New Book Reveals: Obama Campaign Thought Sarah Palin ‘Thin On Substance,’ Great ‘Performer’
Sarah Palin’s public will have to wait a few more weeks to discover what the former Governor of Alaska has to say about all things Palin, but in the meantime perhaps they can feast upon a few interesting details from David Plouffe’s new book The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory.
Plouffe was Obama’s campaign manager during the 2008 election and judging from the excerpts that have been thus far released, it promises to be an interesting read. One of the tidbits getting a lot of coverage today is the fact that Obama very seriously considered choosing Hillary Clinton for VP before opting for Joe Biden (who apparently launched into a 20 minute monologue during their first meeting).
However, it is this passage about Sarah Palin (in which, Anita Dunn makes a guest appearance!), that caught the eye. Primarily because the Obama team was so silent on the Palin phenomenon while it was happening that it’s fascinating to get a glimpse of what they were thinking at the time, but also because it suggests how they might deal with her going forward as she reinserts herself back in the national conversation. Interestingly, the consensus at the time was that Palin was “clearly not up to this moment…but bound to be a compelling player and a real headliner in the weeks ahead.”
“With the Palin pick, [Senator McCain] had completely undermined his core argument against us. Worse yet for McCain, he would look inherently political in doing so. His strength—and the threat he posed to us—was rooted in the fact that many independent voters believed in his maverick reputation and believed he did not make his decisions by prioritizing politics over what was right. I guessed people would view this choice more as a political stunt than a sound, reasoned call. On our 6:00 a.m. conference call, [campaign adviser] Anita Dunn, who had worked against Palin in Alaska in the 2006 governor’s race, warned us that she was a formidable political talent—clearly not up to this moment, she assured us, but bound to be a compelling player and a real headliner in the weeks ahead. ‘All of you on this call should watch video of her debates and speeches,’ Dunn counseled. ‘The substance is thin, but she’s a very able performer. And her story is out of Hollywood. She’ll be a phenomenon for a while.’ …
“Obama and I had a long talk late that afternoon to evaluate Palin. ‘I just don’t understand how this ends up working out for McCain,’ he said. ‘In the long term, I mean. The short term will be good for them. But when voters step back and analyze how he made this decision, I think he’s going to be in big trouble. You just can’t wing something like this—it’s too important. … I think we just need to sit back and play our game,’ said Obama. ‘It actually won’t be bad to be off-Broadway for a few days. We should just leave her out of the equation. This is a race between John McCain and me. To the extent we talk about Palin, I think it should be about the differences in our selection processes—it illuminates differences in how we’d make decisions in the White House.’”
(h/t Playbook)
3 comments
You know, a person could replace references to Palin with Obama in the above quote and it is even more factual, especially this one from Dunn: “…[Obama] is clearly not up to this moment, she assured us, but bound to be a compelling player and a real headliner in the weeks ahead. ‘All of you on this call should watch video of her [his] debates and speeches,’ Dunn counseled. ‘The substance is thin, but she’s [he's] a very able performer. And her [his] story is out of Hollywood. She’ll [he'll] be a phenomenon for a while.” Especially that ’substance is thin’ comment really fits Obama. And sadly, we now have PRESIDENT and a VP that fits that description. And of course the Palin team was silent on the Palin phenomenon when it was happening — they didn’t have to say or do anything since the liberal media was so willing to do the dirty work for them.
***Correction to above post*** Of course the Obama team was silent on the Palin phenomenon…
Really?
1. “As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border.” –Sarah Palin, explaining why Alaska’s proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, interview with CBS’s Katie Couric, Sept. 24, 2008 (Watch video clip)
2. “We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. … We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.” –Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in Greensoboro, N.C., Oct. 16, 2008
3. “Ohh, good, thank you, yes.” –Sarah Palin, after a notorious Canadian prank caller complimented her on the documentary about her life, Hustler’s “Nailin Paylin,” Nov. 1, 2008 (Read more about the prank call, watch the video and see the transcript)
4. “Well, let’s see. There’s ― of course in the great history of America there have been rulings that there’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ―” –Sarah Palin, unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with other than Roe vs. Wade, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip)
5. “All of ‘em, any of ‘em that have been in front of me over all these years.” –Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip) 6. “They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan.” –Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in San Francisco, Oct. 5, 2008 7. “[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.” –Sarah Palin, getting the vice president’s constitutional role wrong after being asked by a third grader what the vice president does, interview with NBC affiliate KUSA in Colorado, Oct. 21, 2008
8. “I told the Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that Bridge to Nowhere.” –Sarah Palin, who was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it
9. “If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations then I don’t know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.” –Sarah Palin, getting First Amendment rights backwards while suggesting that criticism of her is unconstitutional, radio interview with WMAL-AM, Oct. 31, 2008
10. “I’m the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can’t.’” –Sarah Palin, as quoted by former City Council Member Nick Carney, after he raised objections about the $50,000 she spent renovating the mayor’s office without approval of the city council.
LOL If you say so….
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