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TheCenterLane.com offers opinion, news and commentary on politics, the economy, finance and other random events that either find their way into the news or are ignored by the news reporting business. As the name suggests, our focus will be on what seems to be happening in The Center Lane of American politics and what the view from the Center reveals about the events in the left and right lanes. Your Host, John T. Burke, Jr., earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College with a double major in Speech Communications and Philosophy. He earned his law degree (Juris Doctor) from the Illinois Institute of Technology / Chicago-Kent College of Law.
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The Gumball Gets Obnoxious
October 6, 2008
In the days before the Vice-Presidential debate, many wise Republicans were calling for Sarah “The Gumball” Palin to be “thrown under the bus” and off the Republican ticket. As I discussed on September 15, Sarah Palin has a limited skill set to fulfill her role as Vice-Presidential candidate. (This became painfully obvious during the interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric.) The Gumball can recite a small number of memorized answers very well, while looking directly into the TV camera to “connect” with her like-minded audience. She can follow instructions from her handlers and recite the correct answer number as necessary. She can read speeches, written by her handlers and deliver them in an enthusiastic way. At the Vice-Presidential debate, she again demonstrated the ability to work from within her limited skill set to connect with the disappointed Republican “base”. Nevertheless, at the debate, we saw her include another talent in her repertoire: the ability to read answers from cards. Her “say it ain’t so, Joe” talking point was read from a card and delivered too quickly to have the full impact intended by the writers. As she reached the following passage, we could see her reading it off a card:
Because she avoided catastrophe at the debate, her performance was considered a “success” by many. This inspired the strategists and handlers to give The Gumball a new role: carrying the “dirty” water for the campaign – to deliver the negative attacks against Obama – Biden, in accordance with the latest game plan. Palin’s debut in this role, following on the heels of yet another, scathing Tina Fey send-up of this fool, has made her appear as an individual whose ignorance is exceeded only by her obnoxiousness. It makes me wonder what the campaign really has in mind for her. Is this just another way of throwing her under the bus? In this role, she has changed from “goofy” to actually detestable. Let Palin sling the mud and if it doesn’t work, the guy at the top of the ticket can disown it.
What really gave me the creeps about the mainstream media’s analysis of the VP debate was best exemplified by the remarks of NBC’s White House correspondent, David Gregory, during NBC’s Meet The Press on October 5:
At this point, most people with an I.Q. above 80 realize that The Gumball doesn’t decide anything about this campaign or what her statements will be in the pursuit of victory in this election. Her job is to follow instructions — to read or recite what she is told and nothing more. The fact that someone of Mr. Gregory’s stature would expect the viewing public to believe the myth that The Gumball, herself, has anything substantive or strategic to contribute to this campaign is insulting to our intelligence. Mr. Gregory: Do you really think we are all so stupid as to believe that The Gumball can do anything other than recite prepared “talking points”, read scripted speeches and follow instructions? Why is it so important for you to have us pretend that this numbskull can make important campaign decisions? Do you have “handlers” directing you to deliver such absurd propositions to us?
On the other hand, Peggy Noonan’s remarks during that same panel discussion on Meet The Press, provide a candid view of the ugly truth about the current campaign:
Rest assured that The Gumball will be spat out by “The Guys on the Plane” as soon as she loses her flavor. This is likely to happen by November 5. After that: Watch what happens to her political career.