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Palin Runs For Senate Dictator as Republicans Ride The "Straight Talking Points" Express

RJ Eskow
Posted October 2, 2008 | 11:54 PM (EST)

It was creepy to watch Sarah Palin ignore questions to repeat the same scripted answers, as if oblivious to her physical surroundings. But even creepier was the fact that so many Republicans interviewed afterward seemed to do the same thing. They all kept repeating the same phrases. It was like that scene in Children of the Damned where their eyes start glowing and they all speak in unison.

Instead of "straight talk" we got "straight talking points from the right," from Pat Buchanan on down to some of the lesser-known figures. Here are some of the points that the spinmeisters in Greater Roveland apparently wrote and distributed earlier today to any Republican likely to wander within 500 feet of a microphone:

-- She was "terrific."

-- Joe Biden is "slick." She's "younger" and "attractive" and "that represents change."

-- Biden and Obama are "looking back" by discussing the last 8 years, and John McCain's role in them. We want to "look forward." (That one's classic Rovian Bushspeak, as is McCain's Let's not place blame" routine.)

Note that there were only a few talking points in play. The Art of the Talking Point demands that don't present too many, that you keep it simple - and if the GOP understands anything, it's the Art of the Talking Point. Unfortunately for them, early polling shows that viewers aren't buying it. CNN's flash poll said that 51% of polled viewers thought that Biden won, as opposed to only 36% for Palin.

Paul Begala, on the other hand, made what I thought was a brilliant observation. He said that Palin did very little to help John McCain, and that he didn't even think she tried. He said that it appeared to hm that she was more interested in positioning herself for a 2012 run. That feels right to me.

Palin's performance was weak, scripted, and disrespectful to voters in its refusal to give the public the answers it deserves. She beat expectations, though, as far as most pundits were concerned. She didn't freeze or make any outrageous gaffes, they said. But they're wrong. They've minimized her most outrageous statement, her misreading of the Constitution as she made a blatant play for more power:

I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are.

She doesn't understand the Constitution, or the fundamental principle of separation of powers. And it sounds like she wants to assume semi-dictatorial power of the deliberations of the United States Senate. Her objective tonight was to convince a small minority of voters - the Republican base - that she would not be hopelessly incompetent at performing the duties of Vice President. Instead, she used this opportunity to demand an elimination of constitutional checks and balances by allowing the Executive to manipulate the Judiciary [actually, the Senate (and thus both the Legislative Branch, as the House can't do anything by itself, and, through the Senate confirmation process, the Judiciary)].

So, as robotic Republicans repeated their straight-talking points, many of us saw a repeat of George W. Bush's pseudo-folksiness and fundamental dishonesty. And, by an overwhelming margin, viewers saw a candidate lose a debate. Yes, she exceeded expectations, and yes, she did better than she did with Katie Couric. But Joe Biden was warm, human, engaging, effective, and anything but"slick." His debate performance was better, in fact, than Obama's first outing against McCain (although that will probably change).

The GOP continues to use the playbook of the last eight years: contempt for the press and the political process, an endless thirst for unilateral power, and a willingness to subordinate independent thought to the talking points of the party line. Their only problem? It looks like the public has stopped buying it.

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