(AFP/Newscom)
Sarah Palin: Barracuda or Bambi?
By Jimmy Orr | 10.02.08
In Sarah Palin’s short time in the national spotlight, her rise and fall has been dramatic.
In one month, she’s gone from the darling of the Republican party (remember her convention speech?) to a seeming liability with calls from some conservatives for John McCain to hit the restart button and get another running mate.
Plummeting polls
A new Washington Post poll this morning shows that 60 percent of those polled do not believe Palin has the adequate experience to be President. Further, one-third of likely voters polled said they are less likely to vote for the GOP ticket because of Palin.
This doesn’t seem to jibe with many of the people who know Palin best. They know her to be something else. And it sure isn’t the timid, unsure, and fragile Sarah Palin who appeared in the never-ending series of interviews with CBS anchor Katie Couric.
They know the confident, energetic, fiesty Sarah Palin from the convention. They say there’s a reason that Palin’s high-school nickname, “Sarah Barracuda,” has stayed with her throughout her career: She knows how to strike.
Ain’t got the same bite, baby
What’s the problem? Critics say it’s the McCain campaign. Her handlers. The people that ‘know best’ how to deal with the media.
Anchorage Daily News columnist and NPR commentator Geo Beach echoes what many conservatives are saying: Let Sarah be Sarah.
He tells The Vote that the “professional political polishers” have all but removed her strength.
“It’s like putting a polar bear into the zoo — ain’t got the same bite, baby,” Beach said.
Wet whupped pup
He’s yet another voice from Palin’s past who says if she rids herself of the so-called help, the barracuda will return.
“Sarah Palin has done it before, and not just at Wasilla City Hall,” Beach continued. “Sen. Frank Murkowski thought he was the polished Big Dog from Washington D.C .when he came back to Alaska as governor. Then Sarah took him out in the Tall Grass and… Frank went home a wet, whupped pup.”
“Moral: A pit bull doesn’t do any good on a leash,” said Beach.
Great debater?
Andrew Halcro, a former member of the Alaska State House who ran against Palin in the 2006 gubernatorial contest, agrees with Beach. In a column written for the Monitor yesterday, Halcro says Palin can be a juggernaut. And that doesn’t mean she’s a policy wonk. Instead, says Halcro, she just knows how to win.
“On paper, the difference in experience on both domestic and foreign policy is like the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing a bullet,” he writes. “Unfortunately for Biden, if recent history is an indicator, experience or a grasp of the issues won’t matter when it comes to debating Palin.”
No need for specifics
Halcro calls her a “master of the non-answer” which allows her to avoid policy specifics in favor of connecting with the people.
“She can turn a 60-second response to a query about her specific solutions to healthcare challenges into a folksy story about how she’s met people on the campaign trail who face healthcare challenges,” he writes. “All without uttering a word about her public-policy solutions to healthcare challenges.”
Faceoff
It’s not just one side of the aisle that has taken note of two sides of Sarah Palin. The Biden team has been preparing for this debate for some time. Undoubtedly they’ve spent many hours analyzing her 2006 gubernatorial debate (video below) in which she looks anything but afraid.
Longtime Democratic operative Chris Lehane put it in hockey terms.
“If the hockey mom looks like a hockey goalie facing [NHL superstar] Syndey Crosby on a break-away — as she did with Couric — then she won’t pass the test,” Lehane told The Vote. “If, on the other hand, we see the Palin from the convention, she could pass the test.”
So what’s it going to be Sarah? Barracuda or Bambi? We’ll see tonight.
<< Postpone Thursday’s debate because of moderator? Not yet… | MainComments
2. J.Jay | 10.02.08
After seeing her on those interviews, My common sense told me how come a person who presided over Alaska oil commission, presiding over the Alaskan government be so dumbnut! I still think its not the handlers or the consultants, its her! She is playing dumb for a reason. AFTER ALL SHE IS A POLITICIAN. If She were a regular woman, She would have been gone by now.
3. Barry | 10.02.08
President Bush, when he was running for govoner of Texas was a very different man than the one we’ve seen that cannot connect two words to make a sentence.
He’s obviously in over his head and has been all along and surely from 9,11.
Sara Palin might be in over her head just as much as Mr. Bush is.
There’s something to be said with actually travelling to Russia than merly knowing it’s next door.
Blind ambition is not enough of a skill to run a country.
So far ambition is the only thing Palin has shown she is capable of.
4. michelle | 10.02.08
How can you hold the campaign handlers responsible for her inability to provide a single, specific example of a newspaper or magazine that she reads?
THAT is Sarah being Sarah!
5. SarahOrParis | 10.02.08
More then how her dumbness it is her constant lies that is taking its toll. Remember bridge to nowhere, the ebay story and much mure…so when it was time to show smart she chose to show dumb and trying to hide by says she is connecting with real people. Real american people ain’t dumb Palin, and you sure aren’t connecting. So when lies turned into dumb people had it enough and the polls are reflecting. If she could just be honest from the beginning it wouldn’t have been this bad.
6. crossroads | 10.02.08
I have a Boston terrier smarter than Sarah Palin, and none even approached him to be on the ticket. Must have been that McCain was enough of a dog of a candidate on his own.
7. NiteTrain | 10.02.08
It’s frequently hard to get to know someone even after you’ve met them and had a one-on-one conversation. Yet most people responding to this blog have judged Sarah Palin based on some sound bites, filtered reporting, and some taped interviews. Why don’t you try to keep an open mind, at least until after the debate. Or is the debate already finished in your own mind?
8. Heather | 10.02.08
It’s all very well and good if she can hold her own in a debate. The focus tonight during the debate should be on her and McCain’s policies and her grasp of them and grasp of the problems we all face at large. They are what we will be voting on. And frankly, her ultra-conservative and intolerant policies and constant insincerity displayed throughout the campaign have so far not garnered my vote.
9. old mo | 10.02.08
Don’t forget that most of the people who respond to these polls are stay at home welfare recipients, those more commonly known as democrats. Lord I hate to see Obambi win. He will just vote “present” then go shack up with Barbara again. Most people do not believe he has the guts to say “sick em” to his own dog.
10. Jerry | 10.02.08
I have heard Palin speak and have done some research on the lady, she is very intelligent and has more executive experience than Obama.
Palin is the Governor of the State of Alaska, her job requires that she make executive decisions, Obama has never had a job that requires him to make any executive decisions so how can he possibly be qualified to make executive decisions concerning the entire nation.
Biden has more experience but again he as well has never had to make and executive decision in his entire career, this goes for McCain as well.
Personally of the four individuals Palin has more executive decision making experience than any of the candidates. Bambi or Barracuda who cares as long as the person elected has no criminal baggage with them.
Obama is a Emil Jones and Tony Rezko product, the media will not show this they will not confront him since he is their liberal far left choice.
Obama has lied more than George W. Bush.
Democrats have even went so far as to accuse Palin of lying about who the mother of Trig Palin is, saying its Bristols child, how sad that the Democrats have stooped so low.
So if this Blog is a liberal blog this comment will never be seen.
11. Herbert Dower | 10.02.08
I have noticed that often in interviews and speeches, presidential candidates on both sides, sound like they are running for congress on behalf of a party rather than candidates for what should be essentially an independent office separate from party considerations. It would be good therefore for the candidates and the American public as a whole to take stock as to what really are the responsibilities associated with the Presidency and campaign on that basis. The beauty of our system is that anyone has the right to aspire to the higher offices in the land and Sarah Palin, God bless her, is exercising that right. She has no doubt much to learn but so also do those in the opposite camp, even though they may be winning in the popularity stakes.
Herbert Dower — the Ornery Texan
12. crossroads | 10.02.08
NiteTrain did you listen to her convoluted, disjointed, BS answers to any question she was asked by ANY interviewer? She is not bluffing her way through HS, and this is not a beauty pageant. When she stops lying, faces the charges the Rep. brought against her in Alaska, and can answer ANY question intelligently, I will be happy to have her take my pancake order, ya know?
13. skylonda | 10.02.08
The choice of Sarah Palin as Republican VP left me dumbfounded from day one. I feel as if I am living in a dream . . . this is not my America where the best and the brightest rise to serve their country. This is not a popularity contest. A serious venture deserve serious consideration. Leaders who are well versed in economics, foreign relations, history, law environment and political science are a necessity to guide us through the current quagmire. I’m afraid after eight years of Bush the Republican Party has lost all rational thought.
14. Dillon West | 10.02.08
Looking forward to a lot of non-answers. Because I’m just so stupid i won’t even realize that woman doesn’t have a clue about virtually anything. All I want is a fish in the White House! Go Palin!
15. newton31 | 10.02.08
Why does this keep reminding me of “Legally Blond”? Elle goes to Harvard/ Sarah comes to Washington. Snooty ivyleaguers sneer, complete with SNL costume party (no offense meant to the incomparable Tina Fey), and try to send her packing back to lala land/alaska.
And the trial is about to begin. Will Elle/Sarah send the sleazy lawyers packing, expose the real crooks and rescue the lady in distress? Tune in tonight. I’m on the edge of my seat like the rest of the world. Go Sarah!!!
16. Dave in Ma. | 10.02.08
I have a Pit Bull and the breed is about as dumb as a box of rocks, she considers herself a “Pit Bull With Lipstick”…… figures. I hope Joe takes off the gloves and tears her a new one. If you can’t run with the big dogs stay on the porch.
17. Kb | 10.02.08
I’ll be in NH this weekend to canvas for Obama. The polls are still close there. And that’s one thing I wanted to mention. I hope that we all are still focused on how close this election is, and how critical it is that John McCain and Sarah Palin not be allowed to become the next President and Vice President. I have a great deal of hope, and yes, the polls have shifted, but nothing actually matters until the final results are in on November 4th.
That being said, please do what you can.
1. Send this link to everyone you know and ask them to make sure they are registered to vote and to vote early if possible. http://www.voteforchange.com/index_obama.php#
2. Make calls any time right from your home by signing up for Neighbor to Neighbor http://my.barackobama.com/modules/votercontact/login_signup.php
3. Go to a swing state for a day a weekend or a week: http://action.barackobama.com/page/s/newvolunteernv/
4. Donate to the campaign: http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/BrooklynKevin
If nothing else, please, please pass these links on to others.
November 4th is almost here. I’m really looking forward to November 5th. I’m sure you are too. Let’s make it happen together.
Stay well
18. newton31 | 10.02.08
Why does this keep reminding me of “Legally Blond”? Elle goes to Harvard/ Sarah comes to Washington. Snooty ivyleaguers sneer, complete with SNL costume party (no offense meant to the incomparable Tina Fey), and try to send her packing back to lala land/alaska.
And the trial is about to begin. Will Elle/Sarah send the sleazy lawyers packing, expose the real crooks and rescue the lady in distress? Tune in tonight. I’m on the edge of my seat like the rest of the world. Go Sarah!!!
20. Vijay | 10.02.08
Wow…Some of the reasons for being stupid…
1) she acting Dumb…hahaha good one
2)legally blonde.. and now she gonna come back tonight..hahah
If you read the article carefully there lies the answer.
“She can turn a 60-second response to a query about her specific solutions to healthcare challenges into a folksy story about how she’s met people on the campaign trail who face healthcare challenges,” he writes. “All without uttering a word about her public-policy solutions to healthcare challenges.” which seems to be true after the couric interview.
Finally ,Comparing a Harward graduate ( Not the ones BUSH got..Obama earned it) to a women who flunked 5 colleges to get a degree is in itself a SHAME.
Think for America not as a republican or a Democrat.
21. skowog | 10.02.08
Best and brightest rise to serve their country? America?
You are either much older than I or seriously delusional.
I have watched crooks, liers, popularity acts, and losers from previous election campaigns rise instead.
It is said that a truism of American politics is that those that are the most qualified and worthy to lead our country would never subject themselves to the American electoral process!
This election year is no different…
22. Jim | 10.02.08
“Don’t forget that most of the people who respond to these polls are stay at home welfare recipients, those more commonly known as democrats. Lord I hate to see Obambi win. He will just vote “present” then go shack up with Barbara again. Most people do not believe he has the guts to say “sick em” to his own dog.”
That’s it - ‘old mo’ wins - Dumbest Comment of the Day.
23. crossroads | 10.02.08
Jim now you’ll have more Rep. respondents, those crooks that received Wall Street welfare may not have a job, and with background checks most of the Bushies if they ever serve jail time, may not be able to get a job when they get outof prison either. Maybe they can work with the illegals doing lawn care that they are so anxious to protect and undercut working American’s jobs. Oh, I’m sorry, Rep. don’t do manual labor, only get their hands dirty throwing mud & lies at Dems.
24. Howdy doody | 10.02.08
Sarah Palin: she does not cut the mustard to be second in command. But I am sure she could command cutting the cheese
25. HA | 10.02.08
Palin is an idiot. She has no expierence to be in the white house and she is going to fail in the debate tonight.
26. Raptor | 10.02.08
The liberal press has done a very effective job in discrediting Sarah Palin. Her relative unfamiliarity with issues that have been studied for years by the other candidates have made her an easy target in interviews. Last summer she was battling for the best interests of Alaska (she takes care of her constituents) and maneuvering to eliminate political antagonists (she rewards loyalty, punishes disloyalty). Now, 2 months later, she’s expected to be as well-informed in national and international affairs as that prototypical two-faced career politician, Joe Biden.
Yes, Obama is well-informed, and consummately literate. He would have a brilliant career with any law firm in the country. But I don’t want a man who’s a lawyer by temperament leading this country.
Nor do I want a crook leading the country. The expression “as crooked as a politician” is more than a figure of speech when applied to ANYONE who has survived in the U.S. Senate for more than 30 years. Like Joe Biden.
I want a LEADER leading this country. Leaders delegate. They don’t try to know everything about everything because they know the right people to ask for expert consultation. They save their energy for negotiating deals, whether it be with freshmen congressmen or with Muslim dictators. Leaders take care of the people they’re leading by guiding events to outcomes that are most beneficial for all, something that requires a Machiavellian finesse that can’t be learned at law school. And leaders take decisive action in crises, whether it be hurricanes or surprise terrorist attacks. That’s what executives are supposed to do. Ask any CEO.
McCain’s record going back to Vietnam speaks for itself. He takes care of the people under him and he has the courage to make politically unpopular decisions. The choice for President in 2008 is a no-brainer.
Similarly, Palin’s character is well-documented. She grew up in one of the most demanding environments left in America, a place where saying grace at supper was done in genuine gratitude for having something to eat. She is not a feminist because it never occurred to her that gender is a determining factor in success. She just succeeds. And now she is embattled in an arena completely alien to her, surrounded by people who accuse her of lying even as they perpetuate lies about her, but she refuses to back down. How many of us could have endured the libel and cavils Palin suffered in the first 96 hours after her candidacy was announced?
Courage. Self-confidence. Inner strength rooted in a rigorous childhood. No, Palin doesn’t know the names of every leader of every country in the world, and no, she’s not dishonest enough to make up an answer to Charlie Gibson’s ridiculous query about the fictional “Bush Doctrine” (there IS no Bush Doctrine, folks), but it IS certain that she CAN lead.
If the call comes for Sarah Palin to lead the country, she will rise to it. If the call comes for Joe Biden, on the other hand, he will just get richer. As Bush is doing.
27. crossroads | 10.02.08
Palin is a liar:
1. Said she sold plane on e-bay, she didn’t, sold it at a 600k loss through a broker.
2. Said she fired cook, she didn’t, relabeled her job title & kept her cooking.
3. She said she said “thanks, but no thanks”. She kept money & used it for porkbarrel projects.
4. She was queen of earmarks, hired lobbyist for town of 7k for 140k a year & got 27M in earmarks, about the same as Boise with 200k people.
5. She said she’d cooperate with Rep. investigation, then changed her mind.
6. A witness previously unwilling to testify has stepped forward to say both Palins requested his severance for ex-brother-in-law be denied. Her company was paid 1.2M a year, went up to 1.5M, even though there were lower bids.
7. She told Gibson she immediately accepted VP, but told Hannity she let the girls vote. 8. Last but not least, charged state $60 every night she slept in her own home 45mi. away from state quarters, came to 17k.
9. Now she says she reads papers, can’t name one, doesn’t know any SC cases but Roe V. Wade. 10. She’s almost as bad as McSame, but not quite.
DO WE REALLY NEED ANOTHER LIAR, WHO REACTS WITH THEIR GUT, AND NOT THEIR BRAINS TO BE IN THE HIGHEST OFFICES IN THE LAND. VOTE NO FOR MCSAME/FAILIN.
28. Al | 10.02.08
The liberal press did nothing to destroy Palin. She did it to herself.Country first? Right. If Mcsame picked a better VP he would not be slipping in the polls.
All of the right wing “ditto heads” always blame the liberal press. Rush “Limbo” a few months back did nothing but slam McSame and now he glorifies him. He must be back on the Oxy and doctor shopping again. The False news network is trying it’s best to spin this anyway they can.I think it is so funny to see all of the nervous right wingers losing their minds and this race.
I welcome the change that is about to come. Obama in ‘08.
29. Abq | 10.02.08
The problem with Palin is that the complexity of the issues, and the depth of knowledge that she needs, at the national level is far greater than in Alaska. It’s a different world at the national level, and she’s demonstrated that she hasn’t had the inclination throughout her life to study national affairs. She can’t fake it at this level, and that’ll be her downfall. Realistically, it’d be like any one of us on this comment board trying to run for Vice President. You just can’t cram years of experience and knowledge into four weeks. Can’t be done! There’s not a chance that I’d put myself in this position to have to repsond to Couric’s questions or debate Biden in front of the world. If she was as smart as any of the rest of us, she wouldn’t have accepted McCain’s offer. If she had half a brain now, she’d bail out gracefully.
30. Thor Watchman | 10.02.08
Ms. Palin appears to be more on the order of a Pomeranian than a Bulldog. Where’s the gravitas? Is she one of the 12% who thinks Joan of Arc is Noah’s wife?
31. Larry Oregon | 10.02.08
Wow, I guess I don’t understand. Isn’t expecting Joe to tip toe around Mrs Failin just as sexist as calling her sweetie? I love how we can pick and choose what is sexist at the time. Nobody tiptoed for Mrs. Clinton!
32. Jim | 10.02.08
The US wants a VP who is ready to step into the presidency at a moment’s notice, someone with actual experience with and knowledge of national affairs, not homespun charm or a ruthless debating style. Whether Barracuda or Bambi, Palin remains completely unqualified for this job — nothing she can do before Election Day can change this fact.
33. beevee | 10.02.08
Barracuda may rhyme well with her name but she is not a bambi but a bambi killer (moose hunter). She looked like a bambi in headlights during Couric’s interview and her answers were more like those of a bimbo.
34. Marissa | 10.03.08
I was disappointed that she keeps getting caught in lies. NORAD has already disputed some of her claims and they have no dog in this fight.
Times are just too difficult to play the same games we’ve played. She seems nice when she isn’t being SARCASTIC SARAH but she is not qualified no matter how much partisan spin is put on it.
I refuse to support rubbish just because it is Republican. I do believe in putting my country first. There is no way I can vote with this woman on the ticket.
Shucks, Darn, whatever…Stop with the Slogans and the down talking Sarah and get off the ticket
35. JJ | 10.03.08
Anyone else notice that Palin’s answer on the “gay civil rights vs. gay marriage” issue was completely different during the Vice Presidential debate than it was during the Alaska Governor’s debate?
37. Cathy Shea | 10.03.08
You have to be kidding me with this lady. Really. Now she is complaining about Katie’s questions. You know she is an unknown and people have a right to gain information about her. For 18 months we have come to know the good and bad about the other people on the tickets and all she does is whine when she is asked on anything she doesn’t want to answer
Where are her Tax Returns? she is getting off too easy
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. FLRepublican | 10.02.08
Joe’s got it tough.
You can’t brush aside a Barracuda gently,
and you can’t be seen putting down Bambi.
Either way, he’d lose.