Posted on 09/12/2008 12:10:13 AM PDT by Chet 99
-snip-
She staked out a hawkish line on Russia. If Georgia were a member of Nato, she made clear, then America and its allies would have to defend its independence.
It may have sounded gung-ho, but who could disagree with a central tenet of Nato membership?
In the end this interview is unlikely to dramatically alter already strongly held perceptions
Perhaps a more experienced politician would have avoided hypotheticals. But then isn't such straight talk part of her appeal? An antidote to the more academic thought processes of say a Barak Obama.
Governor Palin did seem rather hazy when asked whether she agreed with the Bush doctrine.
"In what respect?" she asked, without seeming to know that it was a reference to pre-emptive war.
But after some prompting she was able to define a familiar Republican theme of the threat posed by Islamic extremism.
More than that, she was able to make reference to the fact that her eldest son Track was about to deploy to Iraq. For millions of Americans, this is about actions not words.
Many questions were really left unanswered. Her religious beliefs were only briefly touched on. She clarified her earlier comments that suggested the Iraq war was ordained by God himself, talking instead about a plan for good and a reference to God-given rights. Enough not to alienate an agnostic, or to offend the evangelical vote.
In the end, this interview is unlikely to dramatically alter already strongly held perceptions.
For Republicans it will have only reinforced Sarah Palin's appeal as a tough-talking, no-nonsense breath of fresh air.
For Democrats it is likely to have highlighted her weakness - a lack of experience.
As for the all-important undecided voter, they will probably want to hear more before they finally make up their minds.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I just watched the interview on Nightline:
1- I’m not sure why people were so upset with Charlie Gibson. He was just being your typical MSM biased prick (would never have taken that haughty tone with Obama the Messiah). No surprise there.
2- Palin did just fine. This was her first big interview, and Gibson gave it MSM’s best shot. He went head on and tried to get her to make an embarrassing gaffe that could be played over and over again. No deal.
3- The interviews will only get easier from here, and I think McCain can feel confident sending her to interview with local media outlets, which are typically much less biased than national news outlets. She can also do national shows, and they basically won’t be able to touch her now since the MSM already unleashed everything they had on her.
4- Overall, a B for the first segment (the office interview), and an A for the second segment outdoors. She is clearly more comfortable with the domestic issues.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t support for Georgia membership in NATO current US policy? If so, how is any of this supposed to be shocking?
I just saw the nightline segments and quite frankly I think Sarah came off just fine. She stuck to the message and theme without humming and hawing, she was forceful, direct, and pleasant. Her manner of speaking and her gestures seemed natural and she didn’t seem nervous at any point in the interview that I could see. There’s no serious ammunition here for the liberal elite and while it may not tip an undecided towards her, it definitely won’t tip them away from her.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
For Democrats it is likely to have highlighted her weakness - a lack of experience.
well they were saying oh she can only give a speech with a teleprompter...oh she’ll make a gaffe...oh she won’t know how to pronounce Georgia’s PM...
I just finished watching longer segments of the interview on Nightline. I’m a big fan of Gov. Palin but she needs to work on her demeanor. She came off as slightly ditzy. She needs to slow down on her responses and answer from her heart.
It’s clear she had to modify her stance on MM global warming to conform with McCain’s view, and that made her answer sound weak.
She will do fine with a little more practice. I would keep setting up these interviews one-after-the-other because she will get better with each one.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
This is actually a pretty fair report. Much fairer than the American press.
She asked 'in what respect' because she knows the 'Bush Doctrine' is more than 'pre-emptive war'.
Charlie was a bit taken aback by her response. (Seemed like someone added notes notes to his telepromter or fed it into his earpiece; so that he could 'fashion' it for her per his 'next after' question.)
Governor Palin did seem rather hazy when asked whether she agreed with the Bush doctrine.
“In what respect?” she asked, without seeming to know that it was a reference to pre-emptive war.
if clear violations of UN sanctions,oil for food corruption, et al. equate to pre-emptive war ... explain something to me ..
Why do we belong to the UN?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Get used to seeing her “modify” her positions. That’s not unusual. George Bush Sr was basically an old style country club Republican who turned into a Reagan Republican overnight upon being picked as Reagan’s running mate. The one area where Palin isn’t going to budge is ANWR.
Sarah is running for VP... her experience far exceeds the top of the Dem ticket. Why don’t they get that????
she needed to separate the “doctrine,” (which most people probably find reasonable) from “Bush.” By getting him to explicitly state the policy, she could agree with it without being linked to Bush. It’s much more important for her to not be associated with Bush than to get this one perfectly.
Agreed, the Bush Doctrine is also about spreading Democracy to the Middle East and planting the seeds in there. It is about many, many things. Just saying that the Doctrine is supposed to be about pre-emptive war is oversimplifying things. The Bush Doctrine has a lot to do with our Middle-Eastern policy in general.
If I heard her giving that “in what respect?” question back it wouldn’t sound like she is clueless about it, it would actually sound exactly the opposite because the Doctrine is not just one big monolith. Perhaps she also doesn’t agree to all of it. If this is how the critics pick apart her interview than I really have nothing to worry about.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
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