Where Should the Bar Be Set for Sarah Palin?
Recently, I wrote tongue-in-cheek that because Republican leadership has been exalting the Greatness of Sarah Palin, they'd set the bar incredibly high for her upcoming debate.
Joking aside, after her scary-ghastly interview with Katie Couric last week, even Republicans understand the scope of that failure, witness their refusing to make her available to simply praise John McCain's debate performance. Amid the frightened reaction and volatile fallout, it's become necessary to take a more realistic view of her debate with Joe Biden. It is important to see the actual threshold she must reach.
And so -- where is the bar for Sarah Palin on Thursday?
Democratic leadership is trying to place it high, contending that she's an excellent debater, a "leviathan of forensics," in their words, as shown by her 2006 gubernatorial debate.
Let's be honest -- this isn't true. This is gamesmanship. I've watched the Alaska debate.
And let's be clear the other way: the challenge isn't whether Sarah Palin can debate -- she can, sort of, in a way. Her challenge is whether she can debate topics she's never had to deal with before. And then explain why Joe Biden is wrong, about everything
So, then, where is the bar for Sarah Palin?
Common wisdom would be that she only has to beat expectations. The problem is, that's no longer true. The reason isn't because Republicans raised the bar so high for her (though they did) -- it's that she lowered it so far for herself. Consider: three days after her awkward interview with Charles Gibson, her approval dropped 12 points. Her scary-ghastly interview with Katie Couric then opened the nation's eyes to the threat she poses to America if elected. A Research 2000 poll taken after that interview not only showed her favorable-to-unfavorable rating the lowest of all candidates, but she dropped to minus 10 points! Even in Alaska, her popularity plummeted a stunning 14 points. John McCain may still like to say how popular she is, but his words only keep serving to show how out-of-touch John McCain is.
As a result of her alarming interviews, doing better than expectations is no longer the bar for Sarah Palin. That ship has long passed. If she uses English in her sentences, she has a good chance of exceeding expectations.
At this point, the bar is that Sarah Palin must prove to a concerned American public that she is qualified to be a heartbeat from the presidency. Most especially under a 72-year old candidate with serious health issues.
Sarah Palin must convince the American public that she can actually lead the nation. Not simply do better than expectations. At this point, there are primitive life forms that could do better than her expectations. She must convince Americans that she won't destroy America.
This is no simple task beyond even the obvious barriers. The first hurdle is that America is in the midst of its biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and people are especially desperate for serious leadership. The greater difficulty, however, is that after eight years of George Bush, Americans now understand what happens when you give the presidency to someone just because you'd like to have a beer with them, and are demanding substance, unwilling to risk the nation again.
That's where the bar is.
Sarah Palin has to convince Americans that she can handle Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, North Korea, a crushing economic crisis, the $482 billion national debt, health care, education, the environment, nuclear proliferation, the housing crisis, global warming, immigration, abortion, the FBI, Armed Forces, CIA, and every single aspect of national security.
That's where the bar is.
Forget even her childish insistence that she is experienced because she can see Russia. Giving her the benefit of the doubt for her deeper explanation that she really knows all about foreign affairs by reading books -- she has to tell us what books those are. Americans will want to hear what books she has actually read about Pakistan, Iraq, China, Russia, Iran, Latin America, and Venezuela that have made her an accomplished expert. As she claims.
That's where the bar is.
After fearfully avoiding the danger of all major press interviewers, merely wanting to ask her opinion...she has to convince Americans that she can face down the leaders of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
That's where the bar is.
And she set is herself.
It is a bar that focuses on John McCain. Because he chose her. He put America at risk. It was his craven act that put America Last.
The bar isn't to beat low expectations. The bar isn't to show that Sarah Palin can stand for 90 minutes while continuing to breathe. The bar is for Sarah Palin to convince Americans, who have seen her flounder and are at this point terrified of the consequences, that she can actually be President of the United States.
That's where the bar is.
Beating expectations? This isn't about beating expectations. You might not expect a mynah bird to be able to sing "Yankee Doodle," but if it exceeded your expectations, you still wouldn't bankroll it with your life savings star in "Das Rheingold" at the Metropolitan Opera.
This isn't a game show. If you beat expectations, you're safe and invited back next week. You have to prove to Americans, who are now wary, that you can be the Leader of the Free World.
That's where the bar is.
Only weeks before becoming the Republican nominee for vice president, Sarah Palin said she didn't even know what the vice president did every day. What she has to do is convince Americans that she not only knows what the vice president does, but that she understands what the President of the United States does.
And that she can do it.
That's where the bar is.
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Tried posting something to the effect that the bar for Sarah Palin be set no higher than the one that was set for George Bush yesterday, but the moderators apparently thought it wasn't right to be so harsh with our sitting president. If any of you have heard George Bush over the past couple of weeks, you have to admit that Sarah can make comments as understandable as some of his. I have no fear that she will destroy America. George Bush and company have done their darnedest to destroy the core of this country, the middle class, in order to make money for themselves and their corporate buddies. Bush allowed Cheney to give him the "talking points" and the direction Cheney wants this country to go and has used electronic feeds to get him through debates. I don't expect to see Palin with a "wire" and given the fact that she isn't one of the DC gang she will probably do okay if McCain's handlers don't try to stuff her too much with his ideological point of view. She has plenty of opinions about various issues, especially the environment. If she doesn't have an answer, she should say so.
Yes! We know that both Obama and Biden are fit to serve as President. There are grave doubts about Palin. She must begin to build -- not continue to destroy -- the case for herself as an acceptable President of and Commander in Chief the United States. No lower standard can apply. It doesn't matter whether she "exceeds someone-or-other's expectations for Palin" -- that's idiotic and irrelevant game-playing.
What would we call a runner who exceeds miserably low expectations, but collapses before reaching the finish line? What would we call a sports commentator who called that a win?
A minor point, but the national debt isn't $482 billion. That's just the annual deficit. Which I don't believe includes "emergency funding" (like the war in Iraq) and does not reflect the impact of the pending Wall Street bail out.
The national debt is inching toward ten trillion dollars ($10,000,000,000,000), or nearly $33,000 for every US citizen. Can she deal with that?
Palin has played B-Ball-
She knows that you have to play your position
and that if you can't play and win "the game"
then its time to sit your a** on the bench-
This is a key point Palin herself is messing.
Its one thing to sacrifice for the team,
and another to do it for one's self-
Palin has causes a "surge" for Obama, and McCain just lost the first debate-
Its Palin Time! and its time to hit the bench and practice some free-throws!
She will come off snide, and bascially arrogant and rude. It's all she knows because she doesn't know much else. Folks of lower intelligence ususally do that.
Suspect too that even though there will be 'specific' ground rules and especially no noise in the hall during the debate, the Repug's will get a group of young, but not stupid enough to cross over the line of being asked to leave, to applaude or make approving noises whenever she speaks. Bet on that and once it starts and even though the commentator will try and rein them in, after a couple of times being unsuccessful at that, it will just cascade into a cheering fest for her. ANYTHING to mask and hedge away from Palin's ineptitude during the debate.
Convince us she won't "destroy America"? Seems she's not the only one we have to worry about.
under the LARGE moosehead.
The Vice President has two defined roles to break a tie vote in the Senate and to become President if something should happen to the President--that is the bar she needs to overcome.
The far right Evangelicals are so enRAPTUREd with Palin that, no matter how she performs, they will be delighted with her. Apparently, they don't have the good sense to even listen to the Conservative columnists who have seen her for the fraud she is. Let's just hope there is fair reporting by the MSM when the debate ends.
Look at how the House Republicans sucker punched Nancy Pelosi on the bail-out bill. You don't think Sarah Palin and McCains team aren't thinking of sucker punching Joe Biden. Democrats can be the classic nerd that falls for it every time.
Don't underestimate this woman. She will use her "good ole boy" attitude, her smarty mouth and her smile (doesn't reach her eyes) and come back with a question rather than an answer. The conservatives you meet in the street NEVER answer a question..they come back with a different subject. Palin has to be kept on topic. The fact that she hasn't been let off her muzzle means that she is being pumped full of "stuff" which she will be able to regurgatate..and I understand she has one of "those" memories. PLUS..if you don't expect anything from this cutthroat shill...anything is a win. Joe Biden has to be careful because after calling Obama names all spring/summer/fall.....the republicans will now go after Biden. He has to stick to topic too and answer very well...and succinctly. Use big words. She will NOT get that one.
Sure she isn't playing possum with her dumb interviews? She may come out swinging and catch Biden over-confidant and off guard.
Correct. Now, how can we get your Blog letter in front of everyone in the Mainstream Media- CBS, NBC, ABC,CNN, PBS, MSNBC and all those in the print news- who are still playing this "That's Entertainment!!" Expectations game. It is dangerously irresponsible for the Mainstream Media to not do the job we all entrust the Fourth Estate to carry out. Even the clowns at Fox News must see what an awful enterprise McCain has invested our future in. Not that they care. Perhaps Todd Palin could simply take his wife home and save his family the shame and embarassment to come and thereby save our nation.
100% Correct!
"Her challenge is whether she can debate topics she's never had to deal with before. And then explain why Joe Biden is wrong, about everything"
Why would anyone try to prove Biden is wrong about everything? That is foolish. Why? Because he isn't wrong about everything. He is a smart man and a good friend of John McCain. What she has to do it prove that she can hold her own with Biden. And, that she has the courage, insight and wisdom to be a good VP.
The reality is that we don't pick a VP to be President. If we did then Obama would have picked Hillary and McCain would have picked Romney.
What do you pick a vp to do if not be president, Have you changed the constitution so that the vp is bypassed in the event of president death? what you are saying is like claiming the copilot is not selected so he can pilot the plane if the pilot has a stroke in flight.
So right, FirstShirt, especially the last sentence. Think also if she is going to be removed from the ticket, it will have to be very soon. Maybe McCain will pick Lieberman.
This is the best summary of what Sarah Palin needs to do on Thursday night that I have EVER read. I'm sick and tired of everybody backing off of demanding that she not be treated too harshly. RUBBISH! She must be pushed to prove herself capable of handling the job, and handling it well.
If she cannot articulate these arguments in a clear and concise manner to the American people, she does not deserve to be a candidate, much less a candidate who just might become the next vice president of the United States.
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