Posted by
Don White on Saturday, November 15, 2008 7:58:10 PM
Sarah Palin didn't cause the demise of the McCain candidacy, but she could have been a stronger spokesman.
In
retrospect, Palin should have taken the following tact with CBS
reporter Katie Couric in that pivotal interview that made Sarah look
like a Klondike kook. In the following "Shoulda' Woulda' interview, C
stands for reporter Couric and P for candidate Palin.
Here's how the interview should have gone:
___________________________________________________________________
C: What books do you read?
P:
Everything they put in front of me, but I have a fond affinity for
Abraham Lincoln speeches and writings, and history in general and
historical novels.
But, Katie, I don't recall you asking that of
Joe [Biden]. In fact, until you deal with me and Joe equally and fairly
and ask him what he reads, I refuse to have you or any of the media
zero in on this or any other purely esoteric subject. Your viewers may
not remember the meaning of that term, "esoteric subject", so I'll
define it. It means a question designed for just me alone or understood by the specially initiated alone. How does that smack you?
C: I don't know how to respond.
P:
Course not. But until you ask Joe what he reads I refuse to be party to
this , or to have you or other reporters zero in on me on this subject.
Oh, I have a large library at home in Wassila. And I've read most of
the books. It's known as the public library.
Now that we're through with that, what books have you read, Katie?
C: No, this is an interview where I ask the questions.
P:
No, it isn't. You have set me up, Katie, to look bad but I won't play
your game. Until you ask all the candidates what they read--and that
includes Obama and Biden--you have no right asking me because it smacks
of a direct attack by Katie Couric and CBS against my character,
learning, understanding, and capability to lead.
C: But what if I promise to ask this quesiton of the others, is that good enough?
P:
Yes, I'll take you at your word. But my answer is for you to go to my
web site, SarahPalin.com. It has a long list of what I have read, am
reading, and will read--together with the articles and essays I have
written. Had you been better prepared, you wouldn't be wasting my time
and that of our viewers with this.
C: I appolize, but I didn't. . .
P: Course not. You didn't prepare as well as a reporter should.
C: You're embarrassing me in front of the camera and all those people at home.
P: No, you knew full well what you were trying to do to me and my candidacy. Who put you up to this?
C: Why, no one. I prepared the question myself.
P:
All of my writings are available on line, as are McCain's, so voters
can read and see exactly how we feel on the issues. There is nothing
hidden. Have you read all of Obama's writings?
C: Yes, I have. . . I stay on top . . .
P: No, you haven't. How about those that he wrote in college at Columbia and Harvard?
C: No, they are not available.
P: And why are his writings not available?
C: Obama has sealed them.
P: Why would he do that?
C: I don't know.
P: Do you think that's fair to the American public?
C: I don't know what to say.
P: Is it fair for a presidential candidate to hide his past, his essays and other writings from the voters?
C: No, it isn't, but . . .
P:
(looking sterns with direct eye contact) Just two things. This
interview is over. You may reschedule as soon as you receive these
documents from the Obama campaign and make them available to all news
outlets and to the Republican Party and to me and Mr. McCain--and I
mean all of his writings from college, regardless of whether or not
they leave him in a good light, plus a list of all of the books and
reports that he reads or has read. If he wrote it, we deserve to have
it.
C: Okay, if you wish. . .
P:
I not only wish, Katie, I demand! Let me be very clear about this, Ms.
Couric. I am dead serious about fair treatment in this campaign. And
since you brought up the subject, I will hold you directly responsible
for getting these documents from Obama, even if you must go on national
TV and demand them. A terrible injustice is being perpetrated upon the
American taxpayer and voter so long as Obama is not forthcoming. Please
let him know how earnest we are regarding this demand.
C: I think this TV report will be enough to get his attention, Governor Palin.
P: Senator Obama wrote a book called The Audacity of Hope.
But the biggest audacity comes from Obama, himself, and from the
Democratic campaign for asking the American voter to choose Obama,
someone they don't even know. For the benefit of viewers, the word
audacity means arrogant disregard of normal restraints--like to defy
your boss. In this case it means Obama was terribly bold when he defied
the electorate--his prospective boss--when he fails to be upfront with
his writings from college, which must be quite something, wouldn't you
say? What on earth is he hiding?
Editors
Note: An estimated 130 million Americans voted in the recent elections.
Some 49% of those able to vote did not. Obama took 52% and McCain 48%,
meaning Obama won by a 5 million plurality in the largest turnout of
voters in the history of the U.S. That means 67.6 million Americans
voted for Obama without really knowing his views. It isn't fair and it
isn't American not to know your candidate before an election. Because
of a mistake made by 67.6 million people, 300 million Americans will
pay the price this man has foisted upon all of us--this ongoing lie
about who he is, what he wants, and whose views he will represent. God
help us all!