A Palin Prediction

Just weeks ago, Sarah Palin was at the top of her game – drawing bigger crowds than presidential candidate John McCain, generating huge sales in her Kawasaki eyeglasses. Then she started doing a handful of television interviews, each one more disastrous than the next. Suddenly, right-wing pundits began to see what was obvious to everyone else from the start - Sarah Palin is unqualified to be vice president.

Now in a fevered rush to cram her head with facts, she’s sequestered in a debate camp at McCain’s Sedona Arizona ranch. A leak from the McCain campaign reportedly revealed that the first of several mock debates were “terrible.” And her most recent follow-up interview with Katie Couric was no better, even with John McCain sitting right next to her. Liberal pundits are confidently predicting that Palin stands little chance of beating Joe Biden in their upcoming debate.

But that prediction could as wrong as McCain’s decision to choose Palin in the first place. Palin was not chosen because she an expert on anything, or because she was experienced. She was chosen because of her image – period. Palin’s introduction at the Republican convention was a home run because it played to her strength – all flash, no substance.

But she intimately understands the right-wing base of the party and what they want from her. Palin is an ideologue, much like George Bush, who does not need facts to support her positions. That’s why she couldn't tell Katie Couric what newspapers she reads, and doesn't know any Supreme Court cases except Roe v. Wade. She doesn't know because she doesn’t have to. All her questions – from her belief in creationism to her recent contention that Saddam Hussein was behind the 911 attacks – have been answered. She doesnt need any more facts, and neither do her supporters in the Republican party.

Her moral certainty will be on full display during her debate with Biden. While Biden attempts to attack McCain while avoiding Palin, she will attack Biden as well as Obama. She will get off well-rehearsed, snarky one liners that will produce memorable sound bites, she will skim the facts or make them up as she goes along, knowing that in that format she can’t really be challenged, because there won’t be enough time. Biden, who has been known to get off a good sound bite from time to time, will look weak if she is able to taunt him without a similar response, yet he will appear “elitist” if he goes after her.

It’s impossible to know if this vice presidential debate will be a game-changer for McCain, who has seen his poll numbers drop during the Wall Street economic crisis. His erratic response to the crisis has been a stark contrast to Obama’s calm and assured handling of the issue. But don’t count Sarah Palin out. Unfortunately for us all, there are a lot voters out there who are just as uninformed as she is, and they want to stay that way.