I just watched the Palin-Couric Supreme Court exchange. It strikes me that Palin’s critics and defenders are both right. The Supreme Court question was a bit “pop quiz.” What was trying to be gleaned here? Palin is not a lawyer or Supreme Court historian. But she could have said that, and then elaborated on her judicial philosophy. She could have discussed how court rulings have influenced policy she’s had to carry out as governor, for example. But that on-camera confidence takes practice to acquire. And in the beginning, its really hard.

As many contributors to The Corner can attest, TV does feel like a pop quiz at first, and it’s a common mistake to over prepare for fear of being caught flat footed. Preparation is key, no doubt. You need to know what you want to get across, even down to the soundbite. But the challenge is to turn the interview into a conversation. And that takes practice. Lot and lots. Ask a singer how hard it is in the beginning to lead a band, and not have it lead you.

I don’t know who is on the team coaching Governor Palin, but I can testify that in my experience too often the people giving advice to the candidate have spent lots of time in political press offices, but very little in front of the camera. And what on-camera experience they do have has never been subjected to ratings — Nielsen, or voter. Very often their advice is negative — what not to do, fix that twitch, don’t say X. Because they’re from the political media world, they focus on mistakes and screw ups that journalists will exploit, instead of helping the talent cultivate their natural assets, strengthen their confidence, and take control of the forum. And I do mean “the talent.” It’s their performance that’s on the line, whether they kill or flop. But unfortunately, the talent is often smothered by Washington “veterans” who have more practice writing press releases and fielding journalist’s phone calls than commanding a camera or entrancing a crowd. These vets have watched Meet The Press a hundred times and know the producers by name. But they’ve never felt the pre-show jitters (only vicariously), or learned how to calm them down.

So, I guess, this is all an around and about way of saying that I’m in the Free Sarah Palin camp. I don’t mean throw her out there and hope she swims. She needs to be prepared on the substance. But she also needs to be taught techniques to relax, feel calm and grounded, find her center, listen strategically, and take control. Deep breathing exercises, physical and vocal warm ups, can help. Finding that one person in the audience to connect to, or forgetting the audience altogether and having an intimate chat. She needs to find whatever works. And every bit of coaching she gets should be directed toward helping her exude the charm, charisma, and confidence that has gotten her this far.