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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Monday, September 29, 2008

From the "It can't be going well if...." category

Six and a half days of debate prep, and they've decided midway through, that she needs to be moved closer to McCain's top aides?.
Gov. Sarah Palin will now spend two and a half days near Sedona, Arizona, to prepare for Thursday's debate, instead of prepping in St Louis, as originally planned......

Pailin has already been hunkered down for four days in a Philadelphia hotel for debate prep with advisers.


So, how does that phone call go? "No, she's not ready.... Well, we're doing the best we can..... Okay, we'll send her to you.... You see if you can do any better....."

posted by mikevotes at 7:46 AM

4 Comments:

  • It's not uncommon for a candidate to be OVER-prepped for a debate. By the time the debate arrives the candidates head is swimming with new information to the point where he/she is preoccupied with trying to hit his/her talking points that they appear disconnected from the debate itself.

    So far Palin has demonstrated she falls back on scripted talking points and "being increasingly adorable." She hasn't shown she can processes actual thoughts in real time. I don't think any amount of prep will help here with that.

    By Blogger -epm, at 11:02 AM  

  • Hard to say. She does have a whole lot of pressure, not only the McCain campaign, but also her own future viability as a national figure.

    I don't think she'll do horribly in the debate, but.... my bar is pretty high because to me, she doesn't just have to survive, but to disprove her earlier missteps.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:39 PM  

  • I think the debate format is to her advantage. Short, 2min, answers with no interaction between the participants. Probably no follow up either. Gwen Ifill is moderating and I think she's a pretty weak moderator. I think the Republicans are hoping this is merely a talking point, sound-bite "debate."

    My point with the over-prepping is that it could end up muddling, rather than clarifying, issues in the mind of the debater. Now, Palin is her own individual, and her highly inflated self-image -- and lack of humility -- may shield her from mortal trepidations. As long as she's never asked to support anything she asserts, she'll do fine.

    This debate, even more than the McCain/Obama debate, will be about personalities, temperament and what I like to call, "relatable gravitas"... Really, the pressure is on Biden. There are so many traps for him to fall into; and he's known to step in it on occasion. Palin merely has to show up and not say anything coo-coo.

    By Blogger -epm, at 2:23 PM  

  • Ifill generally let's them talk, doesn't interfere, and generally doesn't press non-answers, so good point.

    And, I get your point of overpreparing, although I wouldn't be as generous in the way I phrased it, 10 gallons of facts in a 5 gallon jug....

    As for expectations, I've got a post higher up on that. Plus, all the rumblings out of the McCain camp are that they are NOT HAPPY with her in the preparations.

    Could be spin, but I don't think so.

    As for Biden, If he answers the questions to Ifill, and politely acknowledges his opponent, he should be fine. His job is just to get through where we are in the polls. Just get through.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 2:27 PM  

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