Hey, don’t take it from me. Take it from Kos:
Oddly enough, Sarah Palin was masterful tonight at exactly what she was incapable of doing in the Gibson and Couric interviews. Tonight, she was able to answer questions the way she wanted to answer them instead of doing it the way Ifill wanted her to. In particular, when asked what her Achilles heel was, she simply chose to talk about her strengths instead. It was the classic job interview, “What’s your greatest weakness” moment, and she reacted correctly. By the time she was done talking, no one remembered that the question was about a weakness. (Suddenly, the media that has argued her inability to do this was a handicap will decide her newfound ability to do it is dishonest obfuscation.) Palin left a good impression with voters despite her relative inexperience on foreign affairs, even feeling bold enough to direct the conversation back to Afghanistan at one point. She missed some counterpunches, but she offered connection, sensitivity, substance, and not a gaffe in sight. By the end (and I’m trying very hard not to exaggerate), I was kind of hoping she might say, “Hey, Joe, it was so nice meeting you. What are you doin’ next Thursday?” I got the distinct feeling she’d warm up and really kick some tail. Tonight could have been a bleed-out for the McCain campaign, and Sarah Palin may have made it a boon. I’ve been scanning the cable networks, and even Keith Olbermann can only ask desperately, “So, she didn’t do anything to help McCain, right?” because she didn’t offer him a convenient gaffe to pounce upon. The CNN insta-poll taken of voters who were watching the debate found that 84 percent thought Palin did better than expected and only seven percent though she did worse. David Plouffe of the Obama campaign: “Stylistically, Sarah Palin did have a very good night,” he said, arguing only that Biden won the night on points. Last week, even though many conceded McCain won on points, all that mattered to many pundits was that Obama didn’t fall on his face, and therefore won. Suddenly, that’s not what matters to some pundits (ahem, CNN). The McCain camp rejoices:
