McCain and Palin: The Thrill is Gone

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 05:59:25 PM EST
Tags: John McCain, Sarah Palin (all tags)

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Chuck Todd of NBC News interviewed Sen. John McCain and Sarah Palin today.

"There was a tenseness," Todd told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "I couldn't see chemistry between John McCain and Sarah Palin. I felt as if we grabbed two people and said 'here, sit next to each other, we are going to conduct an interview.' They are not comfortable with each other yet."

"When you see the two of them together, the chemistry is just not there. You do wonder, is John McCain starting to blame her for things? Blaming himself? Is she blaming him?" asked the widely regarded NBC newsman. "And maybe they don't feel they can win right now, so they are missing that intensity. That was the thing that struck me more than anything. You almost wonder why they wanted the two of them sitting next to each other."

Todd, who conducted the interview alongside NBC's Brian Williams, speculated that the candidates had come to the realization that "they are losing" the campaign, and guessed that McCain may have begun to hold his vice presidential choice culpable for his dwindling White House chances.

Looks like the thrill is gone.

< James Dobson Interviews Sarah Palin: Election in G-d's Hands | Hillary to Campaign for Obama Friday in Colorado >

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McCain and Palin: The Thrill is Gone | 38 comments (38 topical)

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This reads like a review of a "dating" (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by oculus on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:07:08 PM EST

movie. No chemistry between the highly-compensated starts.

ya (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by connecticut yankee on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:16:07 PM EST

Another Bennifer hits the skids. These kids today and their hollywood fix em ups.


: Ha. Got me. Had to look it up. (none / 0) (#5)
by oculus on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:22:54 PM EST

Chuck was right (5.00 / 0) (#4)
by CCinNC on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:19:55 PM EST

I watched. Altho they effusively praised each other, I didn't sense any sincerity.

I'm not sure Chuck was correct about Obama and Biden, tho. They genuinely seem to like each other.

PS. What's "pulling a Bulworth?"

Liking (5.00 / 2) (#19)
by lentinel on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:25:41 PM EST

I ceased to be impressed with pres-vice-pres liking each other long ago.
The last example was Kerry and Edwards. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. But I'll wager that they haven't even spoken since.


nothing succeeds like success (none / 0) (#27)
by white n az on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 12:02:04 AM EST

and Kerry/Edwards didn't have success.

I think that it's not uncommon for a strong willed and relatively successful politician be relegated to a subservient role with too little say in the final outcome - such as the plight of Edwards. I think he was extremely dismayed at some of the campaign decisions.

I suspect that all is forgiven now that they've seen just others go through the long hard slog of a campaign.

In terms of what is going on between McCain and Palin, it does seem that Sarah Palin has taken some strides on her own, against the counsel of the campaign such as speaking to reporters on the plane, her overreaching with Dobson yesterday and of course, her off the script comments about the robocalls. In addition, it has to be eating away at the entire campaign staff that she lacks any depth of knowledge. The compressed time period from the start of September when they picked her to November 4th election didn't afford the ramp up time necessary to educate her and when they had to spend an entire week prepping her for her one debate, it was all lost time from campaigning. Worse yet, after the Katie Couric interview disaster exposed her for the lightweight that she is, they can't let her talk to the press without handlers.

The recriminations that are certain to come after the elections are going to be a powerful indictment against Sarah Palin. I'm quite certain that they never anticipated just what a thin resume she possessed and like she fooled many with her initial speech at the convention, over time, it became apparent that she was no more ready for the White House than Caitlon Upton


: I know, but... (none / 0) (#30)
by lentinel on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 08:03:34 AM EST

for example: do you really believe that Bill Clinton "loves" Joe Biden?
Do you believe that Joe Biden actually "loves" John McCain?
Do you believe that at one time Kerry and Edwards actually even liked each other?
I must admit that this is the first time I have heard or seen an animated discussion of the "chemistry" between Pres and Vice.
Cheney and Bush - didn't come up. I think it has to do with the male-female thing. That's what got Todd all riled up.

Wikipedia Bulworth (none / 0) (#6)
by Thanin on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:37:56 PM EST

: Google told me (none / 0) (#7)
by CCinNC on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:46:44 PM EST

thanks anyway.

McCain spent a lot of time (none / 0) (#20)
by litigatormom on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:40:50 PM EST

looking at Palin's legs -- or a little higher up -- while she spoke. He also got rather testy about criticisms of her qualifications, without actually sounding like he believed in her qualifications, and without displaying any real respect or affection for her. It was all about the fact that HIS judgment was being questioned.

And BTW, Powell is just one general. McCain's got dozens, and four secretaries of state too. So there!


McCain/Palin = Epic Fail (5.00 / 3) (#8)
by robrecht on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:54:50 PM EST

Palin's in charge now: (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by steviez314 on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:57:08 PM EST

Palin may be overstating her running mate's positions on several key social policy issues, in an effort to shore up support from Christian conservatives. She told a prominent religious conservative Monday that McCain was committed to the positions in the Republican National Committee's platform that are more conservative than his previously stated views.

This is the kind of pseudo-analytical. . . (5.00 / 6) (#10)
by LarryInNYC on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 07:11:04 PM EST

speculation on the part of the news media that really pisses me off when it's applied to Democrats. I guess I'm glad to see the Republicans taking some fire but actually, I kind of wish the news media would actually get on with reporting the news.

Can you imagine what the reporting would have been like if Obama had selected Clinton?

I saw the Palin-McCain interview by (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by hairspray on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 07:47:42 PM EST

Brian Williams and didn't notice anything of what Chuck Todd seems to see in his crystal ball. Actually it was a good interview and Olberman just couldn't follow up with anything snipppy.


: I've seen Chuck Todd on TV just once. (5.00 / 4) (#15)
by LarryInNYC on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 08:10:59 PM EST

It was the night of the Pennsylvania primary. He had some Starship Enterprise type visualization system that he could use to display the precinct by precinct results.
Clinton was leading and Todd said that as precincts in southeastern PA came in the trend would move against her. He kept repeating that as those precincts started coming in and each update increased Clinton's lead.
Needless to say, he didn't impress me that much.

Hahaha (none / 0) (#17)
by lilburro on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:00:57 PM EST

I think it's funny how, as he's saying all these things, Brian Williams (at least in this blurry Youtube clip) is swaying around and staying silent and presumably thinking something totally different. You can just TELL that he's beginning to BLAME Todd and is begin to realize he's LOSING just by being on MATTHEWS.


Williams still believes (5.00 / 1) (#21)
by litigatormom on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:42:56 PM EST

in the Myth of the Maverick. He looked only slightly less uncomfortable than Mike Meyers did when Kanye West announced at the Katrina telethon that George Bush didn't care about black people.

This doesn't mean that West and Todd were not right.


: I don't believe in the maverick (5.00 / 2) (#24)
by lilburro on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:51:16 PM EST

myth, don't get me wrong. But I think it was inappropriate for Todd to "report" on the "tension" in the room like that. Todd as gossip columnist - not a good turn.
Kanye was right though.

Wow (5.00 / 6) (#11)
by ks on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 07:18:00 PM EST

What ridiculous comments by Todd. It's unbelievable, well not really, that such vacant speculation (mind and body reading) and dubious guesses passes for reporting. What nonsense.

Vacant indeed (5.00 / 4) (#18)
by lentinel on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:22:12 PM EST

I was listening to Todd, who sounded like a complete fool.
Talk about body language! His hands looked like he was modeling clay.

But the worst part was that they were supposedly describing a joint press conference. I, fool that I am, kept wanting to hear at least a quote or two from the press conference. Instead I see, once again, a gaggle of dopes who think that they are the story talking happily to each other about themselves.


It wasn't a press conference (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by litigatormom on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:44:14 PM EST

It was another one of the "chaperoned" Palin interviews -- McCain was sitting right by her. And he WAS cranky, and IMO, they didn't look like the "team" that Palin was talking about when she answered that question about what the Vice-President's job is.


Yes, but (none / 0) (#29)
by lentinel on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 06:07:46 AM EST

what did they actually say?
I know what they are supposed to have looked like.


: McCain (5.00 / 1) (#38)
by JThomas on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 03:35:09 PM EST

grimaced when she answered the question about pre-conditions(which based on her response,she does not understand the term) and he stepped in to correct her when she said he had 4 Secretary of States supporting him.
I noticed the awkwardness of their body language before I heard Todd say a word.
Todd spent the day with them and their staffers, I bet he has more insight than anyone on here.

FWIW, Todd looks like a Republican (none / 0) (#25)
by ThatOneVoter on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 10:18:14 PM EST

closet-case to me.
It's the body language, you know.


agree (none / 0) (#34)
by dws3665 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 09:32:51 AM EST

The same type of reporting, though in the opposite direction, was done by Cynthia McFadden earlier this week on Nightline during the Obama-Clinton joint interview. Afterwards, she was full of body language and "comfort level" interpretations, which of course contrasted with their earlier displays of such things. What tripe.


Different Objectives (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by pluege on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 08:24:17 PM EST

They are not comfortable with each other yet.

could it have anything to do with one campaigning to win this year and the other setting themselves up for campaigning in 2012?

Schadenfreude (none / 0) (#1)
by Faust on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:03:58 PM EST

If this pschobabble content is true (5.00 / 3) (#12)
by andrys on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 07:45:59 PM EST

then it's not too surprising.

Asked if she would approve the use of robocalls if she were running the campaign, Mrs Palin told CNN she'd try to do things differently.
"If I called all the shots, and if I could wave a magic wand, I would be sitting at a kitchen table with more and more Americans, talking to them about our plan to get the economy back on track and winning the war."
She added that she would prefer "not having to rely on the old conventional ways of campaigning that includes those robocalls, and includes spending so much money on the television ads that, I think, is kind of draining out there in terms of Americans' attention span...They get a bit irritated with just being inundated."

Can't imagine the campaign was thrilled with that.


Williams reported that (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by litigatormom on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:45:27 PM EST

Palin also announced - in response to his questions - that she would release all her medical records, which seemed to "surprise" the McPalin campaign officials.

I suppose it makes it a little more awkward for the 72 year old cancer survivor to continue to withhold his.


I hope her records reveal (5.00 / 3) (#26)
by Cream City on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 11:29:17 PM EST

how a mother of five still has that figure and can handle heels that high all the day and night long.

Other than that, all this stuff about medical records is just more gossip-mongering that tells us nothing useful. History tells us that we rarely have seen all of the medical records of candidates.

Fine with me if they all do what Obama did and refuse to release them.


I think some people missed the snark (5.00 / 1) (#28)
by Fabian on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 04:32:47 AM EST

about medical records being mostly fuel for the gossip mongers.

All this talk about OMG! McCain had cancer! has led to me to think that the next time, we should elect who ever can run a four minute mile AND win a marathon...while pregnant.


: And while looking good in Sears fashions. (5.00 / 2) (#32)
by Cream City on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 09:03:59 AM EST

Now, Sher, a 2 for this comment? (none / 0) (#31)
by Cream City on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 09:03:33 AM EST

You really have some 'splaining to do about your newfound Obama-hate, woman!

That is, if you are a grownup. We have this image of you in your pj's at a computer in a basement after mom and dad have gone to bed. . . .


I have no idea (none / 0) (#33)
by dws3665 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 09:29:33 AM EST

why people find it necessary to respond to raters of their comments, especially while questioning their level of maturity. Irony isn't dead.

And for the record, although I don't use the rating system, I viewed your comment as a back-handed shot at Obama, not praise of him. Perhaps I misunderstood your point.


Ya think? (5.00 / 1) (#35)
by Cream City on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:59:14 AM EST

I said Obama did the correct thing in this case, and I hope it starts a trend away from all this death-watch talk about candidates. And now we'll probably have to read about the status of a uterus after five children!

Really, your comment says so much more about you.


: Keep telling yourself that (none / 0) (#37)
by dws3665 on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 02:43:56 PM EST

Condescension is very becoming.

You also must have missed (none / 0) (#36)
by Cream City on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:59:58 AM EST

the fun we have with the Phantom Sher's 2's. She's a hoot here.


heh! (none / 0) (#14)
by Faust on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 08:08:03 PM EST