Palin beats stats with authenticity

BBC:

Ask nearly anyone in Alaska, and they will tell you that Governor Sarah Palin is a great debater.

If anyone knows the challenge that lies ahead for Senator Joe Biden, it is Andrew Halcro, 44, who took part in a handful of debates with Mrs Palin during Alaska's 2006 gubernatorial race.

"The one thing I found during the [2006] debates was no matter how knowledgeable her opponents were on the issues, it didn't matter," Mr Halcro told BBC News.

"She has an amazing ability to turn a 45 second answer into a folksy story... she's never been forced to know the issues."

Mr Halcro said Mrs Palin's biggest strength is her ability to "fill the room with her presence".

Having studied at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Business School, in addition to being a lifelong Alaskan and lawmaker, Mr Halcro came to the debates armed with a wealth of knowledge and statistics.

Mrs Palin even said Mr Halcro would make "the awesomest statistician," when asked during a debate what position she would appoint Mr Halcro to if elected governor.

Still, statistics were not enough to put even the smallest dent in Mrs Palin's rising popularity.

"There were many times the third candidate and I would walk off stage and shake our heads," Mr Halcro said. "It wasn't policy it was populism."

Whatever it was, Mrs Palin beat her opponents, garnering 48% of the vote, while Democrat candidate Tony Knowles received 40% and Independent Halcro received 9%.

"I don't think anyone could have beat her," Mr Halcro said. "It wasn't about how much she knew about the issues. People didn't care about her experience, they just thought, 'This is the drink of water we need'."

...

Palin has the ability to connect with voters in a way that stats never can. Read the Hugh Hewitt post below to see how she connects on the health care issue and the economic trauma we are experiencing. It is something that Obama and Biden can't really do. It would be a mistake to underestimate her based on the reporting suggesting that she is in over her head.

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