Well, he’s right. I really, really like Sarah Palin, but I’m concerned that she seems not so intellectually curious. I think if I were in the same (high-helled) shoes, I’d go on a two or three year quest to learn everything I could about foreign and domestic policy so that I would never repeat the performances I had with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson (set-up jobs that they were, all the same).
I disagree completely. I think she's the most exciting and capable thing to happen to conservatism since Reagan.
MM
I agree. I like her a lot as well but as a fundraiser and cheerleader for our positions on the issues. She can draw the bucks and the people to support the candidates who already have the basics and the ability to fend off serious questions. I give her a pass on supporting McCain but I’m not convinced she’d have the will to oppose the long-term democrats in Congress or to round up the more recalcitrant Republicans.
“she seems not so intellectually curious”
Her no-BS style, which seems unsophisticated to some people, translates into no-BS administrative efficiency. That’s what people in the party noticed about her during the citical shake-down period in the governor’s office.
Not so intellectually curious? Could you explain this further, please? I don’t know what the parameters of her curiosity are. And I don’t know that she ought to disclose them to all and sundry. On a related point, she did say in an interview with Chris Wallace that she was meeting with experts in many arenae and availing herself of their resources and scholarship on many arguments.
What makes you think that she doesn’t have the foreign policy bona fides that are important to you? A good place for you to evaluate what/how much she knows is her old Twitter account from when she was Gov..
As regards her Couric performance, yes, she did botch the response to the what-newspapers-do-you-read question. Prior to that interview with Couric, she had on several occasions written may op-ed columns for newspapers including the Washington Post and Couric’s beloved New York Times. It was an absurd question. Because she’s genuine, she was startled by it. And she bombed. But it is far-fetched in the extreme to say that she is insufficiently read or that that performance points to a lack of intellectual curiosity.
“I’d go on a two or three year quest to learn everything I could about foreign and domestic policy so that I would never repeat the performances I had with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson (set-up jobs that they were, all the same).”
Honestly, I think she’s been doing that. Her later interviews up til today are much improved from those low point, RAT hack jobs (such as they were.)
What do you think she's doing?
Have to agree with you...after hearing her speak, while I admire her enthusiasm and I share her point of view, she’s not ready for prime time. She needs to spend a few years sharpening her message and improving her communication skills.
Just my $.02 of constructive criticism.