The American Spectator

Campaign Crawlers

The Barracuda Bites Back

By J. Peter Freire on 10.3.08 @ 12:08AM

(Page 2 of 2)

Hence a senator of 35 years can assert nonsense and avoid a criticism Couric lobbed at Palin, that she was "not always responsive when asked questions," and sometimes slipping back to talking points. Really, Katie? Hooey. Senator Biden is a politician, as is Governor Palin, and he certainly slips back to talking points because he is a politician. Start with any phrase that begins with, "I'm the guy who..." and you have yourself a talking point. Memorize that.

THE REASON Governor Palin has performed badly up until last night is, by all accounts, because she's been cramming for a test. What is revealing is not that she had to study, but that her advisers were bulls-eye correct that reporters would quiz her rather than interview her. I would like to think that the idea of "letting Sarah be Sarah" is probably the best strategy (and Thursday night's debate is a perfect argument for it), but the advisers she has are bright people, particularly aware of how reporters behave. If you put Sarah Palin in an interview with Katie Couric, Couric's going to use it as an opportunity to show how she's probably more qualified to be the veep choice. That would be silly, of course, because as it is, she's barely qualified to be the anchor on CBS. Heck, look at this:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the dispatch from Iraq of a person following in the footsteps of Walter Cronkite. Say what you will about that man's objectivity, but I'll understand if you weep softly.

The facts themselves show that Governor Palin has acquired a certain amount of experience that rises to a level a touch higher than host of a morning talk show. To wake up in the morning and pursue an agenda that involves the business of the largest state in the United States is something worth talking about. Oddly, it didn't really come up in that interview. Maybe it's on the cutting room floor. Perhaps this is an example of ambitious women tearing down ambitious women. After all, wasn't the emotive question about being a working mom with kids conspicuously absent from this interview? Would Couric be playing to her own base by asking such a question? Then why not ask it?

Whatever it is, I'll have a hard time buying the line that Palin's a disaster until someone qualified enough to interview her does so. Last night's debate showed that McCain made a solid choice, one who shares a characteristic of his. She's at her most interesting when she's in a fight.

J. Peter Freire is managing editor of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Foreign Policy, Trade, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, Business, Law, Supreme Court, Iraq, NATO, Alaska