Palin should step down, conservative commentator says
CNN) – Prominent conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, an early supporter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, said Friday recent interviews have shown the Alaska governor is "out of her league" and should leave the GOP presidential ticket for the good of the party.
The criticism in Parker's Friday column is the latest in a recent string of negative assessments toward the McCain-Palin candidacy from prominent conservatives.
It was fun while it lasted," Parker writes. "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."
Palin's interview with Couric drew criticism when the Alaska governor was unable to provide an example of when John McCain had pushed for more regulation of Wall Street during his Senate career. Palin also took heat for defending her foreign policy credentials by suggesting Russian leaders enter Alaska airspace when they come to America. Palin was also criticized last week for appearing not to know what the Bush Doctrine is during an interview with Charlie Gibson.
“If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself," Parker also writes. "If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true."
Parker, who praised McCain's "keen judgment" for picking Palin earlier this month and wrote the Alaska governor is a "perfect storm of God, Mom and apple pie," now says Palin should step down from the ticket.
“Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves," Parker writes. 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."
Parker's comments follow those by prominent conservatives David Brooks, George Will, and David Frum who have all publicly questioned Palin's readiness to be vice president.
"Sarah Palin has many virtues," Brooks wrote in a recent column. "If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she'd be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness."
After watching her embarassing exchange with Couric about Russia, and considering that she is going to be up against someone with 35 years of respected political gravitas on Monday night, That sounds like a good idea.
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annie13Posted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:37 pm
apodixis wrote:
After watching her embarassing exchange with Couric about Russia, and considering that she is going to be up against someone with 35 years of respected political gravitas on Monday night, That sounds like a good idea.
Agreed
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:38 pm
Agree...really pathetic...
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:41 pm
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annie13Posted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:43 pm
gwen wrote:
Agree...really pathetic...
I could have done that>>>>Annie13 for VP with Obama of course!
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:43 pm
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:18 pm
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GeorgiaMomPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:25 pm
Imagine that. CNN
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:28 pm
GeorgiaMom wrote:
Imagine that. CNN
It's hardly just CNN.
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:41 pm
Palin gets scathing reviews for Couric interviews
Alaska Newsreader
Today's news for the Last Frontier
By Kathleen McCoy
Published: September 26th, 2008 02:26 PM
Last Modified: September 26th, 2008 02:27 PM
Ouch. Reviews of the Katie Couric interview and of an impromptu four questions exchanged between Palin and reporters after a visit near Ground Zero are very tough on Palin.
As Friday wore on, commentators began to ask disturbing questions about what the McCain campaign's media strategy (virtually no access) may have done to Palin's once vibrant confidence. Links for critiques and analysis follow.
National Review: Step down, Sarah. Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker puts it bluntly: "It was fun while it lasted," writes Parker. But her three TV interviews - Gibson, Hennity and now Couric - have only served to reveal "an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League." She even suggests that "if BS were currency," Palin could save Wall Street single-handedly.
Mr. McCain can't repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP's unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability. Mr. Obama faces the same problem with Mr. Biden.
Only Ms. Palin can save Mr. 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.
> Sarah Palin flunks CBS interview (London Telegraph)
We are way past the Palin-excites-the-base phase. The reasons for that are clear and fair: She is a likable, everyday, gutsy, church-going mum with a gun. And nor is her performance defensible with the liberal-media-witchhunt argument.
This is about readiness and John McCain's incredible gamble on Mrs. Palin. With six weeks to go before the election, it might be prudent to recall that if elected she will be a heartbeat away from the presidency. On this showing she simply isn't qualified for the job.
> On Russia: Get me rewrite. (The New York Times Caucus blog)
What she said to Couric:
It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.
What she meant (according to her campaign, when asked later for clarification):
"Russian incursions near Alaskan airspace have occurred, and when they do, she is briefed on them by the adjutant general of the Alaska NG. Jets scrambled would likely be active duty, possibly Guard."
> Wobbly words. (The New York Times)
Yet Ms. Palin's answer was surprisingly wobbly: her words tumbled out fast and choppily, like an outboard motor loosened from the stern.
> "Meandering off in fruitless pursuit of coherence." (Los Angeles Times)
Palin on the bailout: "But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh, it's got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that."
That mind-bender prompted Couric to muse, almost charitably, on "The Early Show" that Palin is "not always responsive when asked questions, and sometimes does slip back to her talking points."
> Time for a speech coach. (Slate.com)
To Palin from speech coaches:
No more "I'll get back to you."
Don't repeat yourself so much.
Tell stories. (Think Mike Huckabee)
Catch phrases are overrated ("John McCain is a maverick.")
Relax. "She's been a little too coached. You gotta make it your own." Sentences that aren't just declarative but overly decisive - "We must not blink, Charlie" - sound almost Bush-like.
Give details. The two best words you can say in interviews are "for example."
(Also: Know details.)
> Is Sarah Palin "Legally Brunette?" That's the case New York Times columnist Judith Warner makes, by way of explaining that internal wince many women are feeling watching such a public disgrace of Palin. Is she our own inner Elle Woods "the frilly, frothy blonde who charms her way into Harvard Law School," a movie with a make-believe ending.
So many of us today - balancing work and family, treading water financially - feel as if we're in over our heads, getting by on appearances while quaking inside in anticipation of utter failure....I saw this feeling in Palin - in a flash, on that blue couch, catty-corner to Kissinger, as her eyes pleaded for clemency from the camera.
Frankly, I've come to think, post-Kissinger, post-Katie-Couric, that Palin's nomination isn't just an insult to the women (and men) of America. It's an act of cruelty toward her as well.
> What happened to Sarah Palin? (American Prospect)
The fact that Palin's responses to questions are becoming increasingly incoherent rather than rapidly more polished is interesting. Rote memorization should have all but eliminated the overlay of nonsense in her answers by now. Matt Yglesias offers a decent hypothesis, saying, "It's possible that all this cramming is causing Palin to become less coherent - instead of just parrying questions she knows she doesn't have good answers to, she's trying to remember canned lines but it's too much all at once to actually get right."
It fits the facts. Increasingly, Palin's worst answers are not on the questions she isn't expecting, but those that she's got to be prepared for. Russia and Alaska, for instance. Or this Dadaist trainwreck on why it's better to spend $700 billion on financial bailouts than broad-based economic help.
> Has the McCain campaign broken Sarah Palin? (The New Republic)
The obvious implicit message her preppers and coddlers and protectors in the campaign are giving her is: You're not ready. We don't trust you. You have no idea what you're talking about. Don't ever open your mouth unless you've cleared it with us or you might destroy the whole campaign. These are not pleasant things to hear, and Palin has presumably been hearing them (again, by implication) every day for weeks now.
When I compare Palin's performance with Gibson to her performance with Couric, the biggest difference I see is confidence. With Gibson, she obviously lacked the knowledge one expects at this level, but she seemed to have a glib faith that she could bluff her way through. She may not have answered many of his questions directly, but her evasions were, for the most part, perfectly articulate and comprehensible. In the Couric interviews, by contrast, she often seemed to be stringing along buzz words and sentence fragments that even she recognized to be gibberish. With Gibson, she was tap dancing; with Couric she was drowning.
>"Get me out of here." (Christian Science Monitor The Vote blog)
Couric: "[McCain'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 a maverick though. Taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party."
Couric: "I'm just going to ask one more time, not to belabor the point - specific example in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation."
Palin: "I'll try to find you some, and I'll bring ‘em to ya."
As those last words fumbled from her mouth, you know she was saying, "Get me out of here."
I watch Fox and it hasn't been shown there I don't watch CNN, so I missed it.
So a conservative columnist is of the opinion that Sarah Palin isn't qualified. On the same hand, a big time democrat and supporter of Hillary who was in charge of her campaign is voting for McCain because of Palin and her fear that Obama isn't qualified.
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gwenPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:50 pm
I could care less if FOX showed it or not and it was not just one person of that opinion. As far as that one Hillary supporter, who cares.
Surely you could see how pathetic that interview was. I don't care for the woman, but I felt sorry for her as she is so far out of her league it is pathetic! Makes me wonder just what in the hell McCain was thinking other than she was a woman. Just one more example of McCain's erratic behavior!!!
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KatiePosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:33 pm
GeorgiaMom wrote:
I watch Fox and it hasn't been shown there I don't watch CNN, so I missed it.
So a conservative columnist is of the opinion that Sarah Palin isn't qualified. On the same hand, a big time democrat and supporter of Hillary who was in charge of her campaign is voting for McCain because of Palin and her fear that Obama isn't qualified.
Ok for once leave Obama out of it, and answer the question is Palin qualified?
Did MCCain play a wild card and its now going to bite him in the ass.
Palin is in no way qualified to be a heart beats away from presidency . It is a joke that she even was considered. There were many good candidates too choose from but he picked that. Another kick in the face to women and set us back years
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GeorgiaMomPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:05 pm
Katie wrote:
Ok for once leave Obama out of it, and answer the question is Palin qualified?
Did MCCain play a wild card and its now going to bite him in the ass.
Palin is in no way qualified to be a heart beats away from presidency . It is a joke that she even was considered. There were many good candidates too choose from but he picked that. Another kick in the face to women and set us back years
I think she's qualified and I disagree that she's a kick in the face to women. To me, Hillary was a kick in the face to women. I'm a woman and I don't want to climb the ladder because I'm a female. I want to climb the ladder because I'm qualified and deserve the position. Hillary thinks women should be pushed out front simply because they're a minority.
It's just the difference in what Republicans want and what Democrats want.
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GeorgiaMomPosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:11 pm
gwen wrote:
I could care less if FOX showed it or not and it was not just one person of that opinion. As far as that one Hillary supporter, who cares.
Surely you could see how pathetic that interview was. I don't care for the woman, but I felt sorry for her as she is so far out of her league it is pathetic! Makes me wonder just what in the hell McCain was thinking other than she was a woman. Just one more example of McCain's erratic behavior!!!
I can say the same. Who cares whether or not somebody thinks Palin is qualified. They can always speak with their vote. Don't kid yourself. There's many Hillary supporters that are voting for McCain because of Sarah Palin and many that are voting for McCain because they don't like Obama. Some Republicans are voting for Obama because of the last 8 years with George Bush. We'll just have to wait and see what the end result is, because at this point I don't have a clue who's going to be our next POTUS.
I could care less what they show on CNN. They don't cater to my views so I don't watch it.
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KatiePosted:
Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:20 pm
GeorgiaMom wrote:
I think she's qualified and I disagree that she's a kick in the face to women. To me, Hillary was a kick in the face to women. I'm a woman and I don't want to climb the ladder because I'm a female. I want to climb the ladder because I'm qualified and deserve the position. Hillary thinks women should be pushed out front simply because they're a minority.
It's just the difference in what Republicans want and what Democrats want.
Ok so you left Obama out of it and picked on Hillary
Why is Palin qualified ? Why did Mccain pick the wild card when he had better men/ women in position to take the role?
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TrixiePosted:
Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:34 am
gwen wrote:
I could care less if FOX showed it or not and it was not just one person of that opinion. As far as that one Hillary supporter, who cares.
Surely you could see how pathetic that interview was. I don't care for the woman, but I felt sorry for her as she is so far out of her league it is pathetic! Makes me wonder just what in the hell McCain was thinking other than she was a woman. Just one more example of McCain's erratic behavior!!!
I agree. I felt bad for her, too. She is so in over her head. As old as McCain is and with his medical history, that's just scary to me. The first of many very important decisions he would have to make and he chooses her of all people in these complicated times. That makes me worry about his judgement since she would be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
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with Obama of course!
I don't watch CNN, so I missed it.
but he picked that. Another kick in the face to women and set us back years 
