Who is Palin? We Still Don't Know.

Sheryl Crow, Huffington Post
Posted October 3, 2008 | 02:25 AM (EST)

First, let me say that John McCain's choosing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is not my idea of putting country first, but instead seems to me to have been a strategical tactic to save his flailing campaign at a time when Senator Obama's attention was at a peak.

Secondly, I'll say that, darn it, Sarah Palin is cute. However, my frustration with Governor Palinnever answering a question was exasperating. She certainly was down-home and sassy. Certain statements she made struck me as ironic -- statements such as John McCain representing change and reform, when he has been so deeply aligned with George W. Bush.

In her charmin' demeanor, she managed to turn around questions so many times that she was almost believable as knowing what she was talking about. Unfortunately, for Joe Biden, Governor Palin was able to baffle him several times and at points, put him in the defensive position. She certainly is a quick study, but she could not possibly hold her own in foreign policy with Biden. However, so many times she turned Biden's answers around on him, cleverly inserting her own coached message without regard for the original question. It is almost impossible to believe that she was not heavily coached for this debate when the interviews with Katie Couric were so telling. So, who is she? We still do not know, even after this debate, because of what looks somewhat like a cover-up, in that she has never been able to speak extemporaneously, with the exception of the Couric interview, which was revealing.

I, for one, am terrified that all the "soccer moms" and the "Joe six-packs" will fall for the likable candidate as being qualified to lead our country. I don't want someone who is likable, I want the smartest, most prepared team, and that does not include the spunky Sarah Palin. The major component she has working for her is that she knows exactly when to throw in the statement, "John McCain and I are Mavericks!," a self-appointed label. She has embarrassed me as a woman who knows how to deliver a strong message or idea without having to be sarcastic, snarky, cutesy, or condescending with a down-home affectation. She gets my vote for Miss Congeniality though. Darn right!!