Anyone else think Palin did a crushingly mediocre job?

[XemaSab]

:shrug:

The first part, where she was talking about herself, I thought she did okay there. She managed to make it sound like her words.

The second half of the speech... needed more rehearsal. She said the right things, but I thought her intonation and delivery were.... off. She sounded like she was reading off the teleprompter, and not having a discussion with the people in the audience.

Don't teleprompter speeches usually have (pasue for applause) marks in them?

'Cause there were several moments when the audience wanted to clap, and she wanted to talk, and she just stood there like a tool.

What could have been a much more effective speech sounded really flat, overall. The few points where she hit the right tone were the more biting lines of the speech, and in her voice they sounded very sarcastic.

Anyone else feel the same way? :shrug:

[poverlay]

1. Ed Schultz just summed it up: So she can read a teleprompter, big deal...n/t

[ClarkUSA]

2. I do.

My significant other did also. We both thought she did an amateur job, more befitting of a Heather running
for high school president. Her smirks and sneers reminded me of George Bush.

[saltpoint]

3. They gave her the words. All she had to do was read them.

Her audience was packed with bobble-heading sycophants.

And she still couldn't pull it off. It pleased the people who were in the hall but two blocks down I doubt if anyone in a bar listening to the speech gave two hoots for it one way or the other.

At best, it was exactly as you say -- crushingly mediocre.

[pnwmom]

11. Keith O right afterwards said "she gives a great speech." What's up with that? n/t

[Bucky]

16. She spoke well. She delivered her lines effectively. She read "new-clear" correctly.

She safely avoided getting into areas that might turn voters off like (1) her record as governor, (2) her stand on any economic issues, or (3) her utter ignorance about the security issues that face the United States.

She delivered her barbs against Obama with the same comical timing, inflection, and precision you'd expect from any other comedian.

I agree with Keith. She may only be 44 years old, but she reads speeches on the level of a 50 year old.

[saltpoint]

22. I didn't hear KO on this one, but if that was all he said, he

seems to be damning her with faint praise.

[amitten]

4. She's a joke. Period. I can't possibly take her seriously. n/t

[Merlot]

5. She drips with sarcasm

Watch the "what does the VP do?" video. It will be a real turn off for most people.

[TwilightZone]

6. Yes.

My thoughts from earlier: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6915757&mesg_id=6915757

[TheKentuckian]

9. Unimpressive

but I'm tainted. I seriously am tortured by the sound of her voice.

I tried to be impartial through that and the best I can say is certainly not to be confused with above average.

I also believe she's set herself up for a negative impression. People don't like Cheney and I doubt a female version will meet with overwhelming affection.

At this point she almost a pure base pleaser. It would be like us going with a super liberal version of Kucinich.

[dkf]

7. In the middle she was simply talking through it.

I think she noticed she lost the crowd.

[DarthDem]

8. Yes

In fact, she wasn't mediocre - - she was poor. You nailed the reasons very concisely.

The mediots giving her wild praise because they happened to be inside (or near) an arena that received her speech well are either unbelievably stupid, or under strict orders to do anything they can to make this a horse race.

With no offense meant, her speech was cringe-inducingly bad, and I mean the delivery as well as the repugnant contents.

[cliffordu]

10. Yep - PTA material.

[cwydro]

12. Still waiting to see it.

I wasn't able to watch it earlier.

But gag, I'm having to sit through a lot of bullshit waiting for it. Giuliani is just plain nasty. God, he is horrid.

[pamela]

13. Smarmy, nasty & sarcastic with a nasally twang

It was like fingernails on a blackboard.

[backscatter712]

14. She talked to the wrong audience.

The GOP seems to be making that mistake a lot.

She made her speech to her base, to the wingnuts in the auditorium, and the fundies in the hard right.

In other words, she's preaching to the choir. They're already voting for her.

This speech was nasty, insulting, divisive and condescending. That will certainly not win over anyone on the other side of the aisle, and does precious little to bring in the independents.

We all know damned well that Obama is not making that mistake.

[Bucky]

15. I thought she did a great job, convincing...

... conservative Republicans not to vote for Obama. While alienating moderates & independents almost as much as they will be when they hear about her record as governor and her stance on the issues, it should be noted that tonight Gov. Palin has pretty solidly ensured that the 30% of hard core conservative Republicans will either (a) vote for McCain or (b) at least not vote for Obama in November.

She gives a good speech. That is the new-clee-us of any political career. I predict the McCain ticket will easily clear 35% of the popular vote.

[Wetzelbill]

21. well yeah

She riled up the people who were probably going to vote for McCain anyway. She just took them from holding their noses to kind of not holding their noses. While Obama is bringing in new voters, McCain still is trying to win over the old ones. That's not a good thing for the McCain campaign. It's good for our country though.

[amborin]

17. it's not what we think of her speech...it's how it resonates with the rethug masses

selecting her was pure rove

she's dangerous and cunning

she's got the folksy, 'i'm one of you, just plain folks' veneer that plays so well among just the voters Obama needs

dems have got to consult with lakoff

[depakid]

18. Objectively, I think you got it right

She often sounded like she was reading another persons words- and she read them like a local newsreader might, when they really didn't want to.

Flat is about how one might describes her paralanguage, and while at times she wanted to go off, she was restrained by words and things that were written not for her- but for someone else.

[casus belli]

19. She's mostly looks and no substance

Give it some time. When the teleprompter is off, it's going to be hard for her to pretend.

[Wetzelbill]

20. I thought she was underwhelming

I wrote on my blog "Long on sarcasm, short on policy." She delivered it fine, but I feel this was a bad way to introduce somebody to the American people. Nobody knows anything about her other than she's been around less than a week and has had several scandals come to light. So in her first chance to really change opinions of her she came out and looked like a sarcastic jerk. Now, the reason I added "jerk" is because when the public image of you is all of these scandals and you come out and are sarcastic, well you just seem like a jerk.

I think she may have helped herself in the short term, just a little, but in the long run, nope. Why? She blatantly lied about Obama's tax plan, which shouldn't hurt her or McCain, but then she lied about the "Bridge To Nowhere." That's something that could come back to hurt her and McCain. Now, also, by playing victim all week and coming out on the attack, especially in such a mean-spirited, belittling way, she declared herself fair game. That was a mistake. I don't think she could play that traditional attack dog role well, not because she's a woman, but because she started off her first week by playing victim the whole time, and now her only impressions are of a scandal ridden, mean-spirited jerk, who lies and has no experience. That's just not a way to start off a national campaign. She could have really helped herself tonight, but I don't think she did. Not in the long run. She has some appeal, she didn't show a whole lot of it tonight.