Sarah Palin Talks to Sean Hannity, to Voters in Grand Rapids and Says Nothing

Sarah Palin granted her first cable news interview to Sean Hannity of Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes" on Wednesday, September 17. Given the obvious political bent of the network, one could probably go so far as to say that the interview was nothing more than a talking points photo op for the prospective vice president. Sarah Palin couldn't have done a better job if she was reading a teleprompter.

Same Palin Speech, Different Day

It certainly was nothing like the Charlie Gibson interview on ABC News. The potential voter learned a few things about Sarah Palin during the Gibson interview. They found out that Sarah Palin had no idea what the Bush Doctrine was. They found out that she did not "blink," that she believed she was ready for the vice president's job as soon as she was asked to fill the role (no hubris there). They found out that Palin seemed a bit eager to go to war with Russia. And they found that Sarah Palin might be a woman of faith but could not quote Lincoln very well.

And she was a bit abrupt with Charlie Gibson at times, condescending at others. Her tone was lecturing. But then, Charlie Gibson did accuse her of hubris.

In the interview with Sean Hannity, she was more relaxed, less rigid, almost as if she had rehearsed her answers beforehand. Sort of like a stump speech. And she did not call Hannity by his first name every time she answered a question like she did with Gibson, making the atmosphere of the Hannity-Palin interview far more amiable and cordial.

And Hannity kept referring to attacks made upon Palin and John McCain by the Obama campaign. Not once did he address the attacks the McCain camp were leveling at Obama.

Palin's next interview will be with CBS' Katie Couric and will probably be more like the Gibson interview.

Palin and McCain were at a townhall meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after the Hannity interview. Besides the out pacing and the informal atmosphere, Palin's responses to the crowd seem to come from the same playbook. More talking points without specifics.

When one woman in the audience asked her to specifically outline what Palin would do to dispel criticism of her lack of foreign policy experience, Palin responded by talking around the issue, stating that: "But as for foreign policy you know I think I am prepared and I know that on Jan. 20 if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice-president, certainly we'll be ready. I'll be ready. I have that confidence. I have that readiness and if you want specifics with specific policy or countries go ahead. You can ask you can play stump the candidate if you want to. But we are ready to serve."

Specific it was not. She also told the audience member that she was ready to play "stump the candidate." Was she unaware that she was already behind?

American voters are wary of a candidate who tells Charlie Gibson of her decisiveness and readiness but then tells a woman in Michigan that she thinks she is prepared and that she and McCain will certainly be ready come January. Verbal dancing has become a red flag issue in America.

Senator McCain Falling In The Polls

The GOP have been touting Governor Palin's credentials, such as they appear to be, but the lack of specifics is starting to wear a bit thin among the voters. The latest New York Times/CBS poll has Senator Obama ahead of Senator McCain 48% - 43%, back to pre-convention levels. The RNC-Palin bump that Senator McCain enjoyed in the past week seems to have evaporated.

And part of it is due to his running mate. Sarah Palin's vetting by the press has unearthed loads of material on the Governor, much of it unflattering, especially to someone so relatively politically unseasoned. From Troopergate to the exposition of her religious background, much is being learned about the Governor of Alaska that just does not sit well with mainstream America. And although it has been reported that she has more support from men than women, a Quinnipiac poll puts Senator Obama ahead of McCain by 14 points among women, an unprecedented position in that he at one time trailed Senator McCain.

A sudden surge among women, the largest voting bloc demographic in the nation, since Sarah Palin was nominated by Senator McCain as his running mate speaks to more than mere coincidence.

Where Does McCain-Palin Go From Here?

This does not bode well for the McCain campaign. With political ads becoming increasingly more hostile and misleading and a press that is calling both political campaigns to the carpet for disingenuousness, lies, and lack of substance, the freshness of the Governor of Alaska is fading fast Voters are tired of hearing the cadenced and measured verbal placebos of stock party phrases. Voters are looking for something to turn their lives around, pick the economy up again, and give them a feeling of security they have not had since the turn of the century. They want candidates willing to tell them what they have done, can do, and will do.

The McCain campaign now must do more to prove that they're not just saying anything to get elected. With an extremely unpopular lame duck president that cannot help his campaign efforts, McCain is in dire need of an excitement infusion, much like the one he received when he nominated Sarah Palin for vice president. Commandeering the Obama slogan of "change" only went so far. And McCain must continue to distance himself from the current president, especially with a voting record that puts him in accord with president Bush 90-95% of the time. Attacking Obama only solidifies both voting bases and alienates many of the undecided voters. It might work; attack ads have worked in the past. But the Democrats seem to be countering the attack ads rather effectively this campaign season, unlike in the past. And, unfortunately for Senator McCain, the initial reaction felt by Republicans at the Palin choice of excitement has become guarded defensiveness, wondering from where the next blow will come. Suffering from too much media exposure (both bad and good) and not being accessible to reporters for interviews for two weeks only has made matters worse.

Senator McCain is being seen less as a candidate of change and more as a candidate willing to do anything to get elected. The choice of Palin is beginning to look more like an ill-conceived political maneuver and less as a good judgment decision. Palin's lack of specifics seems to be blunting the "straight talker" message as well. And her political baggage and lack of experience may become more of a burden than Senator McCain can handle.

The American voters really do not want to "stump the candidate." They want a candidate that is beyond stumping.

Sources:

Fox News
ABC News
ABCNews.com