Fish out of water.

[icarus]

Typed as I watched Palin's speech:

Welcome to amateur hour. She's totally out of her league. She's not used to being on camera and keeps twitching her hands in a weak sort of hammer motion. Her voice is nasal and strangled. She's not very dramatic as a speaker and has the pedantic manner of a first grade teacher. Her hair is in her eyes. She keeps smirking at her own jokes.

She can deliver a cutting remark. But falls apart when it's supposed to be inspiring. How is she able to kill a section on McCain's torture and survival?

A well-written, should-be-stirring, but poorly delivered speech. She knows it's dying. Her manner is scared and growing dispirited. She's not able to hide it either, she just doesn't have the experience. The audience seems more professional than her.

Ah. They've trotted out her family. That works. What a cute baby.

McCain just came out. Oh, what a relief to see him. Here is a pro who belongs at this level.

Palin is a fish out of water, more like a city council member than a governor. I guess Alaska is pretty low-key and local. There's no way this woman could handle beltway politics.


ETA: Republican bloggers say that she seemed off-balance because her teleprompter broke. That story is bullcrap.

Comments

[elf]

I suppose a possible debate tactic would be to come off as sympathetic... "Mrs Palin, given the great deal of energy your new son is going to take in the coming year, how will you find time to do the research necessary to understand the issues involved in international trade law?"

Or since Biden would be answering a lot of questions without directly speaking to her, play up that he has the resources to devote his full attention to the job. "That's a very complicated issue, and while I've worked on it in my years in the Senate, I know that I'd need more study to address all the aspects I'd be facing as VP. To that end, I would of course put in extra hours in the days before meeting; skipping a bit of sleep to keep up with changes doesn't bother me."

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Did you know that adorable little baby has Downs syndrome? I just found out. My cousin is mentally disabled and my aunt... it took all her time to care for him. Any baby takes a lot of time but a Downs baby-- multiply that by five. How is this "family first" candidate supposed to take care of him when she's vice president?

[winterthunder.livejournal.com]

Why would a "family first" candidate even take the job offer knowing damn well the scrutiny it would bring to her oldest daughter for the remainder of her pregnancy. If I were that girl, I'd be so pissed at Mommy right now...

[elf]

Yep. It was one of her big press release points--she knew it had Downs and didn't abort; doesn't that make her the coolest pro-life person on the planet?! She stuck to her principles in the face of adversity!

Of course, now she's fobbing off childcare on... who knows? She's got a baby that desperately needs stability and constant attention from a person (or more, but at least one) whom he can count on, and Mom's not going to be that primary caregiver. Dad's working full time, so it's not him either. I suspect that Bristol is getting crash-course in parenting, which is going to result in Trig feeling horribly abandoned when she has her own and he doesn't get to be the center of attention anymore.

All of which should be private family gossip, not for public consideration--except that she's running on a "family values" ticket. I really do want to know where Trig gets placed in those values.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

The primary caretakers for the baby are....

...hold on...

...the pregnant teenager and Palin's mother-in-law.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh, you're kidding.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Alas, no. Evidently poor Bristol was yanked from school sometime during the winter due to mono (which sparked the initial "the kid had the baby, not the mother" rumors) and was deemed fit to care for her baby brother despite being ill. Todd Palin's mother was the kid's other caretaker, despite being pro-choice and thus denied her daughter-in-law's backing for mayor of Wasilla.

So now the mother-in-law is out of sight, Bristol is pregnant AND seemingly still caring for her brother (at least until she's pregnant enough that they can't hide her belly behind her brother's receiving blanket), and Caribou Barbie is off to the races...even though she will give no live press conferences because the McCain campaign is spending all its free time coaching her on public speaking because her delivery is so bad.

Nice, no?

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Oh, one more thing...if one counts backwards, it turns out that Bristol Palin became pregnant at almost exactly the same time her youngest brother was born. So much for Gov. Palin being able simultaneously to give birth, run the state, and supervise her teenage daughter.