Gaming the Palin Speech
James Fallows writes:
One, of course, was Barack Obama’s keynote at the convention in Boston four years ago. The other, which I remember watching as a schoolboy Goldwaterite, was Ronald Reagan’s speech supporting Goldwater at the San Francisco convention in 1964.
I don’t think Sarah Palin’s speech will be in that category.
One wonders how an ardent anti-Goldwaterite would have reacted to Reagan’s speech supporting Goldwater in 1964 — I’m guessing there would’ve been at least one reference to Bedtime for Bonzo, don’t you?
The speech was surprisingly negative and mocking. You can see why Rush Limbaugh has been such a fan of hers: if these words were delivered by someone older, less attractive, and male, they could have come straight from a Limbaugh radio monologue. The upside here is making “the base” much more enthusiastic than it was before. Potential drawback: having taken this tone, she’s exposed herself to more direct, aggressive attack by the Dems than she has received so far. (So far, the Dems have been able to stand back and let the press do the anti-Palin work.) No more Mr. Nice Guy from Joe Biden or anyone else.
Indeed. Now, how this will help the Democratic ticket remains an open question. I’ve stressed the dangers involved in attacking Palin, and I think those points still stand.
Palin’s mockery clearly struck a chord. One observer — not Fallows, I should stress — has essentially called Palin a liar for suggesting that The Audacity of Hope, which contains lengthy autobiographical passages, is a memoir. Of course, the Chicago Tribune published a story headlined “First Glimpse of Obama’s New Memoirs.” Time published an excerpt under the heading “From the senator’s new memoir, The Audacity of Hope.” Perhaps the news media was guilty of mendacity in both instances. It does seem entirely possible to me that a book can be both a campaign book and a memoir. The genres are not mutually exclusive. My understanding is that they tend to overlap.
Fallows apparently doesn’t believe that the governor of an oil-rich state would have heard of Abqaiq. I am not the governor of an oil-rich states and I am familiar with Abqaiq because I read the newspaper. Is it hard to imagine that civic-minded Alaskans might also be familiar with the vulnerability of energy supplies — particularly familiar, even? I also gave a talk yesterday morning on how stagnant refining capacity and regulations concerning sulfur emissions are shaping the strategic environment. It was really exciting.
I can’t recall any spectacle comparable to Baby Trig being passed from Cindy McCain, to Trig’s 7-year-old sister, to Palin herself when she ended the speech. Her husband looks charming, I have to say.
When was the last time a major presidential candidate had an infant child? Surely this plays some kind of a role. Cindy McCain, lest we forget, is a woman sentimental enough to have adopted a small child from Bangladesh because she couldn’t bear to part with her. Surely it’s not so outlandish that she would want to hold the baby. My mother, who is in her 60s, also likes holding babies. My guess is that my mother — a Democrat, incidentally — would enjoy holding the baby of friendly acquaintances, even if she was sitting in a stadium. Honestly, I find this to be a truly unusual line of criticism. Perhaps Trig should have been left at home? Well, perhaps. It was pretty loud in there. But it might have been odd considering that the Palins were presumably proud of Sarah. One assumes they wanted Trig there as a family. And it can be pretty tiring to hold a baby. I know. I have a nephew. Your arms might fall asleep after too long. As for Piper holding the baby and spit-smoothing his hair, well, perhaps she should have been restrained somehow, but that seems needlessly cruel considering that the kid was otherwise pretty well behaved. Should the shotgun husband have been excluded from the event? Well, he is part of the family, isn’t he?
So: the spectacle would have been less of a spectacle had Trig been kept in a bassinet the entire time, preferably concealed from view; the shotgun husband-to-be had been kept conspicuously absent; etc. Because none of these road rules were recognized, the Palin family can now be subject to withering attack and robust investigation concerning intimate details that aren’t relevant to Palin’s experience and effectiveness.
One assumes the Edwards family doesn’t feel the same way. I was very glad the Times and other respectable organs steered clear of the tabloid gutter and said so. But newspapers and newsmagazines are commercial enterprises, and they need to serve their constituencies.
I have to assume that ardent Republicans hope that Democrats do indeed “take the gloves off” with regards to Palin, and that the media starts to “ask questions” about Piper’s penchant for spit-smoothing hair: I fully expect a rigorous expose concerning the deadly dangers posed by cooties.
“One observer, not Fallows”, eh?
You mean our pal, Sully?
Careful, he still claims to like you…
— moose · Sep 4, 05:03 PM · #
Andrew is my friend and he has been my friend for eight years. As far as I’m concerned, he has earned the benefit of the doubt — from me, certainly.
— Reihan · Sep 4, 05:06 PM · #
Yes, everything at the Republican convention could have been done with the purest of intentions — and no one can prove anything either way — happy?
Frankly, argue with Andrew Sullivan all you want about Palin and the meaning of her actions — he really doesn’t care for her and McCain. But James Fallows’ post was essentially benign, a series of observations on what he saw televised last night. This whole arduous over-stretched argument you made here was really unnecessary.
— scritic · Sep 4, 06:10 PM · #
10.39 pm. I’m just slack-jawed that, so far, the entire speech has been basically about her family. She seems as if she just won a reality show and is introducing her folks. And they have passed the baby now to four different people – including another child. Slack-jawed.
That was Sullivan last night. Of course, Joe Biden talked about his sons, his late wife and daughter, his daughter, wife, and mother during his speech last week. I’m having trouble finding Andrew’s criticism in the Atlantic archive; all I can find is this:
But it was also, I suspect, a successful speech. “Joey” Biden, his wife and story and mom and background and son in the service aims directly at the white working and middle class Democrats Obama needs. It’s hard not to feel affection for this scrappy old guy – especially if you’re a Catholic. (This was a very culturally Catholic speech, especially at the beginning, and Biden will speak to people who might be leery of this young African-American.)
Additionally, of course Cindy and Piper wanted to hold the baby! My 55-year-mother insists on holding any baby within 100 yards of her. When I was 7 years old I loved holding my little brother. How is this “brandishing” or political anything?
It’s amazing how politics drive otherwise reasonable people completely bonkers.
— right · Sep 4, 06:15 PM · #
So Fallows, along with Sullivan, was also harping on The Passing of the Baby? What gives with these people? Take a four month old anywhere — to a college football game, a church service, a GWAR show, wherever — and if there are baby-friendly people there, the baby will be passed around! Especially a fifth child, special needs or not.
— Matt Frost · Sep 4, 06:42 PM · #
I like Fallows a whole lot — but he was weirdly tone deaf on the family thing. I have a kig Trig’s age, and my wife can’t seem to keep other women from grabbing him. And if I’m holding him (as Mr. Palin would’ve been) women seem to assume I’m incompetent and just take him.
I did find Fallows’ idea that, well, she’s introducing her family so mow they’re fair game, to be ridiculous. No, her family has been smeared pretty hard so she’s holding them up and taking some pride in them, and thereby shaming I’d imagine any of the smearers with a shred of decency (I’m inclined to give people “the benefit of the doubt” too, but I’m just not seeing much doubt left, so I can think of some people likely not shamed). I also found Fallows’ use of “shotgun marriage” unjustified and inappropriate and it raises my hackles. I recently joined Sam’s Club, and I did it for the sole reason that formula was cheap, so, watch out, man, I am America.
The single most adorable thing about Palin’s family, btw, is the little girl’s fussing over the baby. We have that going on too. Did you see her trying to take the kid from McCain? Plus when Plain referenced the daughters she made her older sister stand up. If McCain somehow does win that id’s going to be the next Todd Lincoln….
— Sanjay · Sep 4, 06:47 PM · #
Given that Sully has been bending over backwards to fling every possible accusation in her direction, I’d say the benefit of that doubt would reasonably be slim.
Sully is despises Palin and everything she stands for and is, as is his normal behavior linking to every piece of even remotely credible trash he can find on Palin.
I’m waiting for him to accuse her of being a 9/11 Truther next…
— moose · Sep 4, 07:03 PM · #
Seriously, how partisan does a person have to be to see a 7-year old kid gushing over a baby and think “Ah, what a little grand-standing brat!” What is wrong with these people? Besides if Trig hadn’t been there the rabid partisans would have been saying “Oh, we’re supposed to think she’s so great for having a baby with Down Syndrome, but look she’s so ashamed of him, she’s hiding him away from the camera.” Ditto for her eldest daughter. Totally vile.
— Sara · Sep 4, 08:16 PM · #
I think you are missing Fallows’ point. Of course there is a political message sent by having Palin’s soon-to-be son-in-law at the speech. But just because doing something different would have also sent a message is irrelevant. All that means is that sending a political message was inescapable in this environment. Which is no surprise. Fallows is not criticizing the fact of a message being sent, but the hypocrisy of doing so while at the same time claiming that it is inappropriate for the press to be interested in Sarah Palin’s family. She’s the vice-presidential nominee being introduced to the nation—her family is news.
— Joshua Livingston · Sep 4, 09:23 PM · #