"Game Plan for Palin Is Retooled Ahead of Debate"
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and senior adviser Steve Schmidt are planning to coach the candidate ahead of the debate, according to senior advisers. They traveled Sunday to meet the Republican vice-presidential nominee in Philadelphia. After her appearance with Sen. McCain at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, these top officials plan to fly with her on Monday to Sen. McCain's ranch in Sedona, Ariz., which they hope she will find a comforting place to prep, these people said.
reports monica langley
Interestingly they do seem to be reacting to some of the critical conservative intelligencia, insofar as "letting Sarah be Sarah"
Amid the heavy scrutiny in a close campaign, Gov. Palin is under considerable pressure to make Thursday's debate a "game changer," advisers said. The campaign is sending in Sen. McCain's debate coach, Brett O'Donnell, to help with her preparation, advisers said. Though he always was expected to help out after Sen. McCain's debate Friday in Oxford, Miss., Mr. O'Donnell now needs to "undo" much of her previous debate prep, which has resulted in occasional "rote" responses, one adviser said.
In this diarists humble opinion, there should always be a little concern troll in any rational person. Putting that concern troll in context is, of course, the trick of rationalism.
If anything they could turn around the approaching VP debate train-wreck, it is that Palin stops with the canned remark fall-back: Palin has two critical problems with the way shes been coached til now (her lack of gravitas not-withstanding.)
First, she has been coached to hit talking-points. Not her talking points. A "Bridge to Nowhere" or "Lipstick on a Pitbull" may have scored some points during her presentation honeymoon, but not now... repeating those at this point in a debate would paint her as an absolute simpleton to the public.
So, Schmitt wants to get her a set of talking points she is comfortable. Smart politics. I have thoughts about how possible this is in practice, but if it were me, this would absolutely be my "Plan B".
Second, as witnessed in the Gibson interview when she is flummoxed by a question she seeks shelter in a canned answer, repeatedly, (or "runs home to momma" as quoted in The Hunt for Red October.) This is far more dangerous, indicating a lack of ability to improvise an answer. She tried to improvise an answer to the same question with Couric. She repeated a mishmash of talking points. Incoherently.
You can find talking points that are comfortable. You can prepare in a comfortable location. You can practice test questions and answers. You cannot learn to improvise.
The concern troll in me might consider that Palin just might be able to work on the first three successfully. If the questions match what she is prepared for.. that might be enough.
BUT... is four days really enough? They've essentially dumped the prior prep and are deprogramming all the stuff she's "learned"
This Thursday, either way, will be riveting.