Soooo...SP was on Oprah yesterday, and here are my thoughts:
Sarah Palin came across as terse, cagey, tense, and as slippery as an eel when it came to answering questions in a straight forward manner--unfortunately she wasn't adept enough to make her dodges imperceptible. Instead, they looked exactly like what they were--dodging legitimate questions. In the first few minutes of the interview, she claimed to not be aware (during the campaign) that Oprah had "snubbed" her for an interview during the campaign, then backtracked and stated that it didn't "register" and wasn't the "center of her universe", implying that she knew but didn't care.
I was also quite put out with her continued deflection of the "who will take care of the kids" question. As a conservative woman with conservative views on motherhood and possessing the old-fashioned belief that it's ideal for a woman to stay home and care for her children, I was completely disappointed in her answer. Oprah tried to press the point that even though it wasn't a "fair" question in today's liberated society, that it was still a valid question, because our society still believes the mother to be the primary nurturer. Being a Sarah Palin fan requires for me to actually OVERLOOK what I consider to be first-class maternal neglect--putting career ahead of children.
Dr. Laura wrote a
good article about this during the campaign.
Basically she kept going back to the point that she and Todd have an equal relationship, but she never clearly stated that he was 100% in charge of childcare. She also referenced the fact that she and Todd were used to being apart, which isn't something I associate with a strong marriage, but she insisted their relationship was very strong.
I felt that Palin was overly vague, that she seemed less than honest, and she certainly didn't display the openness and vulnerability that an Oprah audience might have enjoyed. (And that may have endeared her to the audience, even if misinterpreted yet again by critics.)
I wanted to buy her explanations about press releases being sent out in spite of her objections, but she just didn't come across as telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Furthermore (and worse), her comments about Bristol's pregnancy were just strange. I can't put my finger on it, but her parenting style is just kind of...awkward.
Don't get me wrong--I like Sarah's professed position on several important issues. She just has some annoying habits, and absolutely does NOT do a good interview. She can't seem to relax, and even when she laughs, it seems strident and forced. The entire interview had my teeth on edge. Oprah was trying to give her a fair shake, and she didn't take advantage of it by letting her guard down. IMO, this will see SP fading into the background of major politics. She may pop up elsewhere as a sort of celebrity, but she won't be a major political player. Goodbye, Sarah.
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