From Juan Cole at Informed Comments:
Not only was there no debate but Sarah Palin was not required actually to answer any of the questions put to her, and she announced before she began that she was just going to throw up on us all the talking points that she had binged on in Arizona for the past few days.
She mugged for the camera, winked like a bar fly, and just went on talking and talking and talking, oblivious to whatever anyone else said. Not only did she ignore most of Gwen Ifill's questions,she paid no attention to what Joe Biden said. When he choked up over the loss of his family, she did not have the decency to express any kind of condolences. It is almost as though she is autistic and unable to connect with human beings.
....
Palin has revealed her real self in the Gibson and Couric interviews, and clearly knows nothing and offers only rubbery expressions and glib repetition, for all the world like a rasping myna bird, of a stream of memorized slogans that sound as though they were disinterred from a time capsule originally buried in William F. Buckley Jr.'s back yard several decades ago.
It was not a debate, and pretending that it was and judging "performance" is to fall into the trap set by the campaign spinmeisters and talking point pimps.
Leave it to Juan Cole; "throw up on us" about sums it up. Well, the "rasping myna bird" bit is good, too, except that it may be a tad unfair to myna birds. Oh, and I liked "talking point pimps", too.
I shall speak no further about "performance". I should say that I will speak no further at all, because Cole's writing puts mine to such shame.
I enjoyed reading that. We've not heard much by way of analysis here: maybe the British media is (finally) tiring of the whole business.
ReplyDeleteTGIF.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Juan Cole is on the ball.
What a splendid analysis. I forced myself to watch the entire "debate" and at the end I was not only horrified at SP but completely nonplussed at what the event was about. I actually warmed to Joe Biden, especially when he got in that throw-away line about "a bridge to nowhere." (And the audience laughed - those naughty people!)
ReplyDeleteAfter it was over I went and had a stiff drink....
RR, in the past, I have found Biden somewhat annoying. In fact, my pet name for him is "The Mouth". However, I saw none of the annoying side of him last night. He was in charge throughout the "debate", but he was neither patronizing, nor did he go easy on Palin when she said things which were not true. He stuck to attacking McCain, which was exactly right, since Palin is a side-show, but unfortunately, a side-show that could become the main show.
ReplyDeleteI liked him better than I ever have before. If he was acting, he deserves an Oscar.
I loved the laugh from the naughty audience.
DP, so you Brits are tired of our campaign. We are, too, quite tired.
ReplyDeleteMissy, I got the day off from minding grandchildren after school. My son got off early. TGIF.
The down under press (NZ) are continuing to poke fun at Palin. She's an easy target. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister in Australia said, when asked what he thought of her, said after a pause, "I like moose".
ReplyDeleteTo be kind to her performance, at least she didn't self combust on stage as we predicted, but after that transparent weasling out of questions with the lame excuse of talking "directly to the American people" she managed to recite her rehearsed speech crammed the night before like a college student... and then she waffled on climate change which made her look completely ignorant.
She's just a joke.
Oh and the Palin cliches, fast and thick, really go down like a cup of cold sick here. Cheap.
ReplyDeleteShe's just a joke.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Steph. Tragically, the joke could be on us.
Question, If John McCain truly cared what happened to this country why or why would he make an airhead his vp? Does he actually believe he that if something happened to him Sarah Palin could do the job? This says so very much about his lack of judgement.
ReplyDeleteI have faith that more of you in America will see through her - Obama will win this election.
ReplyDeleteAirdale, that would be the perfect question for a debate moderator to ask, but it won't happen.
ReplyDeleteSteph, I pray your faith in us is justified.
this is a really good thread, grandmere. thanks for this and everything else, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Scott and good night.
ReplyDeleteIn liturgics class we were stuffed full of trivia and so when we had our first exam, I started calling the class regurgics.
ReplyDeleteWhen [Biden] choked up over the loss of his family, she did not have the decency to express any kind of condolences. It is almost as though she is autistic and unable to connect with human beings.
ReplyDeleteEspecially considering she's just sent (or is about to send) her own son off to Iraq.
I don't know, maybe she was so well-rehearsed that she had no room to respond to anything unscripted.
On the other hand, they pass that baby around like a sack of potatoes. Even when Sarah holds him, she doesn't look like she has any connection to him. I know I'm reading a lot into a couple of TV moments, but still...
The personal is political. If you can't empathize with your own children, how are you going to emphasize with all of our children?
That's "empathize," of course.
ReplyDeleteEmphatically.
"Regurgics". That's good, Caminante.
ReplyDeletePJ, it's extremely difficult for me to relate to people like Sarah on any level. To use her Down's syndrome baby as she has - well - I have no words.
Don't forget that Sarah's water broke while she was in Texas, and she traveled all the way back to Alaska to give birth to her child. It's a long trip. I've made it.