Could "Governor Hottie" Be A "Trojan Moose"?

I read this article in the Murdoch Street Journal today about Our Gal Sarah’s debate history in the frozen north, and I thought this was interesting…

Despite Gov. Palin's recent travails, Democrats seem to be raising expectations for her performance. "We've looked at tapes of Gov. Palin's debates, and she's a terrific debater," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters Saturday. "She's obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she'll give a great performance next Thursday."

Gov. Palin herself engaged in a little pre-debate spin on Monday, telling reporters "I've been hearing his speeches since I was in the second grade." The remark suggested she would be a decided underdog against Sen. Biden, while underscoring the McCain campaign's message that it represents a newer, better alternative to the Democratic ticket.

She was a sensation as a candidate for governor two years ago, excelling in about a dozen debates during a primary bid against a sitting governor and later in the general election against a former governor attempting a comeback. In both rounds of voting, she was in a three-way race, the only woman running against two older men. A newcomer, she radiated "change" -- and stood out with trademark attire, such as a chic scarlet blazer that became almost her debate uniform.

(Must...resist...temptation...to...make...joke...about...her...and
...a..."three-way"...)

Yes, I realize this publication is likely to mitigate the impact of or ignore outright Palin’s numerous gaffes, including her most recent one here where she couldn’t name a single newspaper or magazine she’d ever read (h/t Atrios) even though he obtained a degree in journalism after stints at numerous colleges (and following that, she learned how to proficiently broadcast sports on T.V. station KTUU in her home state, learning how to "work the crowd"; also, as an athlete, she’s been used to the spotlight all along).

And I know the oh-so-august Journal will think absolutely nothing of the fact that Palin named her daughter after a body of water.

But anecdotes such as this intrigued me somewhat (and I think David Plouffe was wise to tell people to be cautious)…

The candidates she squared off against (while running for Alaska governor), and the reporters who posed questions in several debates, recall that she related high gas prices to the difficulties her family had buying a car.

…

The other candidates scowled and sighed over her inability, in one exchange, to identify a single bill passed by the legislature that she either approved or disapproved of. She ignored their frustration.

Then, in one of the evening's final questions, she deftly turned the tables on the two men.

Asked what jobs she might have in her administration for either opposing candidate, she chuckled that former Gov. Knowles could be her official chef, while Mr. Halcro would be Alaska's top statistician.

"It was a witty answer, and funny," recalls Larry Persily, the Anchorage Daily News editor who posed the question at a debate broadcast on the state's public television network. "But it was also a put-down. Everyone knows Tony used to own a restaurant called Downtown Deli, and she was suggesting he should go back to running a lunch counter. With Andrew, she was saying, basically, 'Gee, all your facts and numbers are nice, but the voters just don't care.'"

That’s the sort of stuff that people remember from debates, my friends (and that’s one of the reasons why I generally don’t pay much attention to them; I can find out about the gaffes and “gotcha” nonsense later).

Also, as Kagro X notes here, Palin was recruited by a certain Newton Leroy Gingrich for GOPAC some time ago…

Back in the heyday of GOPAC, when it was Newt Gingrich's operation, one of the chief functions of the organization was to equip the Republican "farm team" with the kind of rhetoric Newt was well-known for. Attention grabbing, bombastic, and most importantly, focus-group tested for resonance. Right down to the molecular level. They actually used to distribute a list of words they wanted you to use to describe Republicans and Republican policies, and those they wanted used to describe Democrats and Democratic policies.

For most Republicans, that rudimentary training is usually enough to get you through most situations. They rarely, if ever, face the national press corps for a full and wide-ranging examination of the breadth of their policy positions, instead perhaps occasionally doing national interviews on specific topics of expertise. Only the top leaders from each party tend to find themselves in a position like Palin will be facing on Thursday, and even then only for perhaps ten minutes at a time. It's highly unusual for such an untested politician to find themselves in this bright a spotlight, and it's only due to the fact that a vice presidential nominee can literally be picked out of the blue and thrust into the spotlight with no special prerequisites that this can even happen. Ordinarily, people choose their running mates with, you know, a little care and forethought. And that usually produces a selection who's actually ready for the job.

Not this time. This time, we're being given a chance to watch one of the GOPAC spawn in the larval stage, not yet fully developed, and we'll have a chance to see the limitations of trying to teach someone to talk and argue like Newt Gingrich before they're ready.

I realize that the circumstances in this country now are completely different from any time that I can ever recall in my life, and I don’t mean that in a good way; for that reason, voters in this country generally are less tolerant of a pretender. And maybe it’s possible that Palin will continue to make utterly ditzy pronouncements along the lines of her earlier gems, such as not being able to name a Supreme Court case besides Roe v. Wade (here) or describing the looming threat of Vladimir Putin’s noggin suddenly appearing over her home state here (which gives me an excuse to take this gratuitous swipe again).

But then again, she may come out tomorrow and make just barely enough sense to startle people into thinking she could actually be competent as vice president (and in the event of that horrid development, I think Tina Fey can just go get rich playing her for as long as we’re stuck with her).

Somehow, though, I can’t help but feeling that there’s a bit of “rope-a-dope” going on here. After what this guy pulled off in 1980, I’ll never assume anything for certain about a Repug again.