Oct 20, 2008 8:27 pm US/Eastern
DeFede: Palin Still Not Ready For Prime Time
JIM DEFEDE
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Sarah Palin, the not ready for prime time VP candidate, joined her counterparts on Saturday Night Live in a pair of skits that were both funny and a little uncomfortable.
The opening was a little predictable, but the real laughs were watching Palin bop along during the Weekend Update segment while Amy Poehler belted out the Palin Rap Song.
McCain got experience, McCain got style
But don't let him freak you out when he tries to smile
Cause that smile be creepy
But when I be VP
All the leaders in the world gonna finally meet meAs I watched, I kept thinking to myself, does this actually help John McCain?
Typically, politicians like appearing on comedy shows – Saturday Night Live, Letterman, The Daily Show – so that they can prove to voters that they are regular guys. It allows them to show that they're not a bunch of wonkish stuffed-shirts.
But that's never been Palin's problem. In fact, Palin is a little too ordinary for many voters, who think she lacks seriousness and intellect. Saturday Night Live can do a lot of things for a politician, but conferring gravitas is not one of them.
So on the whole, I think Palin helped herself a little (her appearance made even her critics smile), but it is unlikely to shift any votes toward the Republican ticket.
The appearance less than twelve hours later of another politician on the same network is a harder to analyze. Colin Powell's thoughtful and reasoned endorsement of Barack Obama, and his devastating repudiation of the Republican Party, will be talked about for days and comes at the worst possible moment for the McCain campaign.
With two weeks left and behind in every poll, McCain can't afford to lose any days defending himself against Powell's criticism that the Republican Party, and by extension McCain himself, has veered so far to the right that they seek to divide this country in ways that are dangerous.
The real question however is whether Powell's endorsement will push undecided voters into Obama's camp? Personally, I've never put much stock in endorsements. I think their effects are often overstated. But the Powell endorsement could be the exception, especially in a state like Florida, with a large military and veteran population. And at a time when Palin is outright calling Barack Obama a socialist – SHE ACTUALLY CALLED THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT A SOCIALIST IN A SPEECH ON SUNDAY – Powell's support lends Obama the legitimacy the McCain campaign has been trying to call into question.
All in all, Palin may have gotten the bigger laughs this weekend, but Obama is playing to make sure the last laugh will be his.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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