Excitement is building for the 90-minute face off between the garrulous Joe Biden and “hockey mom” Sarah Palin this Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern. PBS’ Gwen Ifill will moderate the one time only vice-presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis. I predict the Palin-Biden debate won’t be nearly as boring as the first presidential round between McCain and Obama.
The word is out across the Internet: “Underestimate Sarah Palin at your own risk.” LA Times staff writers Braun and Hamburger put it like this:
“During Palin's brief exposure to the high-stakes environment of political debates, she has unnerved both her handlers and her opponents. At times she has been handicapped by her lax approach to learning the nuances of policy and state issues, but she has also projected a Reaganesque ability to offer up pithy answers and charm on camera.”
Palin gained experience while running successfully for governor of Alaska. Braun and Hamburger describe her style in debating political opponents:
“Palin had ready answers on tough questions about social concerns such as native needs, abortion and assisted suicide. Sometimes her remarks seemed glib, but she was usually poised and sometimes kicked back at her opponents and her questioners when they took the offensive.
‘“Larry Persily, a panelist questioner in the campaign's final televised debate, said Palin flummoxed her rivals ‘like Muhammad Ali dancing around the ring.’ She avoided statements and tough questions that could have impaled her and repeatedly stung at her opponents. And Palin, a former sportscaster, was easily the most comfortable in front of the camera.
‘“She knows television,’ said Persily, who participated in other debates and has watched Palin closely for years. ‘She knows how to look at her interviewer.’
“Palin saved her most devastating riposte for the final question of the debate, when Persily asked the three candidates whether they would hire their opponents for a state job.
“Knowles and Halcro offered halting jokes. But when it was Palin's turn, she pounced.
‘“Smiling at Halcro, who recited reams of statistics by rote, Palin observed that the businessman ‘would make the most awesome statistician the state could ever look for.’
‘“As the debate audience laughed, Palin pivoted to Knowles, who had started his political career as an Anchorage restaurateur. ‘Do they need a chef down in Juneau?’ Palin asked, smiling as she turned the verbal knife. ‘I know Mr. Knowles is really good at that.’
“Two years on, Halcro and Knowles admit they are still baffled how their mastery of policy and state issues was trumped by Palin's breezy confidence and feel-good answers.
‘“When you try to prove she doesn't know anything, you lose, because audiences are enraptured by her,’ Halcro said. ‘And her biting comments give you a sense of how competitive she is. Anybody who doesn't take her seriously does so at their peril.”’
Tune in Thursday night at 9 for your one and only chance to see Palin and Biden go at it.
To read the LA Times article in its entirety, go here.
The word is out across the Internet: “Underestimate Sarah Palin at your own risk.” LA Times staff writers Braun and Hamburger put it like this:
“During Palin's brief exposure to the high-stakes environment of political debates, she has unnerved both her handlers and her opponents. At times she has been handicapped by her lax approach to learning the nuances of policy and state issues, but she has also projected a Reaganesque ability to offer up pithy answers and charm on camera.”
Palin gained experience while running successfully for governor of Alaska. Braun and Hamburger describe her style in debating political opponents:
“Palin had ready answers on tough questions about social concerns such as native needs, abortion and assisted suicide. Sometimes her remarks seemed glib, but she was usually poised and sometimes kicked back at her opponents and her questioners when they took the offensive.
‘“Larry Persily, a panelist questioner in the campaign's final televised debate, said Palin flummoxed her rivals ‘like Muhammad Ali dancing around the ring.’ She avoided statements and tough questions that could have impaled her and repeatedly stung at her opponents. And Palin, a former sportscaster, was easily the most comfortable in front of the camera.
‘“She knows television,’ said Persily, who participated in other debates and has watched Palin closely for years. ‘She knows how to look at her interviewer.’
“Palin saved her most devastating riposte for the final question of the debate, when Persily asked the three candidates whether they would hire their opponents for a state job.
“Knowles and Halcro offered halting jokes. But when it was Palin's turn, she pounced.
‘“Smiling at Halcro, who recited reams of statistics by rote, Palin observed that the businessman ‘would make the most awesome statistician the state could ever look for.’
‘“As the debate audience laughed, Palin pivoted to Knowles, who had started his political career as an Anchorage restaurateur. ‘Do they need a chef down in Juneau?’ Palin asked, smiling as she turned the verbal knife. ‘I know Mr. Knowles is really good at that.’
“Two years on, Halcro and Knowles admit they are still baffled how their mastery of policy and state issues was trumped by Palin's breezy confidence and feel-good answers.
‘“When you try to prove she doesn't know anything, you lose, because audiences are enraptured by her,’ Halcro said. ‘And her biting comments give you a sense of how competitive she is. Anybody who doesn't take her seriously does so at their peril.”’
Tune in Thursday night at 9 for your one and only chance to see Palin and Biden go at it.
To read the LA Times article in its entirety, go here.
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