For the Obama camp, Sarah Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson had to be deflating. They needed her to stumble -- badly -- and she didn't. In fact, quite the opposite: she looked resolute, confident, and in command of the subject matter. It mostly focused on foreign policy -- her supposed weakness -- with a little bit of religion thrown in for good measure. Bonus points for quoting Lincoln.
Was she brilliant? no. But she didn't have to be brilliant. She simply needed to avoid a Dan Quayle moment. Her strength is on the stump, talking directly to voters, and energizing the base. Irrespective of what McCain campaign manager Rick Davis thinks, she needs to go through this one-on-one vetting process -- I think the public would be outraged if she didn't -- but it will never be her strength. But it's not Obama's strength, either. He tends to stammer and stumble when he's off script, like he did during the debates against Hillary. In that sense, he and Palin are a bit alike.
Team McCain knows that, and that's why they're carefully selecting the outlets and the formats for Palin. I'm not sure we'll see her on Meet the Press or This Week with George Stephanopoulos, but we'll probably see her do a morning show or two, and perhaps some local market interviews. If Obama wants to derail the Palin express, their only real opportunity may come during the Vice Presidential debate. And the stakes get even higher.
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Posted by John Ray. For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. For a daily survey of Australian politics, see AUSTRALIAN POLITICS Also, don't forget your roundup of Obama news and commentary at OBAMA WATCH
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