The Palin Magic Wanes

by Rob Woollard (AFP)

Los Angeles – She arrived in a blaze of glory and at a stroke injected new life into John McCain’s presidential election campaign.

But one month after Sarah Palin was unveiled as the shock Republican vice presidential pick, the surge of populist momentum provided by the Alaskan governor’s elevation to national politics is waning, analysts say.

On Thursday, the photogenic 44-year-old mother-of-five faces the biggest test of her campaign so far when she goes head-to-head in a debate with her Democratic opposite number, the vastly experienced Senator Joseph Biden.

The showdown comes hard on the heels of a faltering performance in a prime-time television interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric last week, and at a time when even conservative commentators are questioning her credentials.

Professor Jack Citrin, professor of political science at the University of California Berkeley, said Palin had been remarkably successful in “mobilising and energising” support since her appointment, but interest was now cooling.

“She was an interesting new face in a kind of politics where celebrity, status and media attention is important,” Citrin told AFP.

“Her views and self-presentation appeal to a component of the Republican Party coalition that were not so enthused about McCain.”

“But the focus has turned now to figure out what she really knows and what she doesn’t know, especially in the context of an economic crisis where people are anxious and alarmed,” he said referring to the Wall Street meltdown.

Palin’s interview with Couric – only one of three the McCain campaign has granted to media since her unveiling – reinforced scepticism surrounding the candidate’s ability.

An example is Palin’s rather incoherent explanation on why being able to see Russia from Alaska should count as foreign policy experience on her resume.

“It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia,” she told Mrs Couric.

“It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.”

On the Wall Street meltdown and polls showing Mr McCain slipping, she had this to say: ” What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it.”

She went as far as to say that US forces had secured “victory” in Iraq, a bolder assertion than even McCain has offered.

Republican strategist Tony Fabrizio told Politico.com that Palin’s interview was cause for concern. “You can’t continue to have interviews like that and not take on water,” he told the website.

The performance also drew a withering review from prominent pro-Republican columnist Kathleen Parker, who wrote in the National Review that Palin was now such an embarrassment to the party that she should step down.

“Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson (ABC News), Sean Hannity (Fox News) and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League,” Parker said.

“As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem,” she added.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp survey last week suggested that 49% of voters believe Palin lacks the leadership qualities required in a president.

However, for some analysts, Palin’s limited experience in foreign affairs is unlikely to affect her support among the rank-and-file Republican base, which responds to her staunchly conservative views on abortion, guns and religion.

“The party base doesn’t care about foreign policy, so it should not be too much of a concern,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst at the University of Southern California. “But the media love affair is over.”

And Jeffe said she believed it is doubtful that Palin may be able to attract undecided voters or former women supporters of defeated Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton.

“There’s no question she’s injected the Republicans with an enthusiasm that John McCain could not,” Jeffe said.

“Having said that, she hasn’t been able to reach out to Hillary voters in any circumstance. And I think she’s probably caused some of the independents and undecideds to think twice about her in the past couple of weeks.

“The polls now indicate that a majority don’t think she’s ready to be President. And that’s not helpful.”

Citrin meanwhile said McCain’s advanced age – at 72 he would be the oldest man ever elected to a first term as president – meant more attention than normal was being paid to Palin’s level of experience.

“Let’s face it, you really don’t need to know that much to be vice president,” Citrin said. “But when the president is a 72-year-old man the stakes are higher than they normally would be.”

Opined the Boston Globe: “The honeymoon is over for Sarah Palin.”

Palin’s Words Raise Red Flags

By BOB HERBERT (NYT)

The country is understandably focused on the financial crisis. But there is another serious issue in front of us that is not getting nearly enough attention, and that’s whether Sarah Palin is qualified to be vice president — or, if the situation were to arise, president of the United States.

History has shown again and again that a vice president must be ready to assume command of the ship of state on a moment’s notice. But Ms. Palin has given no indication yet that she is capable of handling the monumental responsibilities of the presidency if she were called upon to do so.

In fact, the opposite is the case. We know that there are some parts of Alaska from which, if the day is clear and your eyesight is good, you can actually see Russia. But the infantile repetition of this bit of trivia as some kind of foreign policy bona fide for a vice presidential candidate should give us pause.

The McCain campaign has done its bizarre best to shield Ms. Palin from any sustained media examination of her readiness for the highest offices in the land, and no wonder. She has been an embarrassment in interviews.

But the idea that the voters of the United States might install someone in the vice president’s office who is too unprepared or too intellectually insecure to appear on, say, “Meet the Press” or “Face the Nation” is mind-boggling.

The alarm bells should be clanging and warning lights flashing. You wouldn’t put an unqualified pilot in the cockpit of a jetliner. The potential for catastrophe is far, far greater with an unqualified president.

The United States has been lucky in terms of the qualifications of the vice presidents who have had to step in over the last several decades for presidents who either died or, in Richard Nixon’s case, were forced to leave office. Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson became extraordinary presidents in their own right. Gerald Ford successfully guided the nation through the immediate aftermath of one of the most traumatic political crises in its history.

For those who think Sarah Palin is in that league, there is no problem. But her unscripted public appearances would lead most honest observers to think otherwise. When asked again this week about her puerile linkage of foreign policy proficiency and Alaska’s proximity to Russia, this time by Katie Couric of CBS News, here is what Ms. Palin said she meant:

“That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land — boundary that we have with — Canada.”

She went on, but lost her way midsentence: “It’s funny that a comment like that was kind of made to — cari — I don’t know, you know? Reporters …”

Ms. Couric said, “Mocked?”

“Yeah, mocked,” said Ms. Palin. “I guess that’s the word. Yeah.”

It is not just painful, but frightening to watch someone who could become the vice president of the United States stumbling around like this in an interview.

Ms. Couric asked Ms. Palin to explain how Alaska’s proximity to Russia “enhances your foreign policy credentials.”

“Well, it certainly does,” Ms. Palin replied, “because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there—”

Gently interrupting, Ms. Couric asked, “Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?”

“We have trade missions back and forth,” said Ms. Palin. “We do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to our state.”

It was surreal, the kind of performance that would generate a hearty laugh if it were part of a Monty Python sketch. But this is real life, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. As Ms. Palin was fumbling her way through the Couric interview, the largest bank failure in the history of the United States, the collapse of Washington Mutual, was occurring.

The press has an obligation to hammer away at Ms. Palin’s qualifications. If it turns out that she has just had a few bad interviews because she was nervous or whatever, additional scrutiny will serve her well.

If, on the other hand, it becomes clear that her performance, so far, is an accurate reflection of her qualifications, it would behoove John McCain and the Republican Party to put the country first — as Mr. McCain loves to say — and find a replacement for Ms. Palin on the ticket.

A version of this article appeared in print on September 27, 2008, 
on page A21 of the New York edition.