Thursday, September 04, 2008

Pointlets on Palin   [Jay Nordlinger]

1. She’s one of the most talented politicians in America — a natural. You can’t learn that kind of thing. You simply have it (or you don’t). I suppose Sarah Palin will get better as a politician. But she’s damn good now. She will not hit her stride. She entered with her stride.

2. The greeting she was given was almost a release: a release of pent-up emotions about Palin and how she has been treated by the “MSM.” To activist Republicans and conservatives, she is a heroine. She is Joan of Arc.

3. A sign in the crowd said “Palin Power.” Exactly.

4. I love the woman’s voice — the way she speaks, her manner of English. Clear, fresh, American (Upper Northwest). Perfect.

5. “. . . there is a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.” What was this, Ecclesiastes?

6. “. . . as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief” — very, very effective (on multiple levels).

7. When she started speaking about special-needs children, I said to my colleagues, “I think I’m finna cry.” And a few of us did tear up somewhat.

8. At times during the speech, I thought, “John McCain hit paydirt — a superb pick.”

9. “They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America — who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country, in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America.”

Ooh — a positive statement that works very well on its own, and, of course, a rebuke of Mrs. O.

10. When she told her lipstick joke, she pointed at her mouth, just perfectly.

11. She might have controlled applause a little better — not let the applause go on so long, stepped on it a little. She let the applauders rob her of some of her momentum. The speech felt a little — a little — long (owing to applause).

12. Said the governor, “I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening. We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.”

Very, very, very effective — powerful because true.

13. Did she overdo the sarcasm — utter one or three sarcastic lines too many? I think so. And part of the reason those lines seemed too numerous was that there was too much applause — too much time — between them.

But — no biggie.

14. She knew — gloriously knew — when not to speak too slowly! When to get the words out! She did this with, “when the stadium lights go out, and those styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot” — the very rapidity of it was excellent.

15. Her passages on McCain’s heroism were very, very good. McCain and his life give a speaker tremendous material to work with, to be sure.

16. Sarah Palin is a sensation. Conservative Republicanism is now represented by a genuine political-oratorical star — a virtuoso. You are tempted to say (as has been said), she’s our Obama. We can only hope she’ll be around for a long time to come, in whatever posts.

09/04 12:42 AMShare