Palin Camp defends Palin going off script: she is "not good at process questions"

[sabra]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/palin.tension/

<snip>

A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.

But this Palin source acknowledged that Palin is trying to take more control of her message, pointing to an impromptu news conference on a Colorado tarmac last week.

CNN contributor and Republican strategist Ed Rollins said Palin was "mishandled" during the earlier part of the campaign, and as a result, "she's become a target of a lot of ridicule."

But, he said, "She definitely is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this thing is over."

[Alter Ego]

1. She's not really good at anything except talking about killing moose, being a hockey mom

and abusing her power as Alaska governor.

[JeffR]

2. or fact questions

or opinion questions

or any questions

[casus belli]

3. They could eliminate "process" from that sentence and it would be more accurate. n/t

[liberal N proud]

4. Not good at process questions? WTF?

:wtf:

Unqualified.

[stray cat]

5. She is good at acting folksy, flirting and delivering prepared speechs

Kind of like a good ventriliquists dummy

[Rambis]

6. Not the email I got this am

Palin's 'going rogue,' McCain aide says





ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (CNN) -- With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday.



Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan. VideoWatch why the campaign is fighting »

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.

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But this Palin source acknowledged that Palin is trying to take more control of her message, pointing to last week's impromptu news conference on a Colorado tarmac.

Tracey Schmitt, Palin's press secretary, was urgently called over after Palin wandered over to the press and started talking. Schmitt tried several times to end the unscheduled session.

"We acknowledge that perhaps she should have been out there doing more," a different Palin adviser recently said, arguing that "it's not fair to judge her off one or two sound bites" from the network interviews.

The Politico reported Saturday on Palin's frustration, specifically with McCain advisers Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt. They helped decide to limit Palin's initial press contact to high-profile interviews with Charlie Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, which all McCain sources admit were highly damaging.

In response, Wallace e-mailed CNN the same quote she gave the Politico: "If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honorable thing to do is to lie there."

But two sources, one Palin associate and one McCain adviser, defended the decision to keep her press interaction limited after she was picked, both saying flatly that she was not ready and that the missteps could have been a lot worse.

They insisted that she needed time to be briefed on national and international issues and on McCain's record.

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."

Schmitt came to the back of the plane Saturday to deliver a statement to traveling reporters: "Unnamed sources with their own agenda will say what they want, but from Gov. Palin down, we have one agenda, and that's to win on Election Day."

Yet another senior McCain adviser lamented the public recriminations.

"This is what happens with a campaign that's behind; it brings out the worst in people, finger-pointing and scapegoating," this senior adviser said.

This adviser also decried the double standard, noting that Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, has gone off the reservation as well, most recently by telling donors at a fundraiser that America's enemies will try to "test" Obama.

Tensions like those within the McCain-Palin campaign are not unusual; vice presidential candidates also have a history of butting heads with the top of the ticket.

John Edwards and his inner circle repeatedly questioned Sen. John Kerry's strategy in 2004, and Kerry loyalists repeatedly aired in public their view that Edwards would not play the traditional attack dog role with relish because he wanted to protect his future political interests.

Even in a winning campaign like Bill Clinton's, some of Al Gore's aides in 1992 and again in 1996 questioned how Gore was being scheduled for campaign events.

Jack Kemp's aides distrusted the Bob Dole camp and vice versa, and Dan Quayle loyalists had a list of gripes remarkably similar to those now being aired by Gov. Palin's aides.

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With the presidential race in its final days and polls suggesting that McCain's chances of pulling out a win are growing slim, Palin may be looking after her own future.

"She's no longer playing for 2008; she's playing 2012," Democratic pollster Peter Hart said. "And the difficulty is, when she went on 'Saturday Night Live,' she became a reinforcement of her caricature. She never allowed herself to be vetted, and at the end of the day, voters turned against her both in terms of qualifications and personally."

[Jennicut]

31. Funny but Obama and Biden have shown absolutely no infighting

Obama's aides are happy with him and his aides in turn have said nothing what so ever about Obama. That is a solid team, the best we have had in a long time. Got to love the Phalin aides vs. McLame's, which one is sinking the ship faster, both have to spin hard.

[Dollface]

7. I think Chuck Hagel just threw up in his mouth a little.

[LaurenG]

8. That is very telling "she's going to be the most popular republican"

:rofl: That says terrible things about that party.

[Matariki]

9. What is a 'process question'?

[Eric J in MN]

19. About the process of campaigning: robocalls, wardrobe NT

NT

[Matariki]

23. thanks! n/t

[jpgray]

10. She's not even popular now! Her unfavorables are through the roof

[thereismore]

24. They are still talking about the "base." That's all that matters in the repig party. nt

[Bicoastal]

11. It's funny how even Ed Rollins offhandedly acknowledges how unpopular MCCAIN will be.

[Ichingcarpenter]

12. Palin Forces Local Reporter To Submit Topics For Interview ‘Ahead Of Time’ For Pre-Clearance»

Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) granted an interview to a local CBS affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, much of which was filled with talking points that Palin has repeated in a number of local interviews recently.

However, after the interview, reporter Cynthia Fodor revealed that she had to submit the interview topics in order to talk to Palin, something she called “not standard procedure”:

HOST: Governor Palin, as we know, doesn’t give a lot of interviews so did you have a lot of time to chat with her?

FODOR: No, in fact this was the only one she gave today and we were limited to about five minutes of time which is not a lot of time and we had to submit which topics we wanted to discuss ahead of time which is not standard procedure.


http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/27/palin-topics-interview/

[skooooo]

13. If she's president...better let all the world leaders know..

..not to ask her "process questions!"


:eyes:

[grantcart]

14. That's going to make a lot of friends lol

But, he said, "She definitely is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this thing is over."

[Jackpine Radical]

15. "not good at process questions"--translation:

"Doesn't know jack shit."

[Eric J in MN]

16. There was nothing wrong with what she said about robocalls.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/20/palin-says-voters-irritated-by-robocalls-2

"If I called all the shots, and if I could wave a magic wand," Palin said, "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, and 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..."

Sarah Palin implied that in an ideal world, she would talk to voters in her kitchen instead of by using TV ads and robocalls.

She didn't say that in the real world, she's against TV ads or robocalls. But Greg Sargent of TPM portrayed her as hypocritical for recording a robocall:

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/new_mccain_robocall_stars_sara.php

...and others followed Greg Sargent's misrepresentation.

[Egnever]

21. well thats an interesting take

So you think she is just being mistreated ?

[Eric J in MN]

26. I hated her convention speech.

But I'll defend her when her words are twisted, as they were after she discussed roboballs.

[cliffordu]

17. WTF are process questions???

You mean like....What papers do you read???

[Eric J in MN]

20. The process of campaigning. NT

NT

[merh]

25. I guess it means to be able to use your brain and process the

question. The thought process for some can be so difficult, Palin appears to be one of those that has trouble "processing" things. ;)

[casus belli]

28. The "process" in which an answer is required after said question. n/t

[bushisanidiot]

18. She's not good at questions, period.. er.. also, in addition, therefore.

:P

[Arctic Dave]

22. "She definitely is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this t

Interesting statement. This may be why she is doing another circle jerk with Hannity. Trying to keep the image going for the base. Very sad for the GOP that this is the best they have, good for Dems, because this is the best they have. When this is over I am going to guess that the GOP will help her back in AK with her troubles, keep her out of the national headlines then parade her around the US for campaign/fundraising promos. Just like a good spokes airhead.

[NV Whino]

27. Palin isn't a Maverick. She's a loose canon.

[political_Dem]

29. This sickens me.

How can people like this woman when it has been proven that her husband (and by extension herself) actively worked in traitorous activity against this country? This woman continues to wear a Polar Bear Pin on her lapel, for God's sake! How can she even think about running in 2012 when she is connected to a secessionist party?

Are people that dense? Do they care that when Sanchez asked Neiwert if the AIP is among the folk that would have the potential for domestic terrorism (i.e. being connected with the militia movement and the bombing of the Murrah Building), Neiwert said yes?

Are people too enamored with her falsified, artifical beauty to care that this woman spouts dangerous rhetoric about race?

Do they care that she doesn't have the best interests for women? Do they care that she hates gay, lesbian and transgendered folk? Don't they have a decent bone in their body to protest her attitudes about animals?

We don't need people like her ever in the corridors of power. We can't afford it. Even she has to realizes that the actions she has taken does not reassure anyone. And the fact that she stood there while people shouted to kill Mr. Obama is rather telling.

Popular? Are they crazy?

If the GOP knows any better, they'd neutralize this monster before she gains traction. Or do they care that they are spawning a dictator which perverts the very traditions that this country has possessed?

[rebel with a cause]

30. They are terrorist only if a Democratic candidate is involved.

For the repubs it is only a group of true Americans that are fighting for their rights. ;)

[political_Dem]

33. That is very sad. But I agree. :(

I thought that people would be the least concerned with the fact that we've had already someone else to drag down our country into the gutter. It is even more frightening to believe that they like this woman so much so that when she makes us into religious state (with little regard for the Constitution), they'll still be thinking that this Floozy is popular.

I still think that if there is a twist of fate and McCain makes it, his days are numbered. Palin is going to find a way to get rid of him and take over this country. That's when the secessionists are going to be in charge. And we'll be in big trouble.

[rebel with a cause]

34. I have to agree with you.

I just pray it does not happen.

[Jennicut]

32. What is thinking, but a process? So she is incapable of even using her brain?

:rofl: