Where’s the Outrage?

I would like to see what Governor Sarah Palin’s preparation for these interviews entails. It doesn’t seem that she actually prepares for anything. Tonight, she was on Katie Couric’s CBS evening news.

Couric asked Palin about Rick Davis, the campaign manager whose firm has lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Even though this is really a softball question, she really does not have a coherent answer. She should have had the answer memorized because there was no way that Couric wasn’t going to ask a question about Rick Davis. How can she fumble the ball so badly? She could have made a strong statement like, “I have spoken with Rick Davis personally. He has assured me that he hasn’t received any money from Freddie or Frannie in over 18 months.” In my opinion, this is a much better answer than what she offered. It is positive and forceful. It stops you from looking like a moron and puts the responsibility on Rick Davis where it belongs.

One of her talking points is that Americans are waiting to see what Senator John McCain is going to do. Interestingly, Couric asked her why she believes that. Her answer is fascinating and naïve. She said that she does not look at poll numbers (remember Bush said this years ago) that suggest Americans trust Senator Barack Obama more than they trust McCain with the economy. Instead of trusting polls, Palin says that she believes that at the end of the day Americans will look at McCain’s track record and experience. Now that’s something she doesn’t have.

Maybe the problem is that she over-prepared. She learned too many talking points that she cannot put together a coherent sentence without throwing in a talking point. Maybe that’s the problem. I know, I’m grasping at straws.

Couric further asked if we are looking at another Great Depression. The answer that any intelligent politician who could be one heartbeat away from the presidency should give would be “We are not going to let that happen. We’re going to roll up our sleeves and do the interventions necessary to prevent another Great Depression.” (My wife doesn’t like this answer. She thinks that it sounds too canned. Maybe she is right. I know that I don’t like a major politician saying that we may be headed into a Great Depression.) How hard is that?

Obviously, it is incredibly hard because that is not what she said. Instead of something coherent, Palin said, “Unfortunately, that is the road that America may find itself on. Not necessarily this, as it’s been proposed, has to pass or we’re going to find ourselves in another Great Depression.” What? Can someone help this lady, please?

When asked is she would support a moratorium on foreclosures, Palin can’t answer the question. So, Couric tries to get Palin to explain the pros and cons of a moratorium on foreclosures. Palin can’t do that either. She throws out some gobbledegook about predatory lenders and then drifts back to her talking point on a comprehensive long-term solution. She never mentions what that solution is, nor how she and McCain will lead us to this mystery solution.

Palin has become painful to watch. This is worse than watching a train wreck. This is more like that scene in the movie Misery where James Caan gets his ankles broken. It is that painful.

Tags: Election 2008, Media //