With regard to Mrs Palin. This was my first time hearing her speak in person and that was somewhat enlightening. She is definitely one of those politicians with charisma. She has it, whatever it is, and people respond accordingly. It was a dramatic contrast to seeing her on television. In interviews with non-Fox journalists, Mrs Palin has floundered dramatically, and accordingly has started to avoid the "liberal media" she often derides. But she was much more sure-footed in front of an adoring crowd.
Consider the ramifications for the body politic. The people who like Mrs Palin see her at her best. Many of the people in the Texas crowd were toting copies Going Rogue, and talking about her speech the day before in Nashville. They're not dwelling on the Katie Couric clips, which to them are old news. The people who loathe Sarah Palin, of course, aren't watching her stump at conservative rallies. So not only do they continue to think she's a loon, they can't understand why a third of the country thinks she's a reasonable person. This is how polarisation happens.
She does seem to have charisma. But I expect much more from a politician before I'm willing to vote for them. About a 1/3 of the population loves her, though. And about 40% of all Americans have a favorable view of her. That's kinda frightening. The thing is she avoids situations where she would be "grilled". Obama has been interviewed on FauxNews. Can you imagine Palin agreeing to be interviewed on MSNBC? I can't. But if she doesn't appear on MSNBC, CNN, etc., can she run for national public office like the presidency?
Eventually, though, the problem is Mrs Palin's. Politics is intrinsically adversarial and successful politicians have to know how to win an argument. Although Mrs Palin often attacks other politicians and says that her policies would be better than theirs, she doesn't welcome debate, and her preferred oppositional strategy is abrupt withdrawal. Think about the resignation from the Oil & Gas commission and from the statehouse, or her choice to "go rogue" rather than convince the McCain campaign of the merits of her approach. That's how you get 30% of the vote, not 51%. And it goes without saying that it wouldn't be an effective way to govern.
What worries me is that 40% that approve of Palin may well find it perfectly acceptable if she was running for president and avoided most news outlets except for FauxNews because they'll figure it's because the MSM is against her and won't treat her fairly.
Just a thought I've had the past couple of days....
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democrac ... arah_texas
