"If she can't handle a press conference, how can you argue she's
ready to be vice president?"
I completely agree with you, *but* I was just on MSNBC with
David Shuster, and realized something. These people are salivating.
They're eager to rip into her.
First he asks me what I figured Palin was going to talk about on
the trail -- I suggested that it's likely she's going to stick to
the conservative themes that made her convention speech so popular.
He then asks, abruptly, why she won't do one on one interviews yet
and answered "the American people" and if that means she's not
ready to be vice president.
Wait, wait. She's been in the spotlight for how many days, and
the fact that she hasn't pitched up for a one on one means that
she's not ready for the slot? If anything it's probably a smart
move right now. The press is mistaking itself for The People. The
more self-righteous it gets about not getting a Sarah Palin
interview, the better she'll look. Her speech was so well-received
in part because it was a good speech and she was good at
delivering, but also because everyone said she's a total novice.
She's benefitted from low expectations. By the time she actually
does an interview, she'll be expected to be
boring/rehearsed/inchoate, making it all the more impressive when
she knocks it out of the park.
Anyway, I responded that I thought it was strange that the press
hasn't really scrutinized Barack Obama despite having months to do
it. Shuster claimed, "Oh we have, and we've asked all the
questions, and I could show you." I just responded, "Yeah, but did
you ever get any answers?"
It doesn't count if you didn't wind up getting answers to the
questions. If Palin needs a few more days before she faces the
press, that's fine. Frankly, the whole point of having Palin on
board is that she's so down-to-earth. She contributes nothing to
the ticket by hiding. She'll have to come
out at some point.
topics:
Barack Obama, Sarah Palin
