Palin a 'fast study', aides say

Posted By Blake Hounshell Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 11:52 AM Share

Liberal pundit E.J. Dionne recoils in horror at the following two paragraphs in this New York Times article:

Aides traveling with [Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah] Palin have reported back to associates that she is a fast study -- asking few questions of her policy briefers but quickly repeating back their main points -- who already has considerable ease and experience before cameras.

A former aide in Alaska who had helped prepare Ms. Palin for her campaign debates there said she had a talent for distilling information into digestible sound bites. The aide said she generally prefers light preparatory materials to heavy briefing books, and prefers walking through potential questions and answers with aides to holding mock sessions.

This is to be expected. She is, after all, a successful politician, and she's had about two weeks to prepare for this interview. She has to use her time effectively.

But still, it's not an encouraging description of someone who could very well become the president of the United States someday, is it? Here's hoping she's only tailoring her briefing approach to the situation at hand.

EXPLORE:DECISION '08
 
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VJVALK

2:45 PM ET

September 11, 2008

Palin and Bush

Am I the only one who thinks Palin is eerily reminiscent of George W. Bush? Very conservative, religious, doesn't quite seem up to the job but comes off as someone who relates to ordinary people. I remember back in 2000 people said Bush was a 'quick study' who preferred short briefings to policy details...this is all very, very scary.

OK, so she's a woman, and she actually is (or was) an ordinary person as opposed to just playing one on TV. Nevertheless, if I were the Democrats, I'd find some surrogates to go out there and, with a wink and a nod, say "haven't we seen this show before?"

 

KIDZIB

3:13 PM ET

September 11, 2008

OMG I'M SO SCARED!

Oh, wait. No, I'm not. Look, you can coach her all you want. But one good question and she's toast because all her knowledge is superficial. There's no depth there. She can probably now easily recite McCain's position on the Georgia-Russia situation, but she would be left stuttering like an idiot if you asked her what she thinks of the idea of ceding Abkhazia's Gali district back to Samegrelo authority. Same applies to just about any foreign policy question. Can you imagine her successfully answering any tough question on conflict? "Mrs. Palin, what should be done about the Jewish settlers in Hebron?"; "Mrs. Palin, how would you resolve the situation in Transnistria?"; "Mrs. Palin, does Crimea's large ethnic Russian population pose a long-term risk for Ukraine?"; "Mrs. Palin, what is your position on the current Amarnath Shrine dispute in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir?" I could go on and on. It makes me chuckle just to think about the things I'd ask her!

 

SAM

4:04 PM ET

September 11, 2008

Well Obama can't answer

Well Obama can't answer those questions either, these people are not running for Secretary of State or Ambassador of US somewhere, and honestly American people will not only become bored by such question but will resent the person who asks them because they don't have a clue themselves either. It is not a radio quiz show, nor a lecture at Harvard. We should understand this. And above all she will not interview with Keith Olbermann, she will most probably start with some sympathizing foxnews reporter.

One very important thing is for us to stop being sarcastic when referring to her, I agree it is a pick worthy of mocking and down grading John McCain and Republicans when it comes to professional talk, but in from of people, it is a killer. If there is something that people like about her, Obama should go and say he has it better ( and it is hard ) and then goes back to his agenda also to win people like you and me ( well I can't vote! so you alone ) and general democrats.

 

KIDZIB

4:55 PM ET

September 11, 2008

I disagree

Maybe the Abkhazia question is unfair, but the others should all be answerable by a presidential or vice presidential candidate.

 

GREATESTBUSINESSMAN

9:48 PM ET

September 11, 2008

Her interview today...

For those who will see the the ABCNEWS interview...look for her behavior, the tone of her voice. How confident is Mrs Palin on the answers she gives you? If she was interviewing for an executive position at your company would you hire her? Her resume is not that strong by the way...

 

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