I have in the back of my mind the fear that Palin is intentionally lowering expectations, much as John Spencer's character did in the last season of The West Wing.

But wasn't she reporting the sports scores? not the news? It makes a big difference. Granted both use a teleprompter.

As for her favorite authors I too liked George Sheehan, physician and runner, but he hasn't written anything in years. (He died about ten years ago.) His books are all out of print. She likes C. S. Lewis because he is a Christianist. I doubt she has read him since high school. Is that all she can come up with?

I agree,Liam. She'll be a lot more likeable than mccain. I think Biden comes across as likeable, too, doesn't he?

The mccain campaign has warned Ifill not to be too hard on her. Lehrer wouldn't cave to that kind of nonsense. I hope Ifill doesn't either.

She needs to fill every silence. That is what will kill her. Watching the clip you provided demonstrated it beautifully. She fills in. That works at a party. It works wonderously at sports events. If you don't know shit from shinola it doesn't work unless you are appealing to those who are completely stupid.

Swing voters are not in the bag; they are trying to find out the difference between these two. Obama may turn some of them off because he is too intellectual, too practical; Palin could turn some of them off because she has obviously never thought about much except moose hunting and keeping contraception education out of schools.

But what do I know?

Spread the word. A professional TV career woman should be expected to win a debate.

I believe this was the operative line, folks.

the political backround of Palin - what a slimy b*tch.

-

Sept. 23, 2008 | WASILLA, Alaska -- Before Sarah Palin decided to run for the Wasilla mayor's office in 1996 against incumbent John Stein, the Palins and Steins were friends. John Stein had helped launch Palin's political career, mentoring the hockey mom during her 1994 run for City Council, along with veteran council member Nick Carney. Stein's wife, Karen Marie, went to aerobics classes with Palin.

But when she announced her candidacy for Stein's seat, vowing to overturn the city's "old boy" establishment, a different Sarah Palin emerged. "Things got very ugly," recalled Naomi Tigner, a friend of the Steins. "Sarah became very mean-spirited." .........

...... Palin's mayoral campaign rode the wave of conservative, evangelical fervor that was sweeping Alaska in the '90s. Suddenly candidates' social values, not their ability to manage the roads and sewer systems, were dominating the debate. "Sarah and I were both Republicans, but this was an entirely new slant to local politics -- much more aggressive than anything I'd ever seen," said Stein, looking back at the election that put Palin on the political map.

There was a knife-sharp, personal edge to Palin's campaign that many locals found disturbing, particularly because of the warm relationship between Palin and Stein before the race. ...

... Even though Palin knew that Stein is a Protestant Christian, from a Pennsylvania Dutch background, her campaign began circulating the word that she would be "Wasilla's first Christian mayor." Some of Stein's supporters interpreted this as an attempt to portray Stein as Jewish in the heavily evangelical community. Stein himself, an eminently reasonable and reflective man, thinks "they were redefining Christianity to mean born-agains."

The Palin campaign also started another vicious whisper campaign, spreading the word that Stein and his wife -- who had chosen to keep her own last name when they were married -- were not legally wed. Again, Palin knew the truth, Stein said, but chose to muddy the waters. "We actually had to produce our marriage certificate," recalled Stein, whose wife died of breast cancer in 2005 without ever reconciling with Palin.

"I had a hand in creating Sarah, but in the end she blew me out of the water," Stein said, sounding more wearily ironic than bitter. "Sarah's on a mission, she's an opportunist." ........

cont.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/23/palin/index.html

and this is what she does to friends ! screws them over when it's convenient for her. How much faster would she help screw over America ?

Spot on. The more she looks like an idiot in interviews the more the people who like her downhomey-ness defend her.

Ah, the expectations game. At this point, expectations for Palin are so low, she wins merely by avoiding a total meltdown - an unlikely possibility. More likely, she flits from soundbite to folksy aphorism to meaningless platitude. Those inclined to find her charming will continue to do so. The rest of us will grit our teeth and marvel at the vapidity of American politics. Then again, she couldn't even make it through a few minutes with Katie Couric, so perhaps we are overestimating her.

The dangers for Biden are manifest - foremost among them the risk of appearing condescending, playing into her game. Let's hope he handles the questions smartly and avoids making the debate about her. Check out this insightful piece from Dahlia Lithwick. http://www.slate.com/id/2199363/

And to Liam, appropos of a comment of mine on a previous thread, I meant no disrespect to you personally or your blogs, links and threads, which I often find interesting and insightful. I was merely expressing the sentiment that I do not go to TPM Cafe to be pointed to Frank Rich, familiarity with whom, I believe, should be assumed. I have, on occasion, posted thoughts I believe to be original (though perhaps less original than I imagine) when I have the time and inclination to follow through on the comments. Often, those I find the most original and into which I put the most thought disappear nearly instantaneously, while the throwaways and inside baseball posts have achieved surprising "acclaim" in the form of recommendations. Go figure. Anyway, I try not to live out my moniker, though imperfectly, I'm sure.

Best.

Oh, and by the way, I had thought she *would* be able to answer questions because of her beauty pageant experience. But no.

Never lower expectations for the other side, and never raise them for our side. That is just begging for trouble.

A lot of people appear to have very short memories.

Lieberman was going to destroy Cheney. Al Gore was going to destroy Bush.

John Edwards was a skilled trial lawyer, and Cheney would not stand a chance against him.

How did those work out for you folks.

If Sarah, Warrior Princess Of The Tundra, falls flat on her face, then that will be fantastic, but for cripes sake take a lesson from the recent past, and stop being so damn cocky and presumptive.

Pride goeth before a fall.

There may be more CBS stuff to come, before the debate happens. Sounds like Palin will be boning up on her Supreme Court knowledge...
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/The_next_Palin_gaffe.html?showall

Check this out..her 80's sportscasting video. She can read a prompter. Sports stats are very hard to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV-vWrU27Go

I am a bit wary of the telegenic aspect of Palin. But a VP debate does come down to nuts and bolts boilerplate issues. I know the R's have been working hard to try to prep her but if she gives answers like she gave to Couric ther'll be no way she'll win...unless the media sets the bar at ground level. A point from which I hear one can see Russia. Bottom line is based on her interview with Couric it doesn't appear that Palin has any detailed knowledge of national/international issues. And I doubt talking point answers will cut it. Liam brought up the fact that Edwards was supposed to destroy Cheney and Gore was supposed to dominate Bush in their respective debates. I agree those were the expectations but both Cheney and Bush spent most of their lives either in national politics (Cheney) or around it (Bush vis-a-vis his father) and showed they had a cursory knowledge of the issues. Palin's rise to national prominence has been quick, something I don't think she has been preparing for and therefore detailed positions on issues is something she will have trouble articulating...her past TV experience notwithstanding.

I think Biden can just effectively be the 'regular Joe' as her being a 'regular Jane'. Joe has just got to work on his own verbosity issues. He seems to be in love with the sound of his own voice from time to time...and has a bad habit of 'winging it' just like Palin does.

A word of advice for Biden from the old TV series 'Dragnet'...'just the facts'. Keep it as simple as he can and encourage Palin to talk as much as she wants.

Now, I want no one to be overly confidant Liam. Except of course Magoo and Diana the Huntress. But experience as a TV weather lady or sportscaster, or whatever version of showbiz is in her CV apparently hasn't taught her to address questions directly put to her, even by Charlie Rose. Her patter is just to mark time. Gwen Ifill doesn't need to be Tim Russert to be effective. Does she? Let's see how she moderates.

For your consideration, on the chance anyone has not looked at it, this url is from the other Charlie Rose show featuring Palin- this one with the Gov. Napolitano of Arizona. The contrast between the two governors' ability to communicate on topic is pretty stark.

www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/10/12/2/a-conversation-with-governors-janet-napolitano-sarah-palin