Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin supercharged the party's conservative base Wednesday night in what area political analysts say was a "masterful," "effective" — but perhaps a bit too "caustic" — debut.
Sarah Palin is joined onstage by John McCain and Palin's family after Palin's speech
at the Republica
...(more)
While the Alaska governor may have done little to sway independents and undecided Democrats, she passed three significant tests in introducing herself to convention delegates and voters across America, they said:
Appearing competent.
Being likeable.
And showing she has experience and a willingness to grow into the job.
"This is going to be a first of a series of hurdles for her. I think she passed with flying colors," said Fletcher McClellan, a professor and chairman of Elizabethtown College's Political Science Department. "But there are other hurdles to come."
"For the most part, though, I think the speech — even though it was for a broader audience — had the greatest impact on social conservatives and strong Republicans. She gave the Republican base what it wanted to hear," he said. "I'm not as sure whether independent and undecided Democrats would be as swayed. Much of her speech was pretty partisan."
Chris Borick, the director of the Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion, said Palin's job was to energize the base and make voters watching on TV feel comfortable with her — not necessarily answer all the questions about her level of experience and readiness for the position.
"You can't do that with one speech. You can't do that overnight," he said. "Last night was a chance for her to make Americans comfortable with her. They don't have to necessarily be sold that she's got all the qualifications. Most people had not even seen her speak before last night."
"I think by almost any standards she delivered a well designed speech and executed it in a really professional way that seemed to energize the audience in Minnesota and, by almost any measure, play well among the base of the Republican Party," he said.
"While it didn't have real substance about policy and what she and McCain would actually do, it was masterful pageantry for any audience," Borick said.
Palin was certainly forceful, playing the traditional role of attack dog by a vice presidential candidate. But some question whether perhaps she was a bit too caustic.
"I agree with everybody in the country that she's a great speaker and she did what she needed to do," said Dickinson College political analyst Jim Hoefler. "She reassured the Republicans. She's very charming, has a good personal story. She's got a lot of gritty, down-to-earth, small-town appeal that plays very well in Republican circles."
"The downside is, she did more than what she had to do. She started playing the pit bull, the feisty vice president role at a time when she's still trying to get people to know her," Hoefler said. "Some of what she had to say came off as a little bit snide. You'd like your VP who nobody knows to have a little bit of a honeymoon there. "
"Yes, part of her mission is to really energize and fire up this base, so you need to be a little bit caustic with them. They love that in the hall. They just ate it up," Hoefler said. "But to the extent that you go too far with that, you give people in the middle cause for concern. She did the base thing, and mobilized the base in aces. I don't know if she lost some people in the middle."
McClellan noted that Palin "actually seemed to enjoy" going on the offensive and "seemed to lean into some of the lines pretty well."
G. Terry Madonna, the director of Franklin & Marshall College's Center for Politics and Public Affairs, is attending the convention. He said Palin certainly made the case that she has been tough and resolute in fighting the good-old-boy network in Alaska politics.
"There was a little bit of a caustic tone, though," he said.
Overall, though, Madonna said Palin clearly illustrated she is competent and that she understands and can master the issues of the day. She made people watching on TV feel comfortable with her, and that she "could grow into the job," he said.
"In this hall last evening, you could have cut the tension with a knife before she came on. But she performed masterfully. No one can say she didn't perform well above anyone's expectations," he said. "It was masterful."
Staff writer Tom Murse can be reached at tmurse@LNPnews.com or 481-6021.
(1188)
