Sarah Palin

“In what respect, Charlie?” reveals poor grasp of media

/ Angelo Fernando / 2 Comments

Hard not to feel bad for Sarah Palin.

She’s completely rattled by the media, and does not have the instincts or training to push back.

Her response to Charlie Gibson on his question about whether she understands the Bush Doctrine, with the question, “in what respect, Charlie?” revealed two things:

  1. She was clueless and probably had never heard the term before.
  2. She was dumb enough to take the bait and succumb to the question whose sub-text was “prove to me you’ve done your homework.”

With Katie Couric she appeared to simply be following instructions & talking points by repeating her answer when unable to clarify a follow-up question. That was before she swung into operation-Putin, about him flying into U.S. airspace. She was also not ready with specific examples. “I will try to find you some…” is NOT an answer!

It’s easy to see the urgent need for media training. But more than that, she need media understanding. Anticipating what the interview might be looking for and coming prepared with it.

Let’s hope that in the next few days someone will give her some proper media training. Memo to governor Palin: There’s plenty of free advice out there, if the McCain campaign has no time for this. Here are just two.

Quotes form the week ending 27 September, 2008

/ Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where – where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border…”

Governor Sarah Palin, in response to a question by Katie Couric of CBS about her experience in international relations.

“When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.”

Barack Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, displaying a poor sense of history, on the Today Show. Roosevelt was not in office at that time, and, radio, not television, was the medium used.

“In what respect, Charlie?”

Sarah Palin, in her first media interview given to ABC News. Charles Gibson asked her about her stance on the Bush Doctrine, about which she didn’t seem to have a clue.

“Turn off the rumor mills, pull down the mocked-up artwork, and say goodbye to the blogger speculation.”

Announcement of Google’s Gphone, launched in collaboration with TMobile. It is the first mobile device built around a Android, Google’s Linux application.

“He wants to socialize Wall Street and privatize Social Security. Talk about upside down.”

Reader or The Arizona Republic, Roy Otterbein or Phoenix, commenting on Bush’s approach to the financial crisis.

“Our 94-year history of leadership in the financial industry has been a source of confidence…”

Copy from a Merill Lynch full page ad, appearing in the September 20th issue of The Economist, whose cover featured a cyclone sucking up brand names Fannie Mae, AIG, Morgan Stanley, Washington Mutual, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

“Talks are breaking down, I think McCain’s move just proved how important it was to be in DC.”

Tweet by one James Eiden about legislators and the White House hustling over the $7 billion bail out.

“McCain’s bluff called! Un-suspends campaign and attending 1st debate, even though $700B agreement not reached yet”

Another tweet by one Presceile, revealing how the pendulum swung.

“The US President has been wrong about so much during his eight years in office that it is tempting to dismiss his warnings of the impending financial apocalypse as yet more hyperbole – the boy crying wolf.”

Economics editor Edmund Conway or The Telegraph, on the need for the British to act fast too, and stop trying to give paracetamol to someone with a heart attack.