like a total idiot. This is someone who aspires to be the Vice President of the United States, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Shouldn’t we set the bar a little higher than “not looking like a complete buffoon”? After seven years of mistakes and poor judgment from George W. Bush and his advisors, I would think the American people would want the next administration to consist of the most intelligent leaders we can find. Aren’t we tired of having our nation run by a bunch of buffoons?
Think about it. Here’s a Vice Presidential candidate who spent the entire debate avoiding the questions put to her, not because she was being bold or clever, but because she clearly didn’t know how to answer them. In some cases, such as when she was asked about when it might be appropriate for the US to use nuclear weapons, it was clear that she didn’t even understand the question. She devolved into a rambling statement that went nowhere until she was able to get herself back around to one of the only things she knows how to say on the subject “must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons”. Unfortunately, that statement was a non sequitur having nothing to do with anything else she was talking about at the time, and wasn’t even tied to an explanation of who wouldn’t be allowed to get nuclear weapons. Presumably, Palin had been prepared with that phrase for when she was asked about Iran or North Korea and just pulled it out of her hat while she was rambling on about First Use. This was probably the most glaring example of the strategy she employed throughout the night. It quickly became evident that Palin had memorized rote answers on subjects she was likely to be quizzed on and just kept using those lines over and over, regardless of what question she was asked. In this way she was able to avoid the “deer in the headlights” look that characterized her interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric. Almost anyone with any public speaking experience could have done at least as good a job. Especially since the structure of the debate left little room for follow up questions or pinning a candidate down on the specifics of the subject at hand. Let’s also not forget that for a time, Palin was a sports reporter on Anchorage’s local NBC TV station. Apparently she picked up the ability to look into the camera and connect with her audience because that’s about the only thing she did well last night. That and not completely embarrassing herself. I guess she is qualified to be Vice President after all.
On a side note, special criticism goes to the moderator of the debate, Gwen Ifill, for failing to require that Palin speak to the questions that were put to her or answer even one question with specificity. In addition, Ifill committed a huge disservice to the American public during a question about the candidates’ positions on the rights of gay couples. After Biden clearly indicated that neither he nor Obama supported gay marriage, Biden went on at some length to explain that they did support gay partners having the exact same rights as married heterosexuals, they just wouldn’t call it marriage. When Palin was specifically asked if she supported gay couples having those same rights, she obviously didn’t want to answer directly (once again), so she skirted the question by providing a terse response that she also didn’t support gay marriage. Ifill immediately jumped in and declared that both candidates were in agreement and that she was moving on to another question. Clearly Palin does not support the same rights for gay couples as her democratic opponents, and Ifill’s declaration of agreement certainly left the viewers with the wrong impression of Palin’s position on an important issue of personal rights. And while there are numerous other examples of her poor performance I could detail here, I’ll simply say that overall, Ifill was one of the worst moderators I have seen in a national debate. While I’d give Palin a “C-” for her performance, Ifill gets a straight “F”.
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by David Boaz or 
by David Bergland, both excellent books on libertarian thought.
Comment by Hideo's Dance | October 3rd, 2008
In the past week – in the Gibson and Couric interviews and last night with the “debate” – it’s become crystal clear that it’s not that Palin didn’t know the answers. She didn’t know the questions. So she brought her own. She has performed better in her beauty pagaent competition. But at least there we got a flute solo.
She’s out of her league, plain and simple.
The last thing we need is another incurious Pet Goat politician in the White House. The last thing we need is another administration which is more intent on hiding things than discovering things.
The choice – if you’re not drinking the Kool-Aid – is obvious.
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Comment by Jason | October 4th, 2008
I think the phrase is “moose in the headlights.”
She’s got a smugness to her that comes from a complete lack of critical thinking, combined with naked ambition.
It’s frightening.
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Comment by Jennie | October 5th, 2008
I’m so glad you brought this up. The fact that “not failing” can be construed as “succeeding” is absolutely terrifying. To think that in most of the “Who Won The Debate?” polls, Palin lost by only the tiniest of margins realy makes me wonder about the critical thinking skills of Americans.
She didn’t answer the questions.
She repeated the same three sentences over and over again, you betcha!
She thinks the word is nucular.
And the fact that she can smile adorably into the camera while simultaneously being condescending, smug, and berating Joe Biden makes her more likeable?!
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