I Review Sarah Palin's Speech Before She Gives It

I hear what Nick is saying, but let's face it -- it's Sarah Palin's world this week, we just live in it.  So without further ado, let me critique Ms. Palin's performance before it begins.

America's newest "rock star," hockey mom/Vice Presidential candidate wowed a supportive crowd of GOP delegates tonight.  In her introduction to the country, Sarah Palin hit a home run, showing that she and John McCain will prove a formidable pair of mavericks in the fall campaign.  Palin drew spirited applause from the Republican faithful, garnering especially loud cheers when attacking the media for its unfair treatment of her candidacy.  She drew pointed contrasts between herself and Obama in terms of executive experience and vowed to take on the Washington establishment, serving the people of America and not the Washington elite.

"She did everything she needed and a whole lot more," said one Republican whore/talking head.

"Dynamite.  She really vindicated the gut instincts of the maverick" said one scared and sycophantic member of the TV media.

"A direct hit by the old fighter pilot and his new wingman . . .  or should I say wingwoman" marveled yet another wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party.

So it seems like it was a triumph.  I'm not sure I really need to watch now.

   

Comments

[Stephen]

Nope. The media has actually been pretty hard on her; perhaps not as hard as we'd like, but in the context non-political junkies usually see, they've been devastating.

Her task is to convince people - namely, the media - that she wasn't picked out of desperation, she isn't evidence that McCain is a slave to the Religious Right, and that she actually has one iota of experience, as the Villagers define it, that she brings to the table.

In spite of the media's perverse definition of the word "fair" and in spite of those pundits who still swoon at the thought of John McCain and his mavericky manliness, Palin will fail to accomplish those goals, not least because she's giving Mitt Romney/Mike Huckabee/Joe Lieberman's speech.

[Sir Charles]

Stephen,

Don't forget the soft bigotry of low expectations.

I view this as a one night reprieve. I think they will succumb to the working the refs strategy of the McCain campaign and give her the benefit of the doubt. I am assuming that she will be telegenic and can read a teleprompter even if she had nothing to do with crafting the words being read. (Unlike Obama who is an extremely good writer and produces a substantila amount of his own speeches.) The crowd is going to roar at even the lamest applause lines -- they want her desperately to succeed.

Plus, a huge number of commentators are bought and paid for Republicans. Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough will sing her praises, Mika Brezinski, who seems to have lost her mind over alleged sexism will do the same, the networks will be gutless as always and Fox will cheer lead.

[Lisa Simeone]

(Unlike Obama who is an extremely good writer and produces a substantila amount of his own speeches.)

Sir C, I'm surprised at you! Shameless pandering to the Hispanic vote! (substantila)

: > )

[Sir Charles]

Damn this lack of spell check.

[Joe Klein's conscience]

Sir Charles:
She'll do fine tonight, unless she goes too much on the attack. She was a sportscaster after all. I imagine she can read a teleprompter. I wonder if she'll come off all cheerful or angry. Remember, this is the first time most people on TV see her. They want to be able to get to know her. Going on the attack when you first meet someone isn't the way normal people do things. We'll see whether it works here or not.

[riffle]

She'll do well.

1) Because she'll actually do pretty well on the merits (i.e. standing and reading a speech). She's been reading a teleprompter probably longer than John McCain (TV sports reporting, y'know). Her speech will be good to very good (written by a team of speechwriters, including some old Bush hands). And the wingnuts in the crowd will love her, so she'll get applause in all her applause lines. At the conclusion, the RNC has scripted in five or so minutes of "demo," or rapturous ecstacy on the convention floor.
2) Because the media always think a speech is a good speech, especially when there is rapturous ecstacy on the convention floor.

I guess they'll keep her away from the press for a while. Maybe she'll have to go back to Alaska to take care of her family and governing or something.

And they're going to run against the eastern media elites. Surprise! Wonder if Boca Raton Florida (I believe the National Enquirer is there) is part of the "eastern media establishment?"

[Stephen]

Palin's own voice will work against her; it's pitched too high, too much like a "woman's" voice for people to find it either pleasant or persuasive.

This is one of the many side effects of this nation's sexism - encouraged by the right wing, of course. But successful women who rely upon their speaking voice tend to have deeper voices than those who don't. Americans have been taught to consider a voice like Palin's as somewhat grating and unserious.

Further, while it certainly helps to be attractive as a politician, it won't help Palin that she looks so young and so "pretty" as opposed to "handsome" - a word exclusively applied to women of a certain age who have taken on enough masculine characteristics to appear serious without sacrificing all femininity, whatever that is.

[Sir Charles]

Stephen,

The voice may be a problem and it is definitely a handicap for many female orators in terms of speaking to large crowds. I was actually struck at how good Hllary's voice sounded the other night in comparison to other speeches I had heard.

Barack has a magnificent set of pipes -- it really helps him.

I heard excerpts of the keynote address by the late Congresswoman from Texas, Barbara Jordan, at the 1976 Democratic Convention (yeah the year you were born or close) -- I couldn't find it n youtube -- but she had an extraordinarily deep rich voice and an accent all her own. If you go to npr I think you can hear the excerpts.

[Corvus9]

I think a deep voice is preferable, regardless of sex. Deep voices just sound more substantial, whether male or female. You can get away with a lot low voice. Denis Kucinich and Ross Perot have high voices, and always come off a little silly. Higher voices, you have to build something else into it, some kind of appealing demeanor. Apparently Lincoln actually had a high whispery voice, not some deep Gregory Peck voice like I imagine, but I bet he could pull off speeches just fine: his texts suggest a kind of tempered, somber demeanor. If Hillary is better, it's probably because she spoke in a style more appropriate to her tones. (Hillary is actually like the only major convention speech I haven't watched, so I am just guessing here.)

[Scott K]

Watching this speech on CNN, I think that it would have been a quite inebriating night if I had decided to make a drinking game out of how often they showed Bristol, her (fiance???? Is he at that point yet???), and/or her fifth child. Yup, they're all definitely off-limits...

[Donna Shelley]

President Reagan invited the religious right onto the national political scene and into the White House. Like really bad guests, they haven't gone away. Now we have Gov. Palin, her five kids, her expected grand kid, and her utter lack of real experience (please, the mayor of a town of 6,500 people and a newly elected governor of a state of 700,000?)because the 'Maverick' was not allowed to chose his own running mate. The GOP--the party that sees itself as a moral choice, not a political one, has a platform built of a single plank--abortion. On this issue and this issue alone, the McCain-Palin ticket will attempt to win the election, ignoring America's $10 billion dollar-a-month war, broken healthcare system, failing economy, and weakened position in the world. What really frightens me is that they might succeed.

[anonymous]

Some of my observations. 1. The republicans represents the jocks, bullies, cheerleaders, “the incrowd” in school. The democrats represents the smartkids, the diplomatic kids, geeks, the outcasts in school. 2. The republicans seem to focus on power, control, fear, etc. The democrats focus on unity, freedom, sharing, etc. 3. It seems the republicans can call Sarah Palin a sweetheart, hotchick, babe, etc. as seen on stickers, placards, commentry etc. but the democrats cannot call or attach any feminine characteristics that are negative without being branded as women haters.
This election is not about the many different peoples in America but it is about electing a select social class and the republicans have a trojan horse “Sarah Palin”. The country and global issues facing the planet can take second place. The democrats can lose this election if the women vote is given to Mcain.

[Bigus Dicus]

The speech was awful in that there was nothing therein that would convince a fence sitter to fall to the McCain side of the fence. Then, the idiotic Chris Matthews has the unmitigated gall to use a "Norma Rae" analogy with respect to SEXY SARAH. After the woman glibly boasted how her first acts as governor was firing a chef and a pilot? I'm sure that she really cares whether or not their families are better off now than before she took over.
Mr. Matthews is surely among the stupidist talking heads working in TV today.

[Stephen]

I think a deep voice is preferable, regardless of sex. Deep voices just sound more substantial, whether male or female.

Exactly, because we're taught to prefer masculine traits in both men and women when it comes to positions of authority.

And it looks as if I forgot my own advice to never bet against the mendacity of the press. "A star is born." They're not even trying to hide it when they're reading RNC memos on-air.

[Emily]

This woman annoys me. I can't believe this is McCain's attempt to sway women. She is not Hilary Clinton in any way. I found it some what offensive that he seemed to think that women would vote for her just because she's a woman. And why Palin? Why couldn't McCain pick a different woman? There are plenty of much more likeable female republicans that have exsperience and lack the annoying voice factor. I also find it amusing that she preaches abstienence yet she has a pregnant teenage daughter. I'm not sure how much blame goes to Palin for that you can preach at your kids all you want but ultimately it comes down them to make a decision. Overall Palin is a bad choice and over the next two months the media is likely to dig up more nastiness about her. Of course the idiot newscasters are going to shower her with praise until the next big scandel comes out.

[Sir Charles]

Emily,

It is more than somewhat offensive to women in my mind. It is saying that since you all have ladyparts, these enormous ideological differences are inconsequential. Patronizing crap if you ask me.

I do think more shoes may well drop on this woman. And the nice part is, she's on the ticket for good regardless. After last night, McCain is married to her, metaphorically speaking.

[Caitlin]

All I have to say after watching Sarah Palin’s speech is that I am very, very impressed.

Impressed with Sarah Palin? God, no. Not at all.

I am impressed with the fact that in less than 24 hours after delivering her pathetic excuse for a speech, the Obama campaign has reported an unprecedented amount of 8 million dollars in donations from the American people (of whom I’m guessing all saw Ms. Hockey Mom’s “speech”).

So I am impressed with the fact that Sarah Palin has officially earned more money for Obama’s campaign than she has for her own.

Keep talking, conservatives. Time is money… The more you talk, the more we gain. Literally.

P.S. What’s the only difference between Sarah Palin and George Bush? Sarah Palin wears lipstick.

[Caitlin]

All I have to say after watching Sarah Palin’s speech is that I am very, very impressed.

Impressed with Sarah Palin? God, no. Not at all.

I am impressed with the fact that in less than 24 hours after delivering her pathetic excuse for a speech, the Obama campaign has reported an unprecedented amount of 8 million dollars in donations from the American people (of whom I’m guessing all saw Ms. Hockey Mom’s “speech”).

So I am impressed with the fact that Sarah Palin has officially earned more money for Obama’s campaign than she has for her own.

Keep talking, conservatives. Time is money… The more you talk, the more we gain. Literally.

P.S. What’s the only difference between Sarah Palin and George Bush? Sarah Palin wears lipstick.

[Dereck Forter]

I like that she is a Creationist. I am tired of people thinking us Creationists are backwards and stupid. The world will have to respect us when Palin is VP.

[Sir Charles]

Dereck,

You've got to give us a little wink if you are being ironic.

Otherwise, I'm frightened for you my boy, if you think the world is really going to respect us for having a VP who thinks "The Flintsones" is a documentary.