# 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:** 5
**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 30, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/81 "2008-09-30T01:11:43Z")
According to CNN: "Biden has done nearly 100 interviews since being picked as Obama’s VP on August 23. Palin, on the other hand, did her third interview with a national television network last week. On Wednesday, she held her first media availability with her traveling reporters." [Link](http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/27/campaign.wrap/index.html#cnnSTCText) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/82 "2008-09-30T01:38:32Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > You said “Democrats hate her guts.” Not “Some Democrats hate her guts.” I trust I don’t have to explain the difference to you. Oddly enough, you understood me perfectly before. As here: > [@Green Bean](#): > > Why do you keep bringing up the word “hate?” You’ve used this word several times in this thread alone to describe the way you think some people feel about Sarah Palin. For example, you said “Democrats hate her guts.” So, first you understand completely that I am referring to some Democrats. You even say so, Now you are pretending that you don’t. And I am the one playing games. > [@](#): > > Cute. Not so much. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/83 "2008-09-30T01:43:17Z")
Look, I’m really interested in hearing the answer to the original question. For that to happen, I’d like to ask \*\*Shodan \*\*and \*\*Magiver \*\* to stop going off on these random tirades and simply answer the original question: Basically, how do you **feel** about it? If it doesn’t bother you, fine! If you don’t think Palin is being kept away from the media, also fine! Say so, but stop trying to see gotchya questions in a topic that’s completely neutral. Here’s the kind of answer I think the OP was wanting: “Well, Palin’s absence from the spotlight doesn’t really bother me. Her rush from the governship of Alaska to the national platform was startlingly quick, so I think it’s only fair that she takes some time to practice looking at the nation in a new way. Perspectives don’t change overnight, after all, and I trust the McCain campaign to fill in whatever small cracks there are in her experience and have her ready to lead the country before November. She’s already got the base down with her executive experience as governer, so it’s really all just polish from here on out. Let’s just give them some time to let the wax dry.” THERE! I’m a Dem and I could do that. Is it _really_ so difficult? If you really support her, then it shouldn’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/84 "2008-09-30T01:45:36Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Cite on Democrats calling McCain unqualified? Wrong, yes, unqualified no. [If you like.](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11425.html) > [@](#): > > Who talked about running it in ads? I’d think that such a thing might make some of the voters with a bit of bias uncomfortable about voting against him, and it might actually help. Lots of people, especially older ones, grew up in a bigoted world. My father-in-law, who is 93 and who never voted for a Democrat for president in his life, has gone from calling him “that black guy” to “Senator Obama.” So why doesn’t he do it? Is it because he is too delicate? For that matter, why doesn’t he appear at pro-life rallies and try to convince them to vote for him? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/85 "2008-09-30T01:46:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe it would help Obama to get footage of someone calling him a nigger in his campaign ads. Why doesn’t he go out and try to provoke that? Is he too delicate? What you do in your own home is your own business. Just remember to keep the windows closed, and use your inside voice. (Joking) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/86 "2008-09-30T01:47:53Z")
> [@Palin (from Shodan's cite)](#): > > Palin responded to a question about the economic recovery plan, which was hashed out overnight. She answered, but she made it clear that she was then going to concentrate on the Blue Star Moms, “Bailout? Ok? Then I’m going to talk to these gals whose sons are also in the service. But, thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal to have more sound oversight,” Palin said. “Taxpayers aren’t going to be assumed to be called upon to bail out so I’m glad that John McCain’s voice is heard and his leadership too.” My brain hurt. Anyone notice how frequently Palin mentions John McCain when she’s asked about her own views? Word salad aside, I find this to be worrisome because it shows someone who is unable to be critical or thoughtful. ---
**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 30, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/87 "2008-09-30T01:48:42Z")
> [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](#): > > Look, I’m really interested in hearing the answer to the original question. Good luck. I’m getting ready to do laundry in this thread, there’s so much spin. ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/88 "2008-09-30T01:55:32Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Good luck. > > I’m getting ready to do laundry in this thread, there’s so much spin. It really is amazing. I mean, we’re on page 2 of this thread and there hasn’t been a single answer to the question yet. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/89 "2008-09-30T02:05:09Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Palin pulled 60,000 from a Florida community of 70,000. What’s your point? BWAHAHAHAHA!! LMAO! Oh, that’s a funny one! \ This “community” is actually > [@](#): > > . . .a **vast** , upscale **planned community** [that] has about 70,000 mostly adult residents – many of them military retirees – **who vote reliably Republican in statewide races**". > > [http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/NEWS0107/80921022](http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/NEWS0107/80921022) ::wipes tears:: ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/90 "2008-09-30T02:07:10Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > My brain hurt. > > Anyone notice how frequently Palin mentions John McCain when she’s asked about her own views? Word salad aside, I find this to be worrisome because it shows someone who is unable to be critical or thoughtful. Well, to be fair, she’s stumping for McCain and \*his \*policies. Also, I don’t really think a VP candidate should really be critical (at least out loud and for the record) of their running mate. But I do agree with you that she overuses the whole John-McCain-is-a-leader-and-John-McCain-says-yadayadayada to the point that it’s apparent that either a) she doesn’t actually have an opinion or stance of her own (which would obviously closely mirror McCain’s) or b) doesn’t really have the skills to present her platform on complicated issues. Neither bodes well. But the result really makes her appear quite incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/91 "2008-09-30T02:23:12Z")
Palin is not a battle-ground candidate, she’s on the ticket to secure the base. People who are going to vote for her matching chromosomes do not need to hear her speak. I would have picked a state with a less aggressive press for her, but small gatherings in front of supportive audiences in a battleground state is good strategy. > [@Magiver](#): > > You’re whining about 4 days of prep work for a debate? How do you justify this? Oh, I don’t know … maybe because some of us would like a smart, intelligent woman who has been preparing her entire carrier, and _not just four days?_ Those of us who are quick enough to pick up that you are referring the old ways of referring to women in politics with the crack about shoes. Wake up; Pelosi’s suit at the state of the union address, and Clinton’s pant suits were news, in an anthropolico-political sense. Noticing that Palin is a light-weight is not condescending to women, it’s the opposite, not matter how she is shod. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/92 "2008-09-30T02:25:22Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![IdahoMauleMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71c47a/32.png) [@IdahoMauleMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IdahoMauleMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/93 "2008-09-30T02:53:16Z")
> [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](#): > > Look, I’m really interested in hearing the answer to the original question. > > For that to happen, I’d like to ask \*\*Shodan \*\*and \*\*Magiver \*\* to stop going off on these random tirades and simply answer the original question: > > Basically, how do you **feel** about it? > > If it doesn’t bother you, fine! If you don’t think Palin is being kept away from the media, also fine! Say so, but stop trying to see gotchya questions in a topic that’s completely neutral. > > Here’s the kind of answer I think the OP was wanting: > > “Well, Palin’s absence from the spotlight doesn’t really bother me. Her rush from the governship of Alaska to the national platform was startlingly quick, so I think it’s only fair that she takes some time to practice looking at the nation in a new way. Perspectives don’t change overnight, after all, and I trust the McCain campaign to fill in whatever small cracks there are in her experience and have her ready to lead the country before November. She’s already got the base down with her executive experience as governer, so it’s really all just polish from here on out. Let’s just give them some time to let the wax dry.” > > THERE! I’m a Dem and I could do that. Is it _really_ so difficult? If you really support her, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Palin muffed really badly on those national TV interviews. There’s no doubt about it. She looked nervous and over-coached. She looked like she had so many talking points crammed into her head that at the slightest pinprick of a question, they all came gushing out in an incoherent morass. The WSJ reports that the McCain camp is trying to get her to calm down, to relax, to forget about the zillion factoids on world affairs she needs to learn, to be herself and ‘let it all hang out’. That’s probably a good strategy. It will be interesting to see how she delivers on debate night. But here’s a followup question for you. Does flubbing your first round of national television interviews make you unqualified for VP? I know it’s red meat for her critics. But does it really make her unqualified? I don’t know. It may be irrelevant. I know lots of people in leadership roles (business CEOs, sports coaches) who looked terrible in their early days in front of large audiences. But they were smart, managed well behind the scenes, delivered results, learned their lessons, got some coaching, learned to relax, and got a lot better. Mass communication is an important part of leadership. But it’s only one part. Is Palin going to support decisions on US policy by responding off-the-cuff to Katie Couric on national TV? Ultimately, she may be called on to communicate those decisions, of course, and she obviously would have to get better at that. But does a bad first round of TV interviews directly translate to poor leadership? So that’s how I feel. I feel like I just need to take a breather from the non-stop laugh-track of TV interviews, watch the debates, focus more on the issues, philosophy and character of the candidates and come back later to decide. By the way, check out Ron Paul’s clip on YouTube (CSPAN) from today’s House debate on the bailout bill. He goes off. I love it. If there was a ballot in front of me right now I’d vote for him. But I’m sure I’ll calm down later. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/94 "2008-09-30T02:59:45Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > According to CNN: > > "Biden has done nearly 100 interviews since being picked as Obama’s VP on August 23. > > [Link](http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/27/campaign.wrap/index.html#cnnSTCText) Bullshit. That would mean Biden did 3 interviews per day, every day. The definition of interview would have to be anyone who asked him a question. ---
**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 30, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/95 "2008-09-30T03:01:05Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Bullshit. That would mean Biden did 3 interviews per day, every day. The definition of interview would have to be anyone who asked him a question. Take it up with CNN. I didn’t make it up, it’s a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/96 "2008-09-30T03:05:31Z")
Those of you who are bending over backwards to defend Caribou Barbie now are going to feel so ashamed 6 months from now. Kind of like those who embraced leisure suits in the late 70s. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/97 "2008-09-30T03:06:12Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Take it up with CNN. I didn’t make it up, it’s a cite. Nah, CNN is part of the vast left-wing conspiracy. ---
**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 30, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/98 "2008-09-30T03:10:20Z")
It can’t be a conspiracy because it is a well know fact that the mainstream media _hates_ Sarah Palin. I mean, everybody knows that. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/99 "2008-09-30T03:12:49Z")
> [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](#): > > Look, I’m really interested in hearing the answer to the original question. original question: **Here’s my question – we’re about five weeks out from the election. Both presidential candidates are campaigning pretty actively, as are their wives. The Democratic VP candidate, Joe Biden, is also making a lot of public appearances before large crowds. All of these people have the press following them pretty closely.** my response in post 64 The Op asked why she was hiding in general and suggested she was playing to small crowds. I’ve pointed out that the opposite is the case. She is very active on the campaign and drawing good crowds. She is as available for interview as are any of the other candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697/100 "2008-09-30T03:17:02Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Palin is on the same 24/7 campaign circuit as the other 3 candidates and is doing well at it. Redefining accessibility to create a talking point is political hyperbole. At least one of the candidtates has been on closer to an 8-10/5 circuit since spring. His demonstrated lack of vigor is a significant factor in the concern over Palin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-a-question-about-palin/465697.md?page=6)