David Broder Praises Palin

[Poundingtherock]

The dean of the Washington Press Corps seems to love Palin:

Sarah Palin displays her pitch-perfect populism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021002451.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

The snows that obliterated Washington in the past week interfered with many scheduled meetings, but they did not prevent the delivery of one important political message: Take Sarah Palin seriously.

Her lengthy Saturday night keynote address to the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville and her debut on the Sunday morning talk show circuit with Fox News' Chris Wallace showed off a public figure at the top of her game -- a politician who knows who she is and how to sell herself, even with notes on her palm.

This was not the first time that Palin has impressed me. I gave her high marks for her vice presidential acceptance speech in St. Paul. But then, and always throughout that campaign, she was laboring to do more than establish her own place. She was selling a ticket headed by John McCain against formidable Democratic opposition and burdened by the legacy of the Bush administration.

Blessed with an enthusiastic audience of conservative activists, Palin used the Tea Party gathering and coverage on the cable networks to display the full repertoire she possesses, touching on national security, economics, fiscal and social policy, and every other area where she could draw a contrast with Barack Obama and point up what Republicans see as vulnerabilities in Washington.

Her invocation of "conservative principles and common-sense solutions" was perfectly conventional. What stood out in the eyes of TV-watching pols of both parties was the skill with which she drew a self-portrait that fit not just the wishes of the immediate audience but the mood of a significant slice of the broader electorate.

[Poundingtherock]

Palin's final answer to Wallace showed how perfectly she has come to inhabit that part. When he asked her what role she wants to play in the country's future, she said:

"First and foremost, I want to be a good mom, and I want to raise happy, healthy, independent children. And I want them to be good citizens of this great country.

"And then I do want to be a voice for some common-sense solutions. I'm never going to pretend like I know more than the next person. I'm not going to pretend to be an elitist. In fact, I'm going to fight the elitist, because for too often and for too long now, I think the elitists have tried to make people like me and people in the heartland of America feel like we just don't get it, and big government's just going to have to take care of us.

"I want to speak up for the American people and say: No, we really do have some good common-sense solutions. I can be a messenger for that. Don't have to have a title to do it."

This is a pitch-perfect recital of the populist message that has worked in campaigns past. There are times when the American people are looking for something more: for an Eisenhower, who liberated Europe; an FDR or a Kennedy or a Bush, all unashamed aristocrats; or an Obama, with eloquence and brains.

But in the present mood of the country, Palin is by all odds a threat to the more uptight Republican aspirants such as Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty -- and potentially, to Obama as well.

Palin did not wear well in the last campaign, especially in the suburbs where populism has a limited appeal. But when Wallace asked her about resigning the governorship with 17 months left in her term and whether she let her opponents drive her from office, she said, "Hell, no."

Those who want to stop her will need more ammunition than deriding her habit of writing on her hand. The lady is good.

[Poundingtherock]

The thing is...she'd probably be a great president.

There would be carcasses of Muslim terrorists all over the Mideast.

Federal Government spending and intrusion on nuisances such as healthcare and education would be cut dramatically.

Also, our revenue would skyrocket due to energy production.

[Poundingtherock]

Parody?

I want the carcasses of Muslim terrorists all over the Mideast.  80% of Americans would agree with me.

Americans have completely rejected the idea behind Obama's healthcare plan.

Americans overwhelmingly support offshore drilling anywhere.

[Poundingtherock]

Moderate,

Judging by her interview with Chris Wallace, her "intelligence" seems fine to me.  Even liberals over at TIME magazine concede that Wallace pushed her hard.  It was the toughest interview I've seen of any politician this year (besides any Chris Matthews interview).  I think a reasonable person would conclude that she came out victorious in her exchange with Wallace.

http://palintv.com/2010/02/07/governor-palin-on-fox-news-sunday-february-07-2010/

[Poundingtherock]

Then how could she perform as well as she did in the interview that I just linked if that were true?

I'll go with the videotape over a rumor about Africa.  Go ahead and tell me who has had a tougher interview than Palin did with Wallace, except for Chris Matthews interviews.  Not only was it a tough interview but she performed well nonetheless.

[Poundingtherock]

How about the 45-minute speech that she did the other day without  a teleprompter?  Notes are dramatically different from a teleprompter, in case you didn't know as a teleprompter feeds you your speech word for word.  You cannot do so with notes unless you keep your head buried in notes for 45-minutes and never look out at the audience.

So pro-life and anti-gay marriage are theocratic positions?  Some polls find a majority of the country as pro-life and as you know, the country still rejects gay marriage by a decent margin.

[Poundingtherock]

So how someone speaks or how someone interviews is irrelevant?  Good to know because Palin is clearly good at the former (RNC convention speech, albeit with a teleprompter, and a 45-minute speech on a variety of topics sans teleprompter) and getting better at the latter (see, e.g., getting the better of a very aggressive Chris Wallace).

I think you misunderstand someone who is very personally religious with whether they would apply religion to the role as commander in chief.

It doesn't cross the line for someone to say they rely on God and put their faith in God.  That's just one's personal faith.