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We are all Katie Couric now
In tonight's debate, Sarah Palin delivered 90 minutes of word salad. She was like a "talking points shooter" you'd purchase on one of those cable infomercials, growing wide eyed and automatic while churning out whatever was locked in her memory banks regardless of whether the verbal lettuce and cucumbers flying out had any relationship to the question being asked. The theme of the night could have been, "and now, for something completely different." Shouldn't you wait for the moderator to ask you about energy before you start spouting off about it?
In 90 minutes, I'm honestly not sure the woman directly answered a single question. Gwen Ifill didn't even need to be there! Asked about A, she answered about tomatoes. Asked about B, she declared that she wasn't going to answer the question at all. She was folksy to the point of being a Clampett. But would you elect Ellie Mae president?
Clearly, Gov. Palin was coached to the hilt, crammed with information (some of it off key, like General "McClellan", the non-existent military general in charge of Iraq, or the dangerous announcement that a McCain Palin administration would be moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem) to help her get through the evening. But she spit out those memorized talking points like she was anxious to pump them out of her brain before they dissolved. How many times did she say "Ahmadinejad," exactly? Joe Biden, several times, had to keep from visibly laughing out loud!
This is the woman who wants to not only be a cancer recurrence away from the presidency, but who also would like to expand the powers of the vice presidency beyond with Dick Cheney has done??? What's she going to use her newfangled powers for? To blather the Congress into submission on drilling?
Jeez...
In 90 minutes, I'm honestly not sure the woman directly answered a single question. Gwen Ifill didn't even need to be there! Asked about A, she answered about tomatoes. Asked about B, she declared that she wasn't going to answer the question at all. She was folksy to the point of being a Clampett. But would you elect Ellie Mae president?
Clearly, Gov. Palin was coached to the hilt, crammed with information (some of it off key, like General "McClellan", the non-existent military general in charge of Iraq, or the dangerous announcement that a McCain Palin administration would be moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem) to help her get through the evening. But she spit out those memorized talking points like she was anxious to pump them out of her brain before they dissolved. How many times did she say "Ahmadinejad," exactly? Joe Biden, several times, had to keep from visibly laughing out loud!
This is the woman who wants to not only be a cancer recurrence away from the presidency, but who also would like to expand the powers of the vice presidency beyond with Dick Cheney has done??? What's she going to use her newfangled powers for? To blather the Congress into submission on drilling?
Jeez...
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...but who also would like to expand the powers of the vice presidency beyond with Dick Cheney has done???
I thought that response was the biggest gaffe of the night. At least I hope it was gaffe. I mean, did Palin really intend to say that she agreed with Dick Cheney's crazy interpretation of the powers and the non-accountability of the Vice President? I hope her answer gets some serious scrutiny tomorrow.
October 2, 2008 11:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Biden's answer that the VP's role extends from the 1st Amendment was right on point, quick and, far beyond Palin's understanding of the Constitution.
October 3, 2008 12:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think you mean *Article 1* of the Constitution (describing the powers of the executive) and not the *1st amendment* describing the freedom of speech, press, assembly religion...
October 3, 2008 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
And I think you mean Article II. No wonder candidates can get away with saying this kind of shit!
October 3, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Although Biden was most likely referring to Article I, Section 3, Clause 4.
Argh. I'm really just upset that so many people in this country seem to think of the President as "boss of the country" (or maybe "the Decider") without understanding what powers actually are or are not granted to the position. Sorry if that first response came off harshly.
October 3, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmm, if only politicians had to take some kind of course in our constitution or something, understand the powers of their position, may be study the laws that they have to enforce, hmmm..wonder what that might be called..constitutional law, maybe?...yeah, but where would ordinary politicians get time for things like that, and why would people who know that kind of stuff, like say, professors of constitutional law want to come into politics, anyway...hey, wait! ...
October 3, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Q:
A: Because they're East Coast, closet-socialist liberal elitists who want to destroy America!
October 3, 2008 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
You forgot latte-sipping, windsurfing, and arugula-eating. Useful adjectives all.
October 3, 2008 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yikes. Thanks for the correction.
Art 2 executive powers
Art 1.3.4 pres of Senate.
It IS significant that Legislative power is indeed the first article of the Constitution.
October 3, 2008 9:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
It really, really sounded like a canned answer to me. At some point there must have been a meeting where the McCain campaign sat down and decided that for some reason they wanted Palin to make that particular point at the debate.
October 3, 2008 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think she knew what she was saying. It struck me as something the Rove crowd and Randy Scheunemann poured into her head for her to spit out when triggered by the words "vice president."
October 2, 2008 11:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was a typical non-answer, and allowed Biden an opportunity to shine. I don't think what she said should be taken at face value - in many ways, Palin won't be a Cheney (a comment I'll defend some other time).
October 3, 2008 12:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, she's most like Bush. Right down to their inability to pronounce the word nuclear. What is it with these folks and that word?
October 3, 2008 12:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
At the debate party I attended you could HEAR everyone's eyes rolling when she first said "nookyooler."
October 3, 2008 10:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm afraid that has become an acceptable alternate pronunciation of the word. It's been in common usage for decades (even Eisenhower!).
Just chalk it up as being a regionalism.
By the way metathesis, or swapping sounds withing a word, is pretty common: e.g. the Pedernales River, where LBJ built his "Western white House", is correctly pronounced Purd-un-all-eze. And how do you pronounce "iron"? ;-)
Myself, I'm a lot more concerned with her lack of education manifesting itself by her absolute ignorance of the Constitution than by her using a widely used alternate pronunciation of a particular word.
October 3, 2008 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's how Republicans prove they are mavericks.
October 3, 2008 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is right. She had no idea what she meant. It was like what she wanted to say is that as vice president she would get more involved in the politics of legislating which is not what Cheney has been doing at all.
Cheney ignored the Congress as an instrument of power preferring to greatly increase the power of the executive branch. He only used the VP's nominal role in the legislative process to escape accountability for his executive branch misdeeds.
Biden described this well. I'm not sure the average American gets the constitutional nuance, but they sure do hate Cheney and maybe that is all that needs to get across.
Incidentlally, it was Biden who said that one of his chief roles as VP would be to act as the legislative liaison of the President.
October 3, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
As if she's even been involved in legislating ever...
October 3, 2008 10:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't doubt she is part of the law-making process in Alaska. She has to be to some extent.
October 3, 2008 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Many complaints about her lack of involvement on that front, actually.
October 3, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right down to the "Where's Sarah?" buttons Alaska legislators wore when Palin was notably absent.
October 3, 2008 12:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree completely that this was a memorized bit to 'warn' the public that this is going to be the intent.
And - we all owe a debt of thanks to Gwen Ifil catching it and adding in a Q on it so that Biden could let folks know of this distinction as well. LOVED hearing someone say publicly that Cheney is dangerous, even if not all debate listeners are conversant with the term Unitary Executive.
And, had Biden had the time [which I suspect he did not] - the only thing that might have been better to supplement Biden's clear telling of the Art One powers of the VP in the Senate - would have been to link Cheney's scam that he purports to be a "part of the legislative branch" as a method to aid Cheney's quest for secrecy regarding meetings with lobbyist crooks and oil executives by claiming he's neither animal nor vegetable.
October 3, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was very disappointed in Gwen Ifil. She just brought subjects up and gave the floor to them, which allowed Palin to dance around whatever she wanted to say. She did offer Biden a rebuttal after "blinky" made her pronouncement of her view of the VP, but other than that, she seemed swept away by the whole thing. It was hard to imagine that she had thought through her "questions," and that she had any goal other than to not get ripped for being biased.
Gwen Ifil is so much smarter than she seemed last night. What was that about? I am really not looking forward to Brokaw's "moderating" next week. I can hear the first question already, "Senator Obama, since we all know the Surge -- which Senator McCain favored and you did not -- worked beautifully, can you tell us what lessons you have learned from this?"
October 3, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
She had a broken ankle and perhaps was in some kind of pain. Her voice sounded strident at times, so I attribute that to her being physically uncomfortable.
October 3, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do not understand why people are down on Ifill's moderating.
This debate was NOTHING like the first debate in terms of the rules. Ifill wasn't allowed to do follow-up, and there was very little opportunity to do free exchange between the candidates.
October 3, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
The only thing that I objected to was that Ifill on a couple of occasions gave both candidates the questions at the same time, and turned to Biden first for an answer which more or less allowed Palin a moment to get her talking points ready.
October 3, 2008 11:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well I agree that (1) it was poured into her head and (2) she is likely to be profoundly challenged on any actual understanding of the Constitutional limits placed on the VP in Article One, and the Chenery 'neither-animal-nor-vegetable' legal arguments that are being proffered [unsuccessfully] before the courts.
However - and this is a big but [oooh] - Palen cannot be written off as being completely without knowledge on this, as she has been demonstrating an increasing willingness to argue a right to withhold information from the legislative branch under the guise of executive branch privilege - and according to some Alaska commenters, had begun demonstrating a new penchant for secrecy so even before being tapped by McCain.
To me, the possibility that those tidbits of SP in action when she is wearing the shoe [rather than when she was merely running for governor] represent the real SP' is more alarming than had those points been merely 'poured into her.
Just my take, tho...
October 4, 2008 1:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Palin is Ellie Mae, McCain must be Granny.
October 3, 2008 12:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh c'mon, Johnie's Jed, except he's older.
October 3, 2008 1:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
He is like Jed, but that is for the cameras - really he is Granny but the male version.
October 3, 2008 2:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
"90 minutes of word salad." I think that's one of the best descriptions I've seen all night!
October 3, 2008 1:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
+1 on that!
October 3, 2008 3:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, someone who saw the same debate I did.
I like your description of a salad shooter of talking points, that really pegs what I saw.
October 3, 2008 1:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
best post i've read on this site since may.
October 3, 2008 2:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
I second
almost brought tears to my eyes
October 3, 2008 2:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
for some great vids of her talking points that have turned out to be incorrect - go here -
http://dailysource.org/special/palin/216#
the vp part was definitely stuck into her head - if you click the link below you'll see her saying that she didn't know what the vp does as of a month ago.
in the debate she tried to play it off as a lame joke, but watch the bid - she's not kidding. Even when Ludlow tells her the Veep job is big, she doesn't say - I was only joking.
here's the vid where she says that -
http://dailysource.org/special/palin/147#as_of_july_31st%2C_palin_did_not_know_what_the_vice_president_does
October 3, 2008 3:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Honestly, Sarah Palin talked to the American people as though she were reading them a bedtime story. Her answer on the economy when she talked about tapping energy reserves in "our great land" etc. I just cracked up, she had this strange passionate intensity - as though reading a fairy tale.
Biden was more technical and didn't make a great effort to be folksy....but he sounded conversational, like he was just talking directly to us. Meanwhile, she was reading us a fairy tale.
October 3, 2008 3:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let's be careful with the word "fairy tale" ;-)
But you are exactly right. It was meant to lull you to sleep so you wouldn't notice the real hardships that most people have to face wide awake.
Biden himself woke up near the end when he directly rebutted the notion that he has no personal connection to the struggles of regular people.
She did it with a big fat, oh golly gee smile on her face. He did it with tears in his eyes and a quaver in his voice.
When you are staring into the abyss of job insecurity, falling living standards, and inadequate health care, and an uncertain future do you have a smile on your face or tears in your eyes? Americans are smarter than that.
October 3, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great post! What I'm wondering is whether this is the last time we'll see Palin talking to the press/America till Nov. 4. Mc/P has little to gain by doing so, but one can only hope that they are encouraged by the Fox/Buchanan analysis of the debate.
October 3, 2008 3:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great description. I think she is coached by McCain and Lieberman and a lot of old men who tend to talk as if they are telling us a bedtime story... it is one of the things I can't stand about McCain when he is giving a speech... it feels very condescending.
Biden did very well and now... back to work!
October 3, 2008 3:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just had this image of Palin in her little bed, listening to Joe Lieberman tell her about the Princess Bride.
October 3, 2008 7:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lieberman: "And so it came to pass that General David Petraeus was promoted to CentCom. In the days that followed... ah, you don't want to hear this detailed foreign policy stuff."
Palin: "Aww, I don't mind it so much. Tell me about General McClellan."
Lieberman: "McKiernan."
Palin: "Whatever."
October 3, 2008 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for that LOL!!!
October 3, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great description. I think she is coached by McCain and Lieberman and a lot of old men who tend to talk as if they are telling us a bedtime story... it is one of the things I can't stand about McCain when he is giving a speech... it feels very condescending.
Biden did very well and now... back to work!
October 3, 2008 3:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Your comments are not only incisive but the metaphors brought tears to my eyes. [verbal lettuce and cucumbers, a cancer recurrance away]
Great reading.
and I learned from one knowledgeable TV commentator [yikes! knowledge] that McClellan was the name of a Civil War general (Did anyone else catch that comment?] Tho I would not credit this gal with such broad knowledge that this was an accidental switch from some other stored font of knowledge.
October 3, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
I had to do a live fact-check (complete with DVR rewind) to make sure I heard "McClellan" and not "McKiernan".
My biggest questions were how many people would pick up on that, and how many people would incorrectly claim that Biden's "Bosniaks" reference was wrong.
October 3, 2008 12:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
McClellan was a union general who had a tendency to overrate the size of the enemy force and retreat. After Lincoln stripped him of his command over the Army of the Potomac he ran against Lincoln in '64 on an "end the war" Democratic ticket. He lost. I've never liked that guy.
October 3, 2008 8:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
thx for adding that info on the real McClellan, Jed [yikes! knowledge].
October 4, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent post.
Somebody told her "be yourself." And so she gave us the parody.
Please, dear God in Heaven, spare us now!
October 3, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Heh. 'Talking points shooter'. Nice. I gotta remember that one....
The best example of that of course was after Biden talked about his own family loss from years ago, and Palin's response, after shuffling through the rolodex in her head? "John McCain and I are real mavericks, full of mavericky goodness!"
And THAT is how we know Palin is a robot.
October 3, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great post the visual of her doing an infomercial, winking into the camera is even funnier and right on or like one of those guys selling a Shamwow...in fact maybe she needs one to clean up after her lettuce and cucumber...
I think it is pretty safe to say she will be back in AK after Nov 4th and her political career up there is in big trouble. Troopergate report next Friday could be her downfall.
October 3, 2008 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm from a small town, and when I was listening last night on NPR, I just couldn't believe how ANNOYING her squeaky voice and bizarre accent is/are.
"ON SAWTERDIY GOO to a eeny SAWker geeme an yoooll se lawwts of fir."
I was thinking, 'Do/did I sound like that?' Jeez what a hayseed I must seem.
Jezus Christ, how many times can you say "You betcha!" without coming off as the embodiment of a cliche - a cartoon really. And she must have broken the record in a VP debate for use of the word "Kinda."
October 3, 2008 12:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rec'd for "90 minutes of word salad".
October 3, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
"like General "McClellan", the non-existent military general in charge of Iraq"
Unless I'm wrong, the McClellan reference was in regard to Afghanistan... otherwise, I enjoyed your take on this.
And a hat tip to Biden for dumping on Cheney - the man America loves to hate.
I must say, however, I'm not too pleased with the anti-Iran stance that seems to be so popular these days. But then I'm not pro-Israel either (this doesn't mean I'm anti-Israel so please don't even go there).
October 3, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
One might count the words "also" and "too" in order to isolate the flying cucumber slices of the talking points. Leaving the arena of presidential campaigns and politics outside of the appraisal altogether, it seems to me we witnessed one of the most daring bluffs in American history.
October 3, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent post!
October 3, 2008 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's with the "k" in Ahmadinejād?
The first time I heard this was from McCain last week.
When Palin went "nucular" I assumed the k was part of the same syndrome, but then Biden also pronounced it with a K.
There's no "k" in the phonetic spelling for Ahmadinejād in Wikipedia.
What gives? Is this here to stay?
October 3, 2008 7:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm assuming Palin doesn't speak Farsi (though with her view of Russia, I can't rule it out). It sounds like she and McCain are confusing the long, breathy 'h' sound in A'h'madinejad with another Farsi letter, translated into English usually as 'kh.' The latter is a harsh sound made at the back of the throat that sometimes sounds like a 'k' to English speakers and when read, is almost always pronounced as such.
October 3, 2008 8:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just wished that Biden had said that the Supreme leader of Iran had the control of the country NOT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad!
"The Supreme Leader is elected by the Assembly of Experts, which is also in charge of overseeing the Supreme Leader, and also has the power to dismiss him. As the name indicates, the Supreme Leader is considered as the ultimate head of the Iranian political and governmental establishment, above that of Iran's president. According to Article 113[4] of Constitution of Iran, President Ahmadinejad has much less power than the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Iran and has the final word in all aspects of foreign and domestic policies."
So as Biden was hinting at this during the debate.
Ahmadinejad is elected into office (by Iranian people) that is largely ceremonial with no real power over ~ well kind of like our USA's Vice Presidents except for Cheney who as I should point out has been more dangerous in his actions then Ahmadinejad's speeches.
So in conclusion, we should be hearing the speeches of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to really know the true policies of Iran.
Just the facts, please!
October 3, 2008 11:34 PM | Reply | Permalink