The McCain-Palin campaign finally did something its supporters have been calling for for weeks now — they unleashed Sarah Palin. She did an interview with Hugh Hewitt this evening. (Check HughHewitt.com; Hugh will replay it twice on his program.
I appeared after Palin and was the first to analyze the Palin’s answers. Short version – her first couple answers were a bit of the “generic talking point Sarah” we saw from the Gibson and Couric interviews. But she warmed up quickly.
- She mentioned that she and Todd had lost $20,000 in the past few weeks in their 401(k)s. Can you recall the last time a politician gave a specific number to how much an economic crisis had impacted them? She talked about how she and Todd were worried about paying for college for their children.
- She mentioned she and Todd got their first health insurance when they were hired for union jobs.
- She said the only time the criticism had gotten “hurtful” was the commentary about Trig Palin, and the insinuation that carrying him to term was a mistake.
- She said she had spoken to her son in the Army, Track, when he was in Kuwait on his way to Iraq and that “the little stinker” had called his girlfriend before calling his mother in recent days.
The last couple answers were a lot like talking to a neighbor – issues like the financial crisis, the culture of life, and the war in Iraq in strikingly personal, human terms. This is the Sarah Palin who had gotten conservatives fired up like little else a month ago.
The million dollar question is… will we see this Sarah Thursday night?