[E]mergency cosmetic surgery on the Vice-Presidential candidate is a disheartening reminder that McCain's shoot-from-the-hip style of decision-making does not always work out well, and it evokes sympathy for Mrs. Palin, who has never pretended to the kind of expertise they are now trying to fabricate for her.
If they are going to use old movies as a guide, they may want to try Singin' in the Rain, with someone behind the curtain while Gov. Palin mouths the words.-- ROBERT STEINAsked what newspapers and magazines she reads, Palin -- a journalism major in college -- could not name one publication.
-- SAM STEIN
Expectations for Palin are once again lower than dirt for the debate which means if she shows up, stays awake, gives us some charming one liners, and doesn’t make too many egregious mistakes, she wins hands down. I think Biden will not be able to help himself and will, when he is unaware the camera is on him, smile that condescending smile he is known for and set off the women of America on a tirade against him. He is far too arrogant and has too much belief in his own superiority not to treat Palin as he would some dumb hick from Wasilla. That’ll play great with most women in America, trust me Joe.
With Palin, it’s what you see is what you get. Imagining her as something she isn’t is only deluding yourself.
-- RICK MORAN
I think it is an outrage that they are going to let Gwen Ifill, a woman, moderate a debate between a man and a woman. It's as plain as day that Ifill is completely in the tank for Sarah Palin. She's been waiting her whole life to see a woman elected to high office. Ovarian solidarity assures that she will be biased against Joe Biden and treat him unfairly. They should switch it so Ifill will moderate one of the debates between McCain and Obama. Letting a woman moderate a debate that involves a woman is just one more example of conservative media bias.-- BOOMANI'm still a little amazed that even the most hardcore Republican hacks can't see what an almighty mess they've got on their hands. But they'll be ready an instant after the debate to say that black is white if they have to.-- ANDREW SULLIVAN
So the big question is, what are the McCain people going to do with her on Thursday night, when she's scheduled for 90 minutes with Joe Biden? Short of contriving a crisis in Alaska that cancels the debate and sends her home, she'll have to duel with a guy who (notwithstanding his verbal loquaciousness and propensity for talking himself into a gaffe) is already viewed by most Americans as far more qualified than she to assume the presidency in an emergency. Every poll documents this fundamental perception. He knows a lot about national and foreign policy, and he arguably talks too much; she knows virtually nothing beyond the talking points that are drilled into her head, and she delivers them in disconnected fragments.
Biden, of course, will have to sufficiently rein himself in, lest he look like an overbearing bully. Palin will have the advantage of low expectations, which means that if she can merely show up, get her nouns and verbs and predicates in order, focus heavily on extolling McCain and maligning Obama, and forge some kind of emotional connection with the audience (I'm just like you, my family has the same worries as you), then the GOP message crafters will be able to argue that she did surprisingly fine.
The problem she has right now, however, is that her lack of qualifications arguably undercut her credibility as a salesperson for McCain and critic of Obama. Her mission, these last few weeks, was to polish her own creds so that she would be viewed as credible during the veep debate. That mission has not succeeded. It raises the stakes for her on Thursday night - and, more importantly, it raises the stakes for McCain.
-- DICK POLMAN
Team McCain is burning through the list of groups to blame at an alarming clip. At this rate, with five weeks left to go, they are at serious risk of running out of ways to paint Palin as the victim of some overarching prejudice. Religious persecution is still available for use, as is the well-documented bias against people who wear glasses. But those two excuses cannot possibly hold all the way through October. Anyone care to venture some more creative cards for them to play?
No American mayor resides in a city closer to Russia than Andrew Milligrock, and he says being two miles from Russia doesn’t give him any foreign policy expertise.
-- GARY TUCHMAN
When it comes to Palin, there's an intersection of sexism and age that the Republicans don't understand (which is why they keep crying sexism and wonder why it's not working).
For many Boomer women, the primary sexist experience of their lives is: "Those men gave the job to that guy instead of me, even though I am more qualified and/or have more seniority."
For many Gen X women like myself (and Palin is Gen X) the primary sexist experience is: "Those men gave the job to that clueless chick instead of me, because the boss thinks she's hot and/or will be a yes-man with no ideas of her own."
If, for some Boomer women, Obama's win over Hillary represents the guy they lost the promotion to, Palin's selection plays the same role for Gen X women. We've seen it: first the incompetent yet babelicious woman is promoted over her head, then the boss orders the attention of the entire team/department/etc. to focus on ensuring that "we" shield her from "mistakes" (or worse, we get blamed for her mistakes). Palin reminds us of when we got screwed by this sort of bullshit. And it shows in voters' response to her.
Throwing overboard someone who has already been lauded as the next Reagan will provoke a grassroots fury that will make the anti-bailout protests to Congress seem like a mild difference of opinion. Some over-enthusiastic admirers may have compared her to Joan of Arc (never a good idea), but they are not now going to accept betraying her for what they will perceive to be the appeasement of the enemy.
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