Thread: Palin Interviews Spark GOP Concerns

AP
posted: 23 MINUTES

WASHINGTON (Sept. 27) A conservative columnist who welcomed Sarah Palin's entry in national politics says she's proven to be a dud and should step aside as John McCain's running mate.
Kathleen Parker, writing in the National Review Online, says her "cringe reflex is exhausted" after watching the Alaska governor stumble through TV interviews and it's become clear to her that Palin is out of her league.

"No one hates saying that more than I do," Parker writes. "Like so many women, I've been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I've also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does."
Palin, new to national politics, boosted Republican presidential nominee John McCain in polls and excited the party's core conservatives when he chose the first-term governor for his ticket. Some of that shine has since worn off in polls.
Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, told Politico.com that Palin’s recent CBS appearance with Katie Couric was alarming, though not disqualifying. “You can’t continue to have interviews like that and not take on water.”
“I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the same time, I haven’t come away from them thinking she doesn’t know s—t,” Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist, told Politico.com. “But she ain’t Dick Cheney, nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.”
But all that said, Palin still draws huge crowds on the campaign trail and remains a hit among rank-and-file Republicans. GOP insiders, however, fear that her shaky performance on CBS and other limited media appearances, may lead to a disastrous debate against Sen. Joe Biden next week, hurting McCain's chances of winning the election.

Writing in her column, Parker said she thought Palin was a "refreshing feminist of a different order" when she joined the ticket, but it's become clear she doesn't know enough about economics or foreign policy to be president should that become necessary in a McCain administration.
"Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves," Parker writes. "She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first."
Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing for the conservative National Review, says Parker's suggestion is "not a crazy suggestion" and that "something's gotta change."