# McCain Supporters -- a question about Palin **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 29, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697 "2008-09-29T13:01:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/21 "2008-09-29T17:48:17Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And the MSM resents that they haven’t been given enough opportunities for attack interviews. So? I got to agree with DtC here. I have seen the Gibson and Couric interviews of her and I would hardly call those “attack interviews”. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/22 "2008-09-29T17:50:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Perhaps stuff like this has some effect on our thinking - [Cite.](http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/28/palin-responds-to-federal-bail-out/) Palin got booed in Philadelphia? **Shodan** , _Santa Claus_ got booed in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt was booed in Philadelphia. The Phillies were booed all year and they just won the NL East. **Everybody** gets booed in Philadelphia. Accept this and move on. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/23 "2008-09-29T17:50:56Z")
There were events held in Oxford before the debates where I think Palin would have been welcome, such as [this reception](http://www.mcherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080925/NEWS/809250311/1001) given by the extremely Republican Mayor of Madison, Mississippi. There were journalists-a-plenty there, yes, but I think she’d do alright in a setting like that. Especially in such a Republican-dominated state. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/24 "2008-09-29T17:56:39Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I’m not sure I understand your point. Palin isn’t popular here – fine, I understand why they wouldn’t parade her around in public. > > This leaves unanswered my questions (or at least what I thought were implicit in my questions) – why did she spend five days in Philadelphia [as opposed to someplace where she wouldn’t get booed] making virtually no public appearances [instead of appearing at events where more than five or ten people at a time could see her]? So you understand why they wouldn’t parade her around in public in Philadelphia, but not why she didn’t make many public appearances in Philadelphia? It sounds to me like you are asking “don’t you think less of her because she goes to places where she isn’t popular?” I don’t see Obama doing a lot of campaigning in Arizona - does that mean he is less qualified as a canddiate? > [@Green Bean](#): > > I don’t understand the point that you’re trying to make here. Would you mind clarifying? I’m not sure I can make it any clearer. Palin is probably keeping a low profile in Philadelphia because when she raises her profile, she draws protestors, and even when she meets with small groups in public, people scream obscenities at her. I take this as a sign that Democrats don’t like her. My other remark means that the mainstream media hates the fact that they have not had enough opportunities for attack interviews. They, for the most part, would like very much to discredit her, but have not been given much of an opportunity. They resent this, both because they prefer Obama, and also because they want to see themselves as gatekeepers, and that access to the American electorate must be buffered thru them, to give them a chance to edit and spin it. I mean, come on - contrast the softballs that Biden gets with the attacks that Palin gets. Biden says something wrong, even the interviewer jumps in to cover it up and explain it. Palin gets savaged for not recognizing the Washington code speak. I realize that here we will get into the part where the SDMB simply deny, over and over, that the MSM is biased towards liberals, but it is true nonetheless. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/25 "2008-09-29T17:58:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Democrats hate her guts. Thanks to the McCain administration’s enforced seclusion, nobody even KNOWS her guts. How can we hate someone we don’t even know? > [@Shodan](#): > > And the MSM resents that they haven’t been given enough opportunities for attack interviews. So? I think the MSM mainly resents that the person running for the office of the Vice President of the United States, arguably the second-most-powerful office in the world, is choosing to remain a complete mystery to the very people she expects to vote her into office. Luckily, she’s got people like you, who will vote for anyone and any thing as long as it doesn’t have a (D) next to its name. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/26 "2008-09-29T17:58:36Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > **Everybody** gets booed in Philadelphia. Accept this and move on. Ahh…the City of Brotherly Love. Kinda makes you all warm and fuzzy inside doesn’t it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/27 "2008-09-29T18:04:45Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > She spent four days, +/-, not campaigning while the other three main figures – all of whom also have upcoming debates – made numerous public appearances. > > How do you feel about a VP candidate who is kept away from the media, and kept off the stump, for four days approximately five weeks before the election? Biden did his homework and read the assignments during the term. Palin didn’t. When you are trying to make up for ignoring the subject material, cramming takes more time. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/28 "2008-09-29T18:07:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I realize that here we will get into the part where the SDMB simply deny, over and over, that the MSM is biased towards liberals, but it is true nonetheless. I do not accept that assertion but let’s pretend it is true for the moment. There are plenty of media outlets she could avail herself of that are decidedly not liberal but I do not see her taking advantage of those either. And do you consider shows like Meet The Press to be a bastion of liberal attack dogs waiting to jump on her? Most every major politician of any stripe has made their rounds there and to date I have seen neither a Rep nor a Dem say that show is unfair one way or another. They do tend to ask tough questions though no matter who is across the table. But I guess relevant questions are mean when directed at Palin. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/29 "2008-09-29T18:08:03Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It sounds to me like you are asking “don’t you think less of her because she goes to places where she isn’t popular?” I don’t see Obama doing a lot of campaigning in Arizona - does that mean he is less qualified as a canddiate? If Obama spent five days in Arizona and was afraid to show his face, I’d wonder also. Given that Arizona is not a battleground state, and Pennsylvania is, I don’t get your point. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/30 "2008-09-29T18:13:28Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > She spent four days, +/-, not campaigning while the other three main figures – all of whom also have upcoming debates – made numerous public appearances. > > How do you feel about a VP candidate who is kept away from the media, and kept off the stump, for four days approximately five weeks before the election? She’s preparing for the debate. I’m not sure anyone living in the mental state of Obamadelphia understands how this thread looks to someone outside those borders but I’ll give it a try. Politicians are an interesting breed. They pay people to conduct focus groups to gather words that you want to hear and then they pay other people to write speeches to repeat those words back to you. In essence, you are donating money someone to tell you what you want to hear. In this case, Republicans think Sara Palin should spend time preparing for the debate. Democrats think Joseph Biden is better served pressing the flesh and occasionally trying to heal the crippled. You’re making a mountain out of a no-hill. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/31 "2008-09-29T18:17:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I realize that here we will get into the part where the SDMB simply deny, over and over, that the MSM is biased towards liberals, but it is true nonetheless. So you’d say that NBC, owned by General Electric (a \*\*huge \*\*defense contractor), is liberal? This does not compute. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/32 "2008-09-29T18:18:10Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So you understand why they wouldn’t parade her around in public in Philadelphia, but not why she didn’t make many public appearances in Philadelphia? No, I don’t understand why she’s in Philadelphia, doing nothing, instead of campaigning at whatever location wouldn’t be problematical. Or, if there is no such location – how do feel about having a VP candidate for whom there is no spot in the 50 states where she can campaign without asking for trouble – trouble being whatever it is that she is presumed to be incapable of handling? The other three all draw protestors, I’m sure – but they go out and campaign anyway. The other three all draw questions from the media; the other three make speeches; the other three appear in crowds of more than 50 people. How does it feel to you that – apparently by design – this woman isn’t doing this? Should we assume her incompetence to deal with these things? Or is there some benign explanation for her non-participation in the campaign that you are comfortable with? ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/33 "2008-09-29T18:19:58Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > But I guess relevant questions are mean when directed at Palin. :rolleyes: And sexist! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/34 "2008-09-29T18:45:04Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > No, I don’t understand why she’s in Philadelphia, doing nothing, instead of campaigning at whatever location wouldn’t be problematical. > > Or, if there is no such location – how do feel about having a VP candidate for whom there is no spot in the 50 states where she can campaign without asking for trouble – trouble being whatever it is that she is presumed to be incapable of handling? > > The other three all draw protestors, I’m sure – but they go out and campaign anyway. The other three all draw questions from the media; the other three make speeches; the other three appear in crowds of more than 50 people. So let me summarize your position from Obamadelphia. You think Sara Palin should campaign in locations that are not “problematic” and draw a crowd bigger than 50? OK, She was in Florida last week and drew a crowd of [60,000](http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/2008/09/21/palin-draws-crowd-of-60000-in-the-villages/) people. is Biden drawing this kind of crowd? lets take a look. He just drew[600](http://hoosieraccess.com/blog/2008/09/25/the-estimates-of-joe-bidens-crowd-size-for-jeff-visit-are-greatly-exaggerated/) in Indiana. Last time I checked 60,000 was more than 50 and 100 times more than 600. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/35 "2008-09-29T18:45:39Z")
Yanno, **Shodan** , I think you have actually answered my question. If you take my question to be “McCain supporters, does the fact that Palin doesn’t appear in public for three to five days a month before the election, when everyone else is out campaigning their asses off, give you pause?” – and, since it’s my question, I’m okay with that as a paraphrase – it would seem that your answer is “No, it doesn’t give me pause.” The follow up question would be “why doesn’t it bother you,” but, since I was trying to keep this strictly about the perception of her absence from the scene, I think we can skip as a topic for discussion… Thanks for answering. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/36 "2008-09-29T18:47:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I’m not sure I can make it any clearer. Of course you can make your point clearer. Because…I’m sorry, **Shodan** , but you’re not making a whole lot of sense here. First of all, Pennsylvania and Arizona are apples and oranges. PA is considered a key battleground state by both camps. AZ is considered quite solid for McCain. It makes sense for Obama not to waste his resources by doing a lot of campaigning there. He’s “not popular” enough in Arizona, that gaining some small percentage of votes likely won’t make a difference due to the electoral college system. It’s not logical to say that it makes sense for Palin not to campaign where she’s “not popular,” when that place is in a key battleground state. Every vote she wins in Pennsylvania, every fraction of a percentage point that she might be able to gain, has a chance of tipping the balance in Pennsylvania. And if McCain beats Obama in PA, he gets all the electors, regardless of how narrow the victory. But I know perfectly well that you know all this. So why are you saying things like the following: > [@](#): > > Palin is probably keeping a low profile in Philadelphia because when she raises her profile, she draws protestors, and even when she meets with small groups in public, people scream obscenities at her. I take this as a sign that Democrats don’t like her. Again, that makes no sense. If staunch Democrats (and rude Democrats at that) don’t like her, so what? They’re lost causes to the McCain camp. Her job is to try to persuade the people who can still be persuaded to vote for McCain and to inspire those people to actually turn out and vote. > [@Magiver](#): > > She’s preparing for the debate. Okay, but why is she doing it in “hostile” Philadelphia then? If she needs to spend extra time getting ready for the debate, fine. And it does make sense for her to do it in a battleground state. After all, she has to do it somewhere. But if she can’t make a dent in mean old Obamadelphia, why isn’t she preparing someplace where her very presence and a few short campaign appearances _would_ make a difference? On preview: I totally agree with what **twickster** said in post #32. I think her OP raised a really interesting question, and I’d love to hear some answers. Actually, these convoluted attempts to show that the question is invalid, to say that her campaign activities aren’t notably strange, are answers to the question in their own right. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/37 "2008-09-29T18:53:08Z")
I love how “How do you feel about Palin’s inaccessiblity to the press” automatically turns into “Hey, she’s studying!” I won’t even go into the “MSM are meanies” defense. First of all, has she been studying for this debate since she was tapped? Is that why she has only had the time to do three interviews since then? Second of all, (I’m flashing back to _The Breakfast Club_ – “just answer the question Clair”) how do the Republican/Conservatives on the board feel about the fact that Palin has been relatively unaccessible? And does that affect your support for the Republican ticket? Or more to the point, is your confidence in Palin affected at all by either her interview performances so far, or her lack of being interviewed? If not, why not? Third of all, why in the name of Frederick Douglas is this not in GD yet? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/38 "2008-09-29T18:54:35Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Okay, but why is she doing it in “hostile” Philadelphia then? What possible difference does it make where she does this? This makes absolutely no sense at all. This goes way beyond a rant. You might as well talk about her shoes. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/39 "2008-09-29T18:55:20Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Third of all, why in the name of Frederick Douglas is this not in GD yet? I started it here because I never go in GD, which I find to be a scary, scary place. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/40 "2008-09-29T19:02:16Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I started it here because I never go in GD, which I find to be a scary, scary place. 😃 I understand your reticence but I think the horse is out of the barn at this point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697.md?page=3)