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Mark Steyn: With a Wink and a Smile (Sarah Palin)
National Review Online ^ | October 4, 2008 | Mark Steyn

Posted on 10/05/2008 7:13:59 AM PDT by kellynla

Back in February, several political lifetimes ago, I was on the radio with Laura Ingraham and she played Stevie Wonder’s campaign song for Barack Obama, whose lyric, in its entirety, runs:

Ba-rack O-ba-ma Ba-a-rack O-ba-a-ma Ba-ra-ack Obama-a...

(Repeat until coronation.)

And Laura and I had a good laugh about it, until it occurred to me that, in politics as in pop, the tune is more important than the words. A guy can run for president with all the right lyrics — on the war, the economy, the social issues — but what matters is whether people respond to the underlying music: not what he’s saying, but how he’s saying it. At the time, I was reflecting on Mitt Romney: The song looked great on paper, but when he stuck it on the stand and started to warble it never quite soared.

(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008debates; palin; politics; sarahpalin; steyn; wink
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"All I know is that the McCain campaign should have her out on the road and doing every interview she can over this final month. Oh, and send her snowmobiling hubby to Maine, which splits its electoral college votes. He’ll put their Second Congressional District back in the red camp, and the way things are looking that could be the 270th vote that saves McCain’s bacon."
1 posted on 10/05/2008 7:13:59 AM PDT by kellynla
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To: kellynla
You're RIGHT!

They should realize by now that Sarah Palin is as BIG a deal to come down the mountain as I've seen in a long, long time.

She IS a GAME CHANGER to say the least.

2 posted on 10/05/2008 7:19:32 AM PDT by VideoDoctor
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To: kellynla

3 posted on 10/05/2008 7:21:18 AM PDT by WalterSkinner ( In Memory of My Father--WWII Vet and Patriot 1926-2007)
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To: kellynla
If you’re one of those coastal feminists who despise Alaska’s sweetheart as a chillbilly breeder whose knowledge of foreign policy is as full of holes as the last moose to make the mistake of strolling past her deck, Thursday night’s folksy performance isn’t going to change your view. But, if your contempt for her wasn’t already chiseled in granite, she came over as genuine, confident …and different. Change you can believe in, to coin a phrase.

L0L! Brilliant

4 posted on 10/05/2008 7:22:56 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of the Masses Could be Farts)
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To: kellynla

This is a brilliant piece, by far the most effective of the current run of ‘John, simply be yourself and unleash Sarah now!’ columns.

As for what I would advise the McCain/Palin camp, I just don’t know now. Unless he’s willing to accept the fact that he is running as a Republican in an age when ‘Pubs are strongly conservative and faintly populist against a statist and elitist Democrat Party, he’s simply not going to succeed. It’s one thing to turn to the opposite side of the chamber and invite them to come across to do the right thing. You do that once you’re in a position to make offers. You do not do such a thing while you’re trying to convince people you should be in that position. Until John does the latter, he’ll never get to try the former.

And we’ll all have to be vewy vewy qwiet, because the wabbit will be hunting us.


5 posted on 10/05/2008 7:23:33 AM PDT by BelegStrongbow (Sarah has That Vision Thing)
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To: kellynla
I was a bit alarmed at first. I hadn’t seen her for awhile, not since the halfwits at the McCain campaign walled her up in the witness protection program and permitted visitations only by selected poobahs of the Metamucil networks.

What we've been sayin'.

6 posted on 10/05/2008 7:25:14 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: WalterSkinner

"Sarah Palin .... shone through like a supernova last night. ...
She crushed Biden last night. Nobody will remember Joe Biden 20 years from now.
Nobody will ever forget Sarah Palin, they just don't realize it yet.
Sarah Palin will be the first woman President of the United States.
Children born decades from now will see her picture on our currency.
There will be statues, bridges, and airports named in her honor.
She will permeate the history books as a leader
who opened a new and vibrant chapter in American history."
- Bill Dupray


7 posted on 10/05/2008 7:25:29 AM PDT by Diogenesis (Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum)
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To: kellynla
By contrast, Senator Biden was glib and fluent and in command of the facts — if by “in command of the facts” you mean “talks complete blithering balderdash and hogwash.”
8 posted on 10/05/2008 7:26:11 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of the Masses Could be Farts)
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To: kellynla

“As for Katie’s Restaurant, ah, I’m sure it was grand but apparently it closed in 1990. In the Diner of the Mind, the refills are endless and Senator Joe is sitting shootin’ the breeze over a cuppa joe with a couple other regular joes on adjoining stools while Betty-Jo, the sassy waitress who’s tough as nails but with a heart of gold, says Ol’ Joe, the short-order cook who’s doing his Sloppy Joes just the way the Senator likes ‘em, really appreciates the way that, despite 78 years in Washington, Joe Biden is still just the same regular Joe Six-Pack he was when he and Norman Rockwell first came in for a sarsaparilla all those years ago. But, alas, while he was jetting off for one-to-one talks with the Deputy Tourism Minister of Waziristan, the old neighborhood changed.”

LOL


9 posted on 10/05/2008 7:27:45 AM PDT by nuconvert (Obama - Preferred by 4 out of 5 Dictators & Terrorists// Rove>Biden is a Big,Blowhard Dufus)
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To: kellynla
“My friend John McCain voted 422 times against tax cuts for the middle classes. Let me repeat that so the American people are clear on this. My friend John McCain voted 673 times against tax cuts for the middle classes.”

The problem was that it all sounded drearily senatorial. Mention any global crisis — civil war in Bosnia, genocide in Darfur, Russian aggression in Georgia, the lack of five-star restaurants in Wales — and Biden has been there, usually within the last two weeks, and always at public expense.

To funny!

10 posted on 10/05/2008 7:28:34 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of the Masses Could be Farts)
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To: kellynla
Can we buy Peggy Noonan, Fred Barnes, and K. Parker an Annuity and make them retire and go away?

This wasn't just brilliant, it was really funny.

Steyn is a treasure, we need manna from him, J. Goldberg and a just a few others, The rest of the Conservative pundantry George Will included, should be taking up hobbies like wooden boat construction in the their garages. It Golden Years time for a whole lot of them IMHO....

11 posted on 10/05/2008 7:28:41 AM PDT by taildragger (The Answer is Fred Thompson, I do not care what the question is.....)
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To: knews_hound

ping


12 posted on 10/05/2008 7:30:21 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: kellynla

Any day with Mark Steyn is a good day.


13 posted on 10/05/2008 7:31:08 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("I always expect the worst from the RATS and they always deliver." ~ rrrod)
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To: kellynla

Another great one by Steyn. He had me laughing out loud as usual. Boy would I love him to be coaching Palin like he mentioned. You know she would love him.


14 posted on 10/05/2008 7:31:53 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: kellynla
When Regular Joe Six-Pack Bluecollar Biden tried to match her on the Main Street cred, it rang slightly wacky. “Look,” he said, “All you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie’s Restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me, where I spend a lot of time.” Why? Is he moonlighting as a checkout clerk on the evening shift? Or is he stalking that nice lady in Lighting Fixtures? As for Katie’s Restaurant, ah, I’m sure it was grand but apparently it closed in 1990. In the Diner of the Mind, the refills are endless and Senator Joe is sitting shootin’ the breeze over a cuppa joe with a couple other regular joes on adjoining stools while Betty-Jo, the sassy waitress who’s tough as nails but with a heart of gold, says Ol’ Joe, the short-order cook who’s doing his Sloppy Joes just the way the Senator likes ‘em, really appreciates the way that, despite 78 years in Washington, Joe Biden is still just the same regular Joe Six-Pack he was when he and Norman Rockwell first came in for a sarsaparilla all those years ago. But, alas, while he was jetting off for one-to-one talks with the Deputy Tourism Minister of Waziristan, the old neighborhood changed.

ROTLMAO!! SNL could take a few lessons from Mr Steyn

15 posted on 10/05/2008 7:32:11 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of the Masses Could be Farts)
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To: kellynla; PJ-Comix

Did I hear ‘wink’?

DUmmie Funnie classic:

“This woman is pure chilling. I am usually right on with the evil vibes and this one leaves me shaking she is so vile.” [As if that wasn’t bad enough, the DUmmie raves on] “What was with the stupid WINKS? Yuck.”

“I don’t like her any more than I did before, but I felt like she did an OK job. But when she did that winking thing, my husband said, “We have to get this bitch, she’s evil.” Not sure why the winking set him off, but he is still bitching about it this morning.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2096653/posts?page=23


16 posted on 10/05/2008 7:32:12 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (BO Change is BS Change. A big Zero Change to help Ayers and Raines.)
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To: kellynla
“By contrast, Senator Biden was glib and fluent and in command of the facts — if by “in command of the facts” you mean “talks complete blithering balderdash and hogwash.””

Styne missed the one that made me spit up the beer I was drinking. Biden said Article I of the Constitution was about the Executive branch (it is the Legislative) and that the VP is only talked about in that Article making the VP a Executive position (the VP is discussed in both Article I and II ).

The guy has been part of the Legislative branch for over 30 years and doesn’t know it is Article I? I can excuse mixing up Article I and II, but he goes on to say that the VP job is only in the Executive Article and that is wrong any way you look at it.

Maybe Senator Biden should have read the job description of the position he is nominated for.

17 posted on 10/05/2008 7:33:28 AM PDT by allmendream (Sa-RAH! Sa-RAH! Sa-RAH! RAH RAH RAH! McCain/Palin2008)
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To: mylife

GretaWire announced last night that the California state President of NOW has declared she is supporting Gov. Sarah Palin (and McCain) in the upcoming election.

Looks like women are going to support McCain/Palin in ever larger numbers. Shouldn’t be surprising, since Obama doesn’t seem to like women.


18 posted on 10/05/2008 7:34:22 AM PDT by SatinDoll (NO FOREIGN NATIONALS AS OUR PRESIDENT!!)
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To: SatinDoll

They’ve been trying to say on CNN and the others that women hate Sarah Palin—well I guess not all women.


19 posted on 10/05/2008 7:37:49 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: SatinDoll
the California state President of NOW has declared she is supporting Gov. Sarah Palin (and McCain) in the upcoming election.

Holy Cow(s)! Thats remarkable.

20 posted on 10/05/2008 7:39:45 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of the Masses Could be Farts)
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