Sarah Palin on My9

Brenda Blackman had Sarah Palin in the studio for the only interview in the NYC area. It is an exclusive and one I'd bet any channel would like to have. Given that, I am not sure why the campaign chose to go on My9 rather than any of the bigger networks. It is almost two weeks to the election and the McCain campaign still seems reluctant to let Palin do any interview that a large number of people will actually see.

After watching the interview, I understand why (not that I didn't before, but I was assuming after a while she would get better at it... she hasn't-- practice has certainly not made perfect in her case.) Also, My9 was probably so happy to get the exclusive that they didn't want to be too hard on her lest they never get another interview. Brenda Blackman took it extremely easy on Palin, embarrassingly so. It ended up being not as much an interview as a commercial and yet Sarah Palin still came out looking bad in the end.

The first section lasted 50 seconds, all dealing with what is the hardest part about running for president. She plays this part for pity-- the hardest part is the toll on her family because it was a complete surprise that that would happen. Maybe the vetting by McCain was so circumstantial that she thought no one would probe very deeply. Hard hitting journalism. Hit those hot button topics.

Next, 13 seconds on how the McCain/Palin ticket would lower taxes, not taking more of what our small businesses and families earn and "redistributing it". Then, 20 seconds on the accomplishments of fundraising and crowds that Barack Obama has gotten over the past month. It is impressive, like his speech but it is nothing compared to "trustworthy and, umm, noteworthy also heroic deeds that John McCain is offering in terms of service to his country". In other words, don't forget that John McCain was a prisoner of war over thirty years ago as it is really germane to the topic at hand.

8 seconds on the fact that she doesn't care what the polls say (just like she doesn't care what questions are asked in a debate, or what science says about climate change, or that dinosaurs didn't live with people). The only polls that matters is the one on November 4th.

12 seconds on Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama. She says it doesn't matter because it was "expected". Just like the current economic crisis doesn't matter because it was expected... oh wait, it still does matter doesn't it. Well, it also doesn't matter according to Gov. Palin because although the most famous, like-able, and marketable Republican military person is backing Barack Obama there are plenty of other Republican people that you've never heard of still supporting John McCain, so it is a wash.

16 seconds on her experience... frankly, the fact that she could fill that much is impressive. She has executive experience and apparently is a "regulator of oil and gas" (which sounds very much like that part of your resume that you pad with stuff you just make up: special skills-- can regulate oil and gas). Plus, she shares her vision with John McCain so who actually needs skill or knowledge. C'mon, they share a vision.

Then onto her SNL appearance that Brenda says "everyone is talking about". She fills 21 seconds on how fun it was and how nice everyone is and the fact that you need to have a sense of humor. So that is more time spent on SNL than on taxes, the economy, or any political topic that voters care about.

The last segment was on special needs children , where Brenda Blackman shared her story of her child with Lupus. Palin said that special needs children would be a priority. Her answer spanned 35 seconds and is reproduced here in its entirety:

"You know what we need to do is strengthen the Nation Institute of Health. We have not funded it to the degree it should be. we haven't prioritized so enough funds go there to strengthen that so that we can start finding some of these cures. We've been so reliant, appropriately, in a sense, on the private sector fundraising efforts, like you've been engaged in with Lupus, that's important too. But the federal government does play an appropriate role here in making sure that resources are prioritized appropriately so that NIH is strengthened and we can start doing even more for this research."

That is a classic Palin answer that rambles on and says absolutely nothing. Sure all politicians do that in a sense, but the good ones answer in a way that addresses part of the question and sounds satisfying. Palin's answer is a train wreck that fills time and makes her look stupid... and that she has a word of the day calendar and the words for the past two days were "appropriately" and "prioritize".

Here visit was "amazing", SNL was "awesome", and the set at My9, which is an issue that a lot of voters care about, is "very beautiful... just very sharp and classy". The interview was "so nice". Gee golly, this woman could be president dontcha know.

So totaling that up, she was in the studio for over an hour and they got just over 5 minutes good enough to put on the show. The segment itself was over 9 minutes long so it is pretty sad that you can barely fill half a segment devoted entirely to you. Brenda at one point described Sarah Palin as "gracious, forthcoming, and competent". Why they chose not to show any of those portions of the interview, I'll never know.

The interview only goes to show that, as Colin Powell says, she just isn't ready to be president. And My9 isn't ready to have a news program either.