Palin on the debate: “I’m the new energy, the new face, the new ideas”; Update: George Will tells audience Palin’s not qualified? Update: Hewitt transcript added
posted at 6:34 pm on September 30, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Change versus experience, with the parties reversed for one night only. Any attempt to humiliate her apparently now qualifies as “news” so here’s the Chicago Tribune throwing a few column inches at that nude portrait of her you’ve already doubtless heard about. Maybe it’s because nearly every story I read about her these days feels obliged to mention Kathleen Parker’s “Sarah must go” piece for NRO or maybe I’ve just seen one too many posts from Sullivan attacking her with gleeful derangement, but I’ve got a silly hunch that her detractors want to see a lot more on Thursday than a Biden victory. They want an implosion. Anything less and that itch of theirs just isn’t going to be scratched.
She’s already started making the talk-radio rounds I mentioned yesterday, phoning in to chat with Hugh Hewitt in the first hour today. The transcript’s not available yet but he’s replaying the segment, so tune in if you can’t wait. Geraghty jotted down some of the particulars. Sounds like she did well.
Watch CBS Videos Online
Update: It’s HuffPo so take it for what it’s worth, but this would jibe with Will’s general line on Palin thus far:
Famed conservative columnist George Will told a gathering of Senate aides on Monday that Gov. Sarah Palin is “obviously” not prepared to assume the presidency if necessary, two event attendees told the Huffington Post…
Palin is “obviously not qualified to be President,” he remarked, describing her interview on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric as a “disaster.”
Will did state, according to a second source, that Palin has received rough treatment from the media; arguing that the Alaska Governor would have been “skewered” by the press if she had made some of the same gaffes as Sen. Joe Biden has in recent weeks.
Update: Here’s the Hewitt transcript.
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Sarah Palin is on with Hugh Hewitt NOW.
Elizabetty on September 30, 2008 at 6:35 PM
Experience is only good if you LEARN from it. John McCain has, Joe Biden hasn’t.
Palin will, Obama is stuck in the 60’s radicalism
originalpechanga on September 30, 2008 at 6:37 PM
Hugh also has the transcript up.
originalpechanga on September 30, 2008 at 6:38 PM
A picture of Katie Couric smiling while talking to a conservative? Pigs are flying!
perroviejo on September 30, 2008 at 6:38 PM
I listened to it, she did very well. She has a great voice for radio, love the accent. She is one of us unlike the haughty millionaire from Chicago or the crusty old donkey from the Senate er Delaware.
goat on September 30, 2008 at 6:41 PM
God, I hope she has a good night with Biden on Thursday.
She is a smart accomplished woman, a town mayor and a governor, and is being turned into a blithering idiot by dishonest commentators and some boneheaded gaffes in the interviews she has participated in. But part of that is she is being over prepped by Team McCain. Just let Sarah be Sarah.
Mr. Joe on September 30, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Isn’t it interesting that Sarah Palin does not hate all these people who hate her?
Hate makes you ugly.
Nancy Pelosi is exhibit one.
Elizabetty on September 30, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Do you have a link to the transcript?
Pianobuff on September 30, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Even if she does extremely well, they will latch onto whatever slip-up they can find and make a huge deal out of it. Maybe she will mispronounce “Ahmadinejad” or some such, and that will be enough for them to declare her perforamance, and the entire campaign, an abject failure.
forest on September 30, 2008 at 6:42 PM
I’ve been wondering if Katie doesn’t have a little secret empathy for Palin. Couric was the perky morning chatshow anchor who wanted to move on to being a serious reporter. She’s had a rough start (I have yet to watch her myself), but she knows how hard it must be for a woman to be taken seriously in a position formerly held only by men.
Wethal on September 30, 2008 at 6:42 PM
“That little stinker…”
heh :)
aikidoka on September 30, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Here’s that link to Hugh Hewitt:
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog
originalpechanga on September 30, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Wow, just read the transcript of the Hewitt interview. Really good stuff. My Palinmania is partially restored.
jimmy the notable on September 30, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Yep and sounding great. Informed and real. She’s doing fine. Making more sense than both Obama and Biden combined.
Topsecretk9 on September 30, 2008 at 6:44 PM
well atleast in this teaser vid, she doesnt sound like a total bimbo.
venicesurfer on September 30, 2008 at 6:44 PM
and just like the rest of mccain supporters, i am nervous and scared about thursday’s debate.
venicesurfer on September 30, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Hugh will have audio posted later at hughhewitt.com if you missed it. The McCain team needs to turn her loose and let her charm the socks off America.
goat on September 30, 2008 at 6:45 PM
My favorite answer, the pitbull is back:
jimmy the notable on September 30, 2008 at 6:45 PM
Wow,, I always feel encouraged listening to her!
JellyToast on September 30, 2008 at 6:45 PM
Boy Sarah and Katie are now a regular Paris and Nicole!
Chuck Schick on September 30, 2008 at 6:46 PM
The link is in the body of AP’s comments above.
csdeven on September 30, 2008 at 6:47 PM
I suggest Fred put out his cigar on Will. His words, “Qualified”
To be honest, even if McCain is bound to lose this election, I hope Palin rocks Biden on Thursday if for no other reason then hopefully the mood around this joint will improve, and the plethora of negative links, or at least the appeal of posting them, will dry up.
Spirit of 1776 on September 30, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Sarah should have asked Couric:
Katie, who was President during the stock market crash and why would he let Franklin Roosevelt speak to the nation on television that hadn’t passed the testing stage? GOTCHA
originalpechanga on September 30, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Here’s the deal:
- the left has so belittled and demeaned her that anything short of a full blown meltdown will be met with massive disappointment.
- and she’s not even close to being the inarticulate rube that the left is trying to make her out to be. Yes, she’s stumbled a bit carrying water for McCain, but she’s learning.
- Biden is Mr. Gaffe-o-matic and is all but guaranteed to say a couple of stupid things in the debate
- Gov. Palin will kick butt in the debate – at worse keeping pace with Biden and at best completely destroying him
- the debate will re-energize the Republican base which will combine with the dawning realization by the American people that the Dems created, orchestrated and attempted to profit off of the financial crisis/scare. All of this will cause a major shift in the polls toward McCain
- the MSM will, of course, declare Biden the winner (in fact, I think the columns have already been written, edited and ‘put to bed’) and McCain will help the matter by continuing to try to make peace with an enemy that would gladly destroy Gov. Palin’s family just to keep in power
Religious_Zealot on September 30, 2008 at 6:49 PM
Katie Couric is smiling because she just asked another gotcha question, like who was the Defense Minister of Costa Rica in 1937. If it were Hillary, she would ask whether Hillary preferred diamonds or pearls.
The best Palin strategy from here on out should be to go on talk radio and Fox News, and LIVE MSM shows where there is a “debate” with a Democrat. That way, the Democrat will have to handle the same questions as Palin, and Palin will get a chance to criticize the Democrat’s responses. Palin should avoid AT ALL COSTS one-on-one interviews with MSM people–she should know by now that they have only one goal–make her look like a ditz–and they can’t be trusted.
If the MSM complains about it, Palin should just tell them where she will be on the campaign trail, and they can listen to her there.
Steve Z on September 30, 2008 at 6:49 PM
venicesurfer, I watched some of her debates for Gov and she did well enough to beat an incumbent and former incumbent. Quit Worrying.
goat on September 30, 2008 at 6:49 PM
Yeah, but was Palin’s helicopter forced down in Afghanistan?
MrScribbler on September 30, 2008 at 6:50 PM
George Will has long since outlived his usefulness. Anything he writes these days is out of desperation for relevance. Stick to baseball writing, George.
MNDavenotPC on September 30, 2008 at 6:51 PM
Yes. Thats it in a nutshell. She is not the middlin’ McCain. She’s a conservative. Quit trying to make her a bookend. She is not McCain.
Benjamin9 on September 30, 2008 at 6:53 PM
George Will is just another has-been hanging on by drawing attention to himself by piling on anything that is new in his world. Who gives a crap what this dinosaur thinks?
volsense on September 30, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Why does it bother people that Sarah Palin may not be qualified for a job she probably will never have when Barack Obama is not qualified for a job he may hold in 4 months?
Elizabetty on September 30, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Her response was great. Still, I’d have liked to have heard something along the lines of, “No, not at all. My surprise is only with the fact that the Democrats have their experience tree upside down. I’m very comfortable as John McCain’s vice president. Barach and I are contempories, almost in the same high school class. I really can’t see a man with Senator Biden’s experience playing second fiddle to Barack or me. I bring the energy, the new ideas . . . .”
EconomicNeocon on September 30, 2008 at 6:54 PM
We need a Grandslam on Thursday… orelsecommercewillstop (lol jk) but yea we need Palin to get back to respectability, cause seriously folks, SNL aint helping her image. This debate needs to quiet the doubters.
Cardiganfox on September 30, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Because Dems don’t have to be qualified, they get all the experience they need on the campaign trail.
/iSarc
*eats*
Grue in the Attic on September 30, 2008 at 6:55 PM
Empathy? No way. I’m sure Couric has received more hate mail since the Palin interview that she has since she started @ CBS. That’s saying something.
Oink on September 30, 2008 at 6:56 PM
venicesurfer isn’t being sincere. He/she has been nibbling around the edges of trolldom ever since alphie disappeared. Hmmmm.
a capella on September 30, 2008 at 6:57 PM
It’s beginning to look like George Will equals David Gergen.
Buford Gooch on September 30, 2008 at 6:57 PM
This is the kind of thing she has to avoid. Most families don’t have over $100,000 in the bank, and when she says “like mine” it would be used to portray her as out of touch. I don’t have a problem with what she said, but if it were said in a debate it would end up being used against her.
Mark1971 on September 30, 2008 at 6:57 PM
George Will was the same guy who thought Reagan was a “Mistake
KBird on September 30, 2008 at 6:58 PM
Obama doesn’t have the experience that Sarah has. His experience is getting 200,000,000 dollars in foreign and “unreported” donations to his campaign. If you think he hasn’t sold us out before he even gets elected, you are going to deserve what this shell is going to do to this country. Wake up. Its so obvious, its embarrassing.
volsense on September 30, 2008 at 6:58 PM
You guys and gals worried about Sarah are worrying for nothing.
Who cares if she makes a mistake or two? I don’t. Screw it! She’s human. I just want her to be herself and she’ll do just fine.
Personally I can’t wait to hear what comes rolling out of Gaffy Duck Biden tomorrow night. Should be great fun. I hope SarahCuda carves him up like a totem pole.
techno_barbarian on September 30, 2008 at 6:59 PM
That was very nice. Something I think she could expand on is the family values experience she has. It would be perfectly appropriate for her to point out that she is connected to the middle class in a way that the dem candidates are not. That is not going to change. But what will change is the level of exposure she has to national politics. Every day she learns and is exposed to more and more of those issues. And as she has demonstrated over the years, she is a quick study and is quite capable of making decisions in the arena of national politics.
csdeven on September 30, 2008 at 6:59 PM
So what do you all think will happen when Sarah blow Biden out of the water?
A lot of screaming? naysaying? She is a lying so and so? or do you think she will show she can stand up to the trashiest of Dems?
Time will see… especially since she stood up against the biggest blow hard out of the Senate a few years ago. Murkowski was a huge blow hard do nothing turd.
upinak on September 30, 2008 at 6:59 PM
George Will is hysterical these days — what’s going on with him?
Why would he state such things so nakedly? Does he not know that the MSM is waiting for the next item to smear Palin with? Mr. Will, put a sock in it.
Richard Romano on September 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM
Exactly.
Obviously Sarah Palin isn’t qualified to be president today. But she’s the GOP’s No. 2; she’s a quick study; and she may never ascend to the presidency.
On the other hand, Barack Obama is the Democrats’ No. 1, and if he wins the election, he won’t be up to task the day he’s sworn in.
paul006 on September 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM
a cap, oh no, you don’t think!?!??!
upinak on September 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM
George Will never played Major League Baseball. George Will is obviously not qualified to write a book about baseball.
CanadianGuy on September 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM
I’ll go with “All of the Above” for 500, Alex.
*eats*
Grue in the Attic on September 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM
Damn Thursday can’t come fast enough….
upinak on September 30, 2008 at 7:03 PM
Here’s the truth: Neither Obama, nor Biden nor Katie could answer the kinds of questions the media is asking. The media is under the impression that they are the key-holders to the office for which she is running.
Here’s the problem: Although all of the above statements are true, she will be held to a higher standard as a conservative, as an unknown, as a young person & as a woman.
No matter if it’s fair or not, she must rise to the occasion and discover a way to extricate herself from the kinds of embarrassing and cringe-worthy moments she had over at CBS.
Prediction: She’ll kick ass and take names on Thursday.
Dorvillian on September 30, 2008 at 7:03 PM
Who the f%@# is George Will?!? Who is he to be evaluating who’s qualified to be president or not? As if he could ever do it. Lame, self-important, four-eyed SOB!
AubieJon on September 30, 2008 at 7:04 PM
I believe Biden is in his element when he is being directly challenged. The way to get him to start gaffing is to simply articulate policies that put him in a position that make him think he has to one-up you. Biden’s biggest enemy is his ego. His belief that he knows best. Then he starts reaching and saying stupid crap.
csdeven on September 30, 2008 at 7:05 PM
First off, George Will looks and acts like the Crypt-Keeper without the personality. Does anyone care what he thinks?
Exactly. And can we all just wait until after the debate to decide how she did? Damn, Repubs have to be the most paranoid and depressing people on earth. You don’t hear the Dems woe is me-ing and wringing hands over how the Gaffe-A-Minute Biden is going to do.
Deanna on September 30, 2008 at 7:05 PM
George Will is a tool, he’s slightly less aggravating David Brooks.
doubleplusundead on September 30, 2008 at 7:06 PM
The same George Will that went to Oxford and Princeton and lives in Washington D.C.? Sounds like the exact kind of insider Palin will be happy to go after.
jimmy the notable on September 30, 2008 at 7:07 PM
qft
Spirit of 1776 on September 30, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Will isn’t qualified to be a republican or a conservative. It is a bit late to run this scheme.
tomas on September 30, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Does George Will think that Obama is qualified to assume the presidency?
onlineanalyst on September 30, 2008 at 7:08 PM
Heh.
mad saint jack on September 30, 2008 at 7:08 PM
He’s probably the most widely read political columnist who is not left-leaning.
It would help Palin to find a philosophical underpinning for her Conservatism and a then a voice like Will’s or Kristol’s or Krauthammer’s to further articulate it in the press.
dedalus on September 30, 2008 at 7:08 PM
She made a comment about the media buying ink by the barrelful. Where did we hear that before? Seriously? Did Fred Thompson say that during the GOP convention? I’ve heard that phrase before.
Oink on September 30, 2008 at 7:08 PM
I’m willing to bet George Will could never be elected governor of Washington, but Palin could write a column for The Washington Post.
CanadianGuy on September 30, 2008 at 7:09 PM
Wouldn’t you love to see Sarah bring up the Great Depression/TV thing? I can’t wait for this debate. I wish there would be a whole string of them rather than just the one.
Go SarahCuda! Conservative America is with you!
techno_barbarian on September 30, 2008 at 7:09 PM
Washington = Alaska
CanadianGuy on September 30, 2008 at 7:09 PM
And if Palin lands a few good ones his bruised ego might make it even worse for him.
Mark1971 on September 30, 2008 at 7:10 PM
Its a pretty old phrase. The first result on google is a quote from The Wire.
jimmy the notable on September 30, 2008 at 7:11 PM
Or bypass the worthless lot of Beltway snobs and work through talk radio and the intarwebs.
doubleplusundead on September 30, 2008 at 7:12 PM
not qualified? shocking.
of course she is not qualified. but she is running for vp not president.
venicesurfer on September 30, 2008 at 7:13 PM
If Will hoped to be governor of Washington he’d have to move to Seattle, which would be a long way from his office at the Washington Post.
dedalus on September 30, 2008 at 7:13 PM
Yes, thanks. I’ve discovered it’s a quote originally from Mark Twain. It may be well used, but Sarah saying it was only the second time I’ve heard it. The time before that wasn’t too long ago. Trying to remember where I heard it because that might reveal who she’s been spending time with – who’s helping with debate prep.
Oink on September 30, 2008 at 7:13 PM
The problem is not Palin.
The problem is the inept, geriatric wimp McCain.
He has no fight. I suspect he doesn’t want the job. I can’t blame him though. Whoever gets it with all the problems they are inheriting is gonna be nothing but Bush Term 3.
What’s Costa Rica like?
Sapwolf on September 30, 2008 at 7:13 PM
When Palin’s
helicopter was downedplane landed, she didn’t have to run from sniper fire. Snipers had to run from Palin fire.Biden will wish he was still in Afghanistan.
innominatus on September 30, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Did I miss something?
What does Will say about Obams’a qualification to be President immediately.
He seems to be on the MSM bandwagon that claims that McCain is going to die in office.
Is this is pitiful reporting or wishful thinking on Will’s part.
As a previous commenter asks, what is Will’s qualifications to write about baseball when he never played it???
pocomoco on September 30, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Palin isn’t running for President.
The Ugly American on September 30, 2008 at 7:14 PM
I predict Sarah will be loaded for bear Thursday night!
Oink on September 30, 2008 at 7:15 PM
That gets you the base. Will gets you beyond the base. He provides a function similar to Buckley’s in underlying conservative thought with a systematic framework that helps to expose the flaws of liberalism.
dedalus on September 30, 2008 at 7:15 PM
The Hewitt interview is not going to reassure anyone who was uneasy with Palin after the Gibson and Couric interviews. Those are some of the softest questions I’ve seen.
Big S on September 30, 2008 at 7:16 PM
There’s not a lot for “ink by the barrelful.” Ink by the barrel seems to be a much more common phase…that is probably a good place to start searching.
jimmy the notable on September 30, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Did you see her shoes? OMG, they were so not stylish, certainly not as hip as what Michelle Obabo wears.
Bishop on September 30, 2008 at 7:18 PM
I haven’t seen this much hope and superstitious behavior since the Kentucky Derby.
If it is a blue moon with Jupiter in the third quadrant she will have the aurora borealis channeling extra energy to her and Biden will sink like a stone….
48 hours … has the lump in the back of the throats of the PalinLove crowd started to form?
Bradky on September 30, 2008 at 7:19 PM
From the Chicago Tribune article:
A nude painting? His daughter? Is it just me, or is that worthy of an “eeeewwww”?
tru2tx on September 30, 2008 at 7:20 PM
George Will is hardcore for Obama. Pay no attention to that old fool.
indythinker on September 30, 2008 at 7:20 PM
Oh one of those … what kind of shoes does McCain, Obama or Biden wear?
Bradky on September 30, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Eh, I could get myself 300+ advisers, run for office and apparently be ready to take over as President.
Kick Biden’s ass, Sarah, and George Will can shove it.
Bishop on September 30, 2008 at 7:21 PM
There’s alot of seniors out there that will relate to her answer.
mred on September 30, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Oh one of those … what kind of shoes does McCain, Obama or Biden wear?
Bradky on September 30, 2008 at 7:21 PM
I don’t know, but certainly they wouldn’t make the fashion mistakes that Palin does. On top of that, did you see her hair? SOOOOO not NYC trendy.
Bishop on September 30, 2008 at 7:22 PM
Not for me :)
Spirit of 1776 on September 30, 2008 at 7:22 PM
The argument the Dems are making is that Palin would be “a heartbeat away” from the Presidency, and using the “McCain is old” meme to scare people about a young, inexperienced President. If she’s questioned about that, Sarah Palin needs to say that if THEY are elected, McCain will surround himself with people he trusts, who will still be there if she succeeds McCain. Also, mention that McCain’s mother is still alive!!!
She can also make the argument that Obama has less executive experience than she does, and he would make mistakes from “day one”, rather than possibly after McCain’s funeral.
Steve Z on September 30, 2008 at 7:25 PM
You go NOW, back to your Canadian Igloo… BAD BAD!
upinak on September 30, 2008 at 7:26 PM
Remember – McCain is Mr Nice guy. Palin can RIP the libs for this meltdown, AND rip Obama again. She HAS TO, because it’s the only chance she’ll get to get her words out without the MSM being able to cover them up. It’s live.
marklmail on September 30, 2008 at 7:27 PM
KBird on September 30, 2008 at 6:58 PM
I have never heard that before, can you direct me to link or do you think I can Google it?
Cindy Munford on September 30, 2008 at 7:27 PM
Will has a record of bashing the McCain campaign, and now he’s going after Palin. Give me a moment to prepare for my mock amazement….
Palin is only going to get better the more she is exposed to a hostile press. What doesn’t kill you makes you stonger type of thing.
Hog Wild on September 30, 2008 at 7:28 PM
The big hand of experience is on the verge of ramming a 700 billion dollar enema up our rear-ends, I’m not about to cry that Palin supposedly doesn’t have what it takes to be POTUS.
THAT is what she needs to focus on and say to America.
Bishop on September 30, 2008 at 7:28 PM
Everything Palin has ever done has been through her own efforts. That means she doesn’t need to rely on anything but herself. In today’s “victim world”, that’s quite an asset. If Palin is unleashed and has found a happy medium between herself and McCain’s positions, Biden will have to be wheel chaired from the debate.
darwin on September 30, 2008 at 7:29 PM
George, along with Peggy Noonan, is one of those pre-Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin “conservatives” that the MSM used to pick to show the conservative side for pretend balance.
They would pick the dorkiest “conservative” around so as to not influence anybody. That is the ONLY reason that George Will had so many gigs on the MSM networks and columns in the newspapers.
He is a phony elitist who pretends to be conservative, but not too conservative, for the MSM. Thus, his trashing of Palin.
Gabe on September 30, 2008 at 7:31 PM
I still find it remarkable that the media is somehow content ragging on Palin’s experience to be VP, and ignoring Obama’s obviously less experience running for President.
darwin on September 30, 2008 at 7:31 PM
Of those three only Bill Kristol likes Palin. The others aren’t interested in anyone that didn’t come out of an Ivy League school. I give her double bonus points for not coming from one. AND, not only does she not hate Wal-Mart, she has actually been in one.
Cindy Munford on September 30, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Brilliant. Thats the best idea I’ve heard in weeks. I hope team McCain reads HotAir.
Amadeus on September 30, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Sorry, Will’s right: She’s not ready now to be President.
Neither is Obama, but that’s another story.
Maybe Palin will learn on the job. But given her background and previous jobs, it’s understandable that she’s not ready.
No one with her background would be prepared. It’s not a knock on her; it just the fact that her requirements didn’t entail studying the types of issues she now has to confront.
SteveMG on September 30, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Zat plastic grass I see with that short, fat, warty thing running around?
CC
CapedConservative on September 30, 2008 at 7:34 PM
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