My gut reaction to the Palin speech (one shared by Josh Marshall and in even more depth by James Fallows of The Atlantic,) that it was delivered fine, but way too snide, seems to be getting confirmation in various places. My take was that so far, the GOP convention is SO red meat, so "everybody but evangelicals and gun nuts GTFO!" that it can't possibly attract Independents, much less Democrats, who can't have felt "reached out to" by a night full of over the top insults, not just to Barack Obama (who's been more than gracious to Palin) but also to Democrats as a whole. First there was the Nevada focus group where women expressed dismay at Palin's negativity, and now this:
The Detroit Free Press invited a panel of Michigan voters to weigh in on Gov. Sarah Palin's speech last night. Their reactions run the gamut, but the independents didn't seem to care for her very much. ... George Lentz, 66, Southfield independent: “I was completely underwhelmed. She was a Republican novelty act with a sophomoric script. It was not even a speech I would expect for someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president.” Diane Murphy, 42, Sterling Heights independent: “It appears that once she makes up her mind, that is the end of it. We live in a gray world, not every answer is black and white.” Jan Wheelock, 58, Royal Oak independent: “Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarks and distortions to be a major turnoff. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog.”
In fact, Palin's speech will only serve to deepen the antipathy of Democrats to her and to McCain, while not helping the ticket with Indies. A couple more from the Freep panel: “Palin is a far better orator than McCain. But the tone of her speech is sarcastic, mean-spirited and divisive. Apparently, her role is to look good and throw out red meat for the base. …
“Palin has repeated her lie about ‘saying no’ to the bridge from nowhere. Has she no shame?”
-- James Melton, 45, Detroit Democrat "Sarah Palin is a self-described ‘pitbull with lipstick.’ She spent little time helping Americans learn who she is. She is a cool, poised speaker, but her speech contained few statements about policy or the party platform. … I am not convinced that Palin's experience as a mayor or governor in Alaska meet the qualifications to be vice president much less one stroke or heart attack away from being commander in chief.”
-- Ilene Beninson, 52, Berkley independent
“Sarah got as much applause as Hillary did, and had a friendly, appealing appearance. Her delivery style reminded me of a high school valedictorian who also might have been a cheerleader. I thought she would appear more professional, more stateswomanly. She's no match for Joe Biden.”
-- Joellen Gilchrist, 64, Beverly Hills independent
Another issue with the speech is that there's nothing in it that will be memorable; no "yes we can" (the New Hampshire speech that will go down in history, I think, as one of the finest political speeches ever given...) no "America's promise" or "this is the moment," from Obama's acceptance speech, not even "morning in America." In fact, the most memorable lines from Ms. Palin's speeches will all be attack lines against Obama -- which may be good for McCain in the short run in that thos lines will energize the base; but as I've said repeatedly, just how big does John McCain think the red meat Republican base is? Like his gamble with Palin given her lack of experience, John McCain is betting everything on 50 percent plus one American voters being Dittoheads. And that's a stretch, to say the least.
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| Labels: 2008 election, GOP convention, Independents, Republicans, Sarah Palin |
