Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin sat down with Katie Couric to talk about the proposed bailout. Couric masquerades the "tough but fair" journalist while she badgers Palin to come up with more examples of John McCain's support for regulatory oversight of Wall Street. One is not enough.
Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?
Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.
Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.
Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to reform government.
Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?
Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.
Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
No, no. Of course, not to belabor the point... One might think McCain's support for stricter oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2006 would be evidence of his good judgment, and that along with his sponsorship of that awful McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, it would be evidence of his willingness to regulate.
On the other hand, in his two years in the Senate Barack Obama hasn't taken on stand on anything. He refines his positions. But Couric is in the tank for Obama, and she realizes the danger Sarah Palin poses to his election chances. Couric was in attack mode.
It is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn't know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.
Palin's recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.
I've been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I've also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.
Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there's not much content there.
What to do?
Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.
Do it for your country.
Posted by: KParker | September 26, 2008 at 12:08 PM
KP, I couldn't disagree more. When you say "cut the verbiage and there's not much content there", that's the approach the old media have taken with Palin. They do an interview with her and edit the video to delete the content and context from her answers, leaving the impression you describe.
I personally don't care if the President has a detailed knowledge of foreign policy, economics, military tactics or much else for that matter. That's what advisors and department heads are for. I believe a President must be able to see past details and be a decent judge of people and must possess character, integrity and perhaps a sense of history. Wisdom and intellect help, of course, but those are easily misjudged if a candidate is well spoken and can read from a teleprompter.
I'd also like to believe that the President has a genuine love for and loyalty to America, its history and its values more than for the possibility of a new social order implemented by an overbearing bureaucracy. Palin looks just great to me. I wish she were leading the ticket.
Posted by: PJ Smith | September 26, 2008 at 02:39 PM
PJ
I'm not sure the McCain camp agrees with you.
Where was Sarah Palin Friday night during and after the debate?
Apparently locked in a room with a muzzle on her mouth.
The news stations wanted to interview her. Biden was accessible. But the McCain camp informed the news channels that Palin would not be available.
It's pretty strange when a candidate can't trust his own running mate to be out there spinning on his behalf.
Posted by: Smithington | September 27, 2008 at 01:42 PM