- OK Biden, y’can talk, but can y’run? (OK, fine, this picture is from when Palin was with troops in Kuwait) Photo from the Sun.
This is a bit strange. Our first impression of Sarah Palin came from a teleprompter speech, after which Democrats screamed, dropped their recyclables (or pulled over in their Geos) and hurdled under a table, screaming “the sky is falling” and predicting the duping of the public into putting into power another Republican regime.
Republicans, meanwhile, set down their Bud-lights (or pulled their Hummers over) and pumped their fists in the air.
Following this, though, every interview that featured Palin made her look like a dislexic, in-bred cheerleader who read “Right-wing politics for Dummies” once as her only prep for the VP candidacy. Repubs promptly lowered their fists and grabbed a new bud light, while Dems sighed a sigh of relief and popped a fresh pack of tofu.
In response to Gibson’s question about her travels, Palin became as flustered as a hockey mom who’s been told that one of the other mothers is dropping out of the car pool as she talked about being Russia’s neighbor (repeating the word “neighbor” to comic effect), and citing her worldly travels to the countries of Canada and Mexico.
The Katie Couric interview was similarly pathetic, and I think it’s safe to say that we all thought the VP debate would be a meltdown of comic proportions.
I know I did. I tuned in to the 13″ Spartan Daily TV with the same sort of anticipation I used to have for a new episode of Seinfeld. I had my popcorn to throw at the screen, and a box of tissues for the incidents in which I’d laugh myself to tears.
Well. While Palin didn’t dissapoint in keeping up her trademark habit of answering questions other than the ones asked, I’m shocked at the level of competence she was able to feign.
Sure, we all had a good laugh when Biden pointed out issues with the current administration that McCain’s platform is said to agree with and she responded “well gosh darnit, there ya go pointing the finger backwards again,” and we all had a nice giggle as Palin shoe-horned pre-fab answers into questions that often had little to do with said answers.
The thing is, though, she shoehorned these fairly eloquently. Maybe she didn’t win the debate, but she sure as hell didn’t blow it either, and the only reason most of us tuned in was to see whether or not it would be ”The Sarah Palin Meltdown Show.”
Of course, she had set the bar pretty low. We were all expecting more of the same, and she didn’t deliver.
Before the debate, the water cooler talk around the newsroom was rich.
“It’ll be funny,” said a certain Tommy.
“I don’t know if I’ll want to see it, though,” said a certain Colleen, “It’ll be like a car wreck.”
“Well, you sort of put yourself out there when you choose to be a vice presidential candidate,” a certain Tommy said back.
In anticipation of Palin’s meltdown that didn’t happen.
Who knows what happened. Maybe she spent some more hours with McCain’s coaches, perhaps she gave “Right-wing Politics for Dummies” another gander, but whatever changed, I’ll bet members of her party who were put off by her incoherent babbling are now creeping cautiously back to the cusp of finding Palin favorable.
Dollars do donuts, left-wingers have lept back under the table and cried “armageddon.” I know I have: Palin is dangerous.
Tags: Biden, Palin, vice presidential debate
