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Play it again, Sam … Yes, watch the Palin/Biden debate a second time ….
So I watched … and, like the rest of America, held my breath to see what gaffes either Joe or Sarah might make …
I was certainly taken with Sarah’s poise > how she dug her high (actually very high) spike heels in to exude confidence … loved her new highlights (they added a warm soft glow to her face)… the black suit was just the right touch to demonstrate professionalism … and, of course, the flag pin was perfection.
Honestly, I can’t remember what Joe was wearing except for that large sparkling smile and look of what seemed to be genuine amusement that I found quite charming. The woman next to me shared that she now wanted to marry Biden (yes, she knows he’s happy with Jill).
OK. So, while sounding absolutely sexist — isn’t that part of what this is about — I’ve diverged. Here’s my point:
All of us were so busy watching Sarah’s composure, attitude and manner that we overlooked her inability to answer the actual questions – in fact, after agreeing to the format, she basically said she wasn’t going to answer the questions and, then, proceeded not to do so. And Gwen (for all those reasons we understand*) never called her on it …
So, yes, like the rest of America, I was saying with surprise, “Hey, she certainly stepped up to the plate and showed she could do it.” But, then, a funny thing happened. A friend who had just flown in from out-of-town who missed the debate wanted to see my tape. And I found myself watching it again …
Wow! Altogether different impression. Sarah seemed almost as ditsy to me as in those network interviews. My first watch of the debate I must have been distracted by what my eyes were showing me versus what my ears were telling me. The second time around, I was listening differently >and came away with an altogether different impression.
“The race has not been transformed, but few could have expected as vibrant and tactically clever a performance (my italics) as the one Sarah Palin turned in Thursday night.” **
Yes, it really was a performance. Watch it again. See what you think.
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*She’s an African American writing a book on African American politicians – not completed yet – that was made into a cause célèbre as to why she couldn’t be unbiased. (Some real cynics think that was a Republican ploy to cower her.)
** This is the last sentence from The New York Times, OP-ED Columnist David Brooks column, “The Palin Rebound,” October 2, 2008
