The Palin response

Carol Marin:

...

John McCain needs this woman, Sarah Palin.

Though we are yet to know if this 44-year-old-hunting-fishing-mother-of-five can distinguish between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, her upcoming debate with Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, should help answer that.

Still, McCain needs Palin. If you watched some of McCain's satellite address Sunday after touring Jack kson, Miss., you'd see why.

Let me say first that some of it was not McCain's fault. It was clear, in the beginning, that he was getting feedback in his earpiece.

I can attest when your ear is being blasted, it's hard to talk straight.

But after overcoming that, what McCain couldn't overcome was his inability to succinctly and forcefully say, "Look, conventions are conventions, but hurricanes are life and death. I'm not going to waste a minute on the former if lives are hanging in the balance."

McCain eventually got his message together in a pallid sort of way, but it took too long. It was a missed opportunity at a time that Republicans can't miss a single one.

When it was Palin's turn to speak to a crowd of supporters, it was a different story. Without notes and with great energy, she talked about this gathering storm as "another moment of terrible testing" and applauded Gulf state governors for "rising to meet this situation."

I don't know how great a leader she is or will be. Like everyone else, I'm still learning about Palin. But she has, as the Obama folks like to call it, the urgency of now.

...

I think her experience as a TV reporter is showing in her presence and ability to sum things up quickly and succinctly. What Marin noticed is that she is good on her feet. That is a good clue as to how she is likely to perform in upcoming debates. You get the feeling she always had her homework ready and handed in on time.

I also tend to think that Biden is overrated in the debate department. His most memorable moments are when he is in the bully position as a chairman looking down on the lowly witness. Having to stand toe to toe with someone who does not have to bow and scape to his BS should be a very different experience.