A Heartbeat Away?As of yesterday, Sarah Palin had delivered 14 campaign speeches since her well-received address more than two weeks ago at the Republican National Convention. And each time, she’s packed in thousands of excited Republicans eager to see this new star of the GOP.
But those waiting for hours to listen to her could hear the same thing—or something close to it—simply by pressing play on a TiVO recording of her acceptance speech. Or clicking on to a YouTube clip of that Sept. 3 address. ...
Indeed, her stump speech has deviated very little from that convention speech in St. Paul. She continues to introduce herself to audiences primarily with biographical detail, stories from her time in Alaska, and praise for McCain—rarely straying from the words on her Teleprompter.
And to think just a few weeks ago, people were spreading the bullshit meme that the teleprompter had broken during her convention speech and she fired it off from memory. If she knew it by heart then, you’d think the endless repetition would have cemented it by now.
And how does she handle new material? The article gives two examples:
Palin did address the financial crisis on Monday—saying the market system “needs some shakin’ up and some fixin’”
Sophisticated! Sounds like just the kind of detailed plan the Republicans say that Obama avoids presenting.
Perhaps her scripted nature was best on display Wednesday, when she joined McCain for her first town hall meeting in Grand Rapids, MI. After giving opening remarks with no new material, McCain tackled the first question on fighting terrorism. Palin quickly chimed in —“can I add something?” she asked McCain—and returned to lines she has used daily on McCain’s leadership for the surge in Iraq. Answering audience questions, she mixed and matched lines directly from her normal remarks, speaking of her opposition to earmarks in Alaska, equality for women, and energy independence. When topics arose that Palin hadn’t previously delved into, she stayed silent.
Maybe the press should ask more questions about energy. Not that she’d get the answers correct but at least she’d answer.
Via Frank, who has no online presence.
