Guess who was tougher: Sarah Palin or Charles Gibson
COMMENTARY
Politicos rarely get pressed on TV. And when they do, watch out!
The Interview to Nowhere began with Charlie Gibson, specs low, sternly asking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin if she had what it took to be vice president and potentially president. Caving in, the poor woman admitted she did.
Oh, yeah, now John McCain is in big trouble.
Get a grip, please, Barack Obamacrats. ABC News booked headliners Palin & Gibson for a gig whose last two acts aired after this commentary's deadline. Palin wobbled at times, and we await the post-interview polls. From what I saw of Thursday's "World News Tonight" and "Nightline" and Friday's "Good Morning America," however, there was no smoking gun, a metaphor Palin might appreciate. Well, what did we expect, that she'd pull a Capt. Queeg and bring out the ball bearings?
Howard Rosenberg: A commentary by former Times Television Critic Howard Rosenberg in Saturday's Calendar, about Charles Gibson's interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, gave an incorrect Internet address for reaching Rosenberg. The address is rosenberg@notimetothinkbook.com.
Howard Rosenberg: A commentary by former Times television critic Howard Rosenberg in the Sept. 13 Calendar section, about Charles Gibson's interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, gave an incorrect Internet address for reaching Rosenberg. So did a correction that was published here Sept. 19. The address is howardrosenberg@notimetothinkbook.com.
One segment of this road show was notable for its unintended wit. We pick it up with Gibson saying that when he earlier asked McCain if Palin had "national security credentials," the GOP candidate cited Palin's "command of the Alaska National Guard and that Alaska is close to Russia."
That was rich; in the privacy of their homes, even Republicans must have laughed. Later, after Palin claimed that advocating energy independence somehow gave her national security chops, Gibson asked, "What insights into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks" -- he meant the Russia/Georgia fracas -- "does the proximity of the state give you?" She explained, "They're our next-door neighbors," then added, "You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska."
Even my cat, who never laughs at my jokes, laughed at that.
On "Good Morning America," where the interview was edited differently, Gibson asked Palin if she'd ever made a "command decision" related to the Guard. Her response: "We have called up guardsmen to work in other states. . . ." Again, such a hoot.
Shuffling papers for the Guard and peeping across the Bering Strait at Russia give Palin a grasp of national security issues? McCain forces have shrewdly accused the "elite media" of trying to "destroy" her, scarring attempts to examine her qualifications. Yet there are times when Democrats and Republicans spew such self-serving fantasy that nodding at it like a bobblehead comes up short. Gibson was efficient, at times even persistent. However, if ever he should have lasered in on Palin mercilessly, even at the risk of appearing a bully, brother this was it.
