Sarah Palin's taking a lot of crap for her answer to Charlie Gibson's interview question...whether she agreed with the Bush Doctrine. He did not explain what he meant, so she sought clarification, which he was loathe to provide.
Many are looking at this as yet another sign of her foreign policy JV status. Nothing can be further from the truth.
As Charles Krauthammer reminds us, the Bush Doctrine has meant many things to many people through the years. Had I been asked that question this week, I would have spoken to the policy of encouraging democracy as the chief weapon against Islamic extremism.
Charlie Gibson's a good interviewer, but this "gotcha" was simply amateur hour.
I couldn't stand Gibson's smugness during his questioning. That said, I thought Gov. Palin did an admirable job. Gibson wanted a clear yes/no answer -- answers the media hasn't demanded of Sen. Obama -- and Gov. Palin gave strong answers without the affimation of a yes or no Gibson wanted. She reminded me of the way Bill Clinton could effectively answer questions, and Clinton is lionized for this.
ReplyDeleteDan, I'm not sure she was as strong as you found her to be. She needs to do a better job of deflecting hypothetical questions that don't feed her strengths.
ReplyDeleteGovernor Palin did a yeoman job on the Gibson interview dispite Mr. Gibson's attempts to place her in a "GOTCHA" position. Governor Palin woiuld I believe, be well served in becoming even more assertive in requesting that her inteviewers boaden and explain their questions and then pointing out their errors.
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