Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., left, and Republican candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shake hands before the start of a vice presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)COMMENTARY:
"Ba-rack O-ba-ma
"Ba-a-rack O-ba-a-ma
"Ba-ra-ack Obama-a ... "
(Repeat until coronation.)
And Laura and I had a good laugh about it, until it occurred to me that, in politics as in pop, the tune is more important than the words. A guy can run for president with all the right lyrics - on the war, the economy, the social issues - but what matters is whether people respond to the underlying music: not what he's saying, but how he's saying it. At the time, I was reflecting on Mitt Romney: The song looked great on paper, but when he stuck it on the stand and started to warble it never quite soared.
That's where Sarah Palin scored in the vice-presidential showdown. A lot of the grandees in the post-debate analysis reviewed the lyrics and missed the music. Whereas, I would wager, a big chunk of uncommitted voters out in TV land listened to Gov. Palin, and liked the tune they were hearing. If you're one of those coastal feminists who despise Alaska's sweetheart as a chillbilly breeder whose knowledge of foreign policy is as full of holes as the last moose to make the mistake of strolling past her deck, Thursday night's folksy performance isn't going to change your view. But, if your contempt for her wasn't already chiseled in granite, she came over as genuine, confident... and different. Change you can believe in, to coin a phrase.
I was a bit alarmed at first. I hadn't seen her for awhile, not since the halfwits at the McCain campaign walled her up in the witness protection program and permitted visitations only by selected poobahs of the Metamucil networks. When she walked out on stage, her famous reach-for-the-skies updo seemed a bit subdued and earthbound, like a low-budget remake of the famous scene in "There's Something About Mary." Then she started speaking.
The lyrics were workmanlike, but the music was effective. I have a couple of favorite snapshots from the evening. One was when Mrs. Palin said John McCain hadn't required her to check her principles at the door, and she still believed in drilling in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge and hoped to bring him round. Then she grinned and gave a mischievous wink into the camera, and to the nation.
"Don't sell the American people short," said Obama honcho David Axelrod. "They need more than a wink and a smile."
By Kara Rowland - The Washington Times
Obama was excoriated for continuing the Bush administration's strictest national security policies, including indefinite detention, military commissions and a "targeted kill" program that authorizes the government to take out suspected terrorists anywhere. Published 8:56 p.m. July 29, 2010
By Sean Lengell - The Washington Times
The House ethics committee officially lodged charges against Rep. Charles B. Rangel, including that he used his office to raise $8 million for a college public policy center named after him and didn't file taxes while he was Congress' chief tax writer. Published 8:56 p.m. July 29, 2010
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