How Democrats set Sarah Palin up to 'win' Thursday's VP debate

According to a news release from CBS News, Harry Smith will have an exclusive interview this morning with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's parents, Chuck and Sally Heath, on "The Early Show."

It's not really exclusive, of course. CNN's Drew Griffin interviewed the proud father of the Republican Party's first female vice presidential candidate way back on Sept. 8 (see video by clicking on the "Read More" line below), when her father said, "She's still my little girl."

But, hey, this is TV and the CBS interview is exclusive for this morning.

It'll be the last peek into the family of Palin before her much-anticipated debate Thursday in St. Louis against longtime Sen. Joe Biden. But have Palin's Democratic opponents overplayed their hand in portraying the 44-year-old mother of five so derisively in recent days?

Was John McCain manager Steve Schmidt's puzzingly strong attack on the New York Times last week really a trap, an intentional bid to call even more attention to negative coverage of Palin to lower expectations? 

Harry Smith flew all the way up to Alaska last week and drove out to Wasilla with his crew to learn that Chuck Heath, who looks like the high school track coach he was when his daughter ran to a cross-country championship for him, thinks:

"She is ready to do anything she wants to. She perseveres. She works so hard. She learns so fast."

Knowing full well what he's going to get back from the worried....

. . .parent of anyone in American public life these days, but desperately hoping to generate at least some news for all those trans-continental expense dollars, the prominent member of the media himself puts words into the father's mouth.

Harry: "There’s a sense that she hasn’t been treated fairly by the media.”

Chuck Heath: “That’s what I feel. Someone said, ‘Well they have to get to know Sarah Palin.’ But Sarah Palin -- there is a good side of Sarah Palin and they’re digging and digging for the bad side and there is no real bad side. They’re fabricating a lot of things that I don’t want to go into.”

That much news is certainly worth getting up early for. But here's a really silly idea for this gotcha society:

If a candidate's family is not being arrested or not out on the campaign trail inviting news coverage as McCain's 96-year-old mother, Roberta, does, why don't we just leave them alone?

The way the U.S. media has so conscientiously managed to deny itself virtually any inquisitions of Barack Obama's poor half-brother in Africa and his half-sister in Hawaii and Joe Biden's mother and Michelle's family.

It's not new that American political campaigns, beneath a thinning veneer of public gentility, can be intrusive, brutal, even disgusting affairs, especially online.

McCain knows this too well from personal experience in 2000 when his adopted daughter from Bangladesh was portrayed in South Carolina as the illegitimate child of a biracial affair.

All big-time candidates develop very thick skin; some staffs even collect the worst insults in scrapbooks as badges of honor and humor. It's the candidates' defenseless families who really suffer.

And by keeping the governor herself largely away from the media, the McCain campaign is, in effect, playing a prevent defense, ceding the public relations playing field to others to describe, define and caricature Palin, strangely unanswered by her for a week now.

One recent Alaska poll showed Palin's approval rating there had tumbled to 68%, which is still about 20 points higher than either presidential candidate and seven times greater than Congress' approval.

The upcoming downside for the Obama-Biden campaign is that its supporters became so flustered over Palin's surprisingly explosive popularity coming out of the GOP convention. They have so successfully mocked, derided and lowered expectations for Palin in Thursday night's VP debate that if she doesn't drool or speak in tongues, many millions still open to persuasion will be impressed.

Al Gore's campaign made the exact same mistake going into the 2000 debates. So all Texas Gov. George W. Bush had to do was not lose.

In that sense, Democrats may have played right into a PR cul-de-sac. Biden, for instance, described Palin as merely better-looking than him. A far better communications strategy would have been to insincerely portray Palin with superlatives as a superwoman, making it harder, not easier, for her to impress. Too late now. 

It'll be difficult for Palin's parents because they so want to keep up and cheer their daughter on. But if they are wise, for their own mental health, they'll pretty much avoid the news for the next six weeks or so. What the threatened Alaskan Republican establishment tried to do to stop Palin, the political insurgent, back in 2005-06 is nothing.

And Chuck and Sally should never ever go online where they might stumble upon the sites portraying their "little girl" as, among other things, a naked porn star in action. Welcome to American politics 2008, Web-style.

--Andrew Malcolm

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Top photo: Sarah Palin's parents. Credit: Al Grillo / Associated Press

Bottom photo: Joseph Kaczmarek / Associated Press

Comments

[alex]

Think of America as an assembly line making glass bottles. We need to vote for the next assembly line supervisor. If Obama wins, a few bottles may fall and break. If McCain wins the whole factorty will take a nose dive, all the bottles will break, and the factory will probably melt down into a nuclear disaster despite the fact that there wasn't even any nuclear material in or near the factory, get my drift. While this is going on, Sarah Palin, McCain's standby nurse will wake jonh from one of his 10 daily naps to let him know the factory has exploded. He will say "blame Obama, if that doesnt work, blame North Korea." If you are still undecided, please think a little harder, and if you support McCain, you make me sick and ashamed to be american. If mccain wins i think california should succeed from the United States.

[anonymous]

"why are we talking about the qualifications of someone running for VP"

It's fairly obvious isn't it? As much as I admire McCain, his age and health are major factors. As such, you need to ask yourself if you're comfortable with Pain as President of the US.

I think the answer is obvious to most - absolutely not.

[Oh, Please]

"Sarah will win the debate because she will not let anyone make her sit down to a man and the media supporting the man trying to put her down. "

Posted by: Gary | September 29, 2008 at 05:16 AM

WOW! SO HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE FACT THAT SHE HAS YET TO GIVE A PRESS CONFERENCE AND REMAINS PRACTICALLY ATTACHED TO MCCAIN'S HIP? FACE IT, SHE WAS CHOSEN AS A CHEAP, AND I MEAN CHEAP, PLOY TO ATTRACT WOMEN. YES, SHE ENERGIZED THE BASE, BUT SHE WILL NOT HELP WIN INDEPENDENTS. SHE CERTAINLY WON'T HELP WIN CLINTON SUPPORTERS WHO LARGELY VIEW HER SELECTION AS AN INSULT TO THEIR INTELLIGENCE.

[Ray Nado]

It is amazing how frustrated the news media is in regard to Sarah Palin.CNN is the worst.So many secrets with Obama are not reprted, it is indecent.
Sarah Palin will do just fine,and people say she does not have the experience to be SECOND in command, how about OBAMa first in command...????What experince does he have more than her..OH i forgot he is a man!!!!
They are keeping Obama's wife away from the media and we understand why!!!She is a huge risk!!!And all the misses he did at the debate.First he called McCain JIM???
He had to read the kids name on his bracelet.He called the Banking comitee his comitee??? Ect....
I am a democrat voting republican!!!

[Mr E Mann]

This article would get an F in a high school journalism class. You imply that Democrats, or the press, or someone or other, is somehow victimizing Palin's parents, and supply no substantiation whatsoever.

[SOF]

Sarah might win if the debate is changed to a Barbie doll dress up contest.

[Oh, please (again)]

"So Obama's out committing voter fraud, the polls are skewed, etc. All smoke and mirrors."

Posted by: nancyjoe | September 29, 2008 at 01:42 PM

YOU'D MAKE A GREAT FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT. GIVE ME A BREAK. NUTTY RIGHT-WINGERS ARE ALWAYS GOOD FOR A LAUGH! SO WHEN THE POLLS DON'T REFLECT WHAT YOU WANT, THERE HAS TO VOTER FRAUD AT PLAY? BUT THE POLLS WERE WORKING JUST FINE WITH THE PALIN BUMP, RIGHT? LOL. WHAT A WAY TO FACE DEFEAT. PLEASE SINK BACK INTO YOUR DELERIUM WHILE THE REST OF US VOTE FOR CHANGE.

[Frank]

Amazing.
Republicans are so high on being self-righteous all the time they'll justify anything, anywhere just so a Democrat won't get elected.
That's the best you've got?
These Bush apologists want to elect another Republican to clean up the mess that Republicans have spent 8 long years making.
My guess is they'll still be trying to pin it on the Dems, YEARS down the line. (How many times these past 8 yrs have we heard, "Well, if Clinton hadn't...blah, blah, blah")

Think of the good of your country, not your petty anti-Dem vanities.

I will pray for your stubbornness. May you be blessed with the strength of character to acknowledge that being right/right-wing isn't everything.

[F. Worden]

Couric is pretty stupid, but she is sharper than Biden. If Palin would have said FDR was President when the Great Depression started, they would laugh her off the ticket. I think Biden will go out there cocky and arrogant just like Gore, and Palen will hold her own. I bet the farm biden will say some stupid things, but they will pay more attention in what Palen says. How is that for equality?

[T Miller]

Sarah Palin, even in the unlikely event that she comes off looking okay or even 'winning' the debate, will have no real impact on the election. McCain has, for better or for worse, tied himself to the failed bailout bill. In doing so, he's chained himself to the failing economy. It was a clever move by Obama to remain largely detached from the unpopular legislation and now McCain will take much of the fall. Expect McCain/Palin's numbers to slowly trickle away over the next month or so until election day. By then, Obama's lead will be insurmountable.

[Roger]

We keep forgetting that she is not running to be the president of the local rotary club but to an office that is a hearbeat or a tick away from the Presidency! She is an embarassment to anybody with an IQ of 30 and above! This job is about dealing with the economy at home and the world with all of its complexities and subtleties...This is a clear example of poor judgement on McCain's part that alone should be reason enough to defeat him. How can he govern this country if he can't even pick a capable 2nd in command?

[speaker145]

"You cannot judge a candidate be 1 or 2 interviews, she has a long record the hasn't been given enough credit, while Obama is at the top of the ticket and has less credible experience."

This quote from "Defeat Obama" is not accurate. You CAN judge a candidate based on 1 or 2 interviews if that is all that she has been willing to do.

[cef]

It is so sad to see some of the comments that appear on this website. After listening to Palin's very few interviews, it is quite clear what she is - an ignorant, judgemental woman. Barack Obama is exactly what this country needs, a real person. He is not rehearsed, cares very much for this country, and unlike McCain, does not own several homes and cars. McCain represents a major problem in this country- GREED. Wake up America, Obama/Biden 08 is our only hope for the future.

[ate mely]

Democrats have no 'Womb' to shield themselves! Hillary is barren and muted now. This election is all about Life - Pro-Life, the only issue most practicing Catholics and some Christians are united to campaign for enthusiastically.

[Daniel]

It is almost scary that when Palin supporters speak and write is is so often in the same cynical tone and obnoxious voice that she does. It is always in equivocal bumper sticker like cliché’s and bandwagon slogans that when translated are equivalent to:
" Stupid is stupid does."

[Liberal08]

Hmmmmmmmm I wonder what McCain was doing during the Cival Rights Movement. He was about 20 years old when it began.........

[Christina]

Palin will do ok if they are questions she has prepared for. One that she is not prepared for could sink her - and all it takes is one question to do this.

[Jeryy]

obama saw her as threat to his campaign and that it why he has spent millions of dollars to try to trash her day after day after day....I think it is a shame that his supporters give him thier life savings for this...If he was trashed day after day I think he would be behind in the polls to...

[David]

It is a troubling day when a die hard conservative has no choice at all but to vote for Obama. If I can not put my personal interests aside (which I am) for the sake of the country then what kind of Republican am I. It is clear that our choices for so many years have lead us to the brink of depression. We as a country must stop this madness. I will vote for Obama as I have never voted republican before.

[BC]

McCain's chained himself to the bailout bill.... ? You mean unlike Obama who is waiting to see which way the wind blows before he decides what to do?

Sounds about right.

[imperial]

Why don't you compare with a woman vice president with a president unexperience? Obama want to be a president but Sarah just a vice. Obama is a type of person just wait for someone who prepare the food and put on the table then he just come in and serve. Do you want that type of President of the US? What have he done once for our Country, our people except talk about hope and change? Please give me a break!

[SICK OF THE HYPE]

First of all, I'm getting really sick and tired of people saying that Palin was merely a "cheap" ploy to gain #1 Clinton's voters and #2 FEMALE voters!? What, are we back in the dark ages? What you are saying is that we women are SO DUMB we would vote for someone MERELY because she's female?? I'm INSULTED and AMAZED because the people who are making these claims consider themselves to be so liberal and accepting of everyone. Please, give me a break.

I'm a woman and I'm for MCAIN/PALIN for these reasons:

#1 McCain IS very experienced - Obama is not
#2 I have way more faith in McCain's ability to be Commander in Chief of this country than Obama - the debate showed the dramatic inexperience and lack of wisdom Obama has in foreign affairs
#3 McCain's economic philosophies will provide more relief for the American people WITHOUT overspending and adding stress on FUTURE generations - Obama's spending will result in DEBT ON TOP OF DEBT
#4 I don't know much about Palin but from what I've seen she's given me a great impression about her as a person. So far I've only seen a woman that I can trust and believe in, which is way more than I can say for others in Washington.

Let's cut back on the name-calling and look to facts that can be PROVEN. Like the voting records of the candidates. That is at least something we can look at that has, on paper, how the candidates feel about certain things.

[Miguel Druego]

Remember the Commander in Chief TV series on TV about a year ago starring Geena Davis as an independent veep who succeeded to the presidency upon the death of the prez and was met with an immediate foreign policy crisis that despite being a novice at foreign policy, handled it with aplomb, astuteness, assertiveness, common sense and toughness.

The TV series was produced by Clinton Hollywood allies and some viewed it as a transpaarent remake of Superwoman designed to prime the public for the notion of a woman president.

Even though it was fiction, it is amazing that those libs would depict a dilletante woman happening into the presidency and succeeding in foreign policy sheerly through common sense wisdom. That's all Palin has, yet when reality hits, she is excoriated as a novice, yet many in high office have relied on such wisdom to succeed. How hypocritical and how soon we forget.

[ccmandchang]

If the instant poll of CNN can fake results while McCain and Obama were debating, they will certainly trying all dirty things to hurt Palin.

CNN delibrately use technology to lie to help Obama and hurt McCain. Let me tell you how.

If you pay attention, (You can see that when a line, blue or red, is flat for awhile at the highest rating point for each candidates.) CNN faked the instant poll by restrict the highest rating of red lines at 1.5 and the highest for the blue line at about 2 so that it always looks like Obama was doing better. And on the opposite, the lowest rating of the blue line is at 1.5 while lowest red rating is at 1 to show McCain is always worse. Blue line had a bigger range so TV audience will be forced to think Obama is always doing better than McCain.

These CNN cheaters and liars deservered a sharp rating drop. Anyone who has a heart, stop watching CNN.

[Annie M]

Just send Cheney and Palin out a' huntin' together..
let's see who comes back.. what a joke!

Let the VP debates begin. We'll see who's capable.