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Palin recaptures the magic, but will it work?

BY CRAIG GORDON | craig.gordon@newsday.com

12:20 AM EDT, October 3, 2008

ST. LOUIS - For a single night at least, Sarah Palin was back, the homespun hockey mom voters once fell for hard.

She delivered a forceful but folksy debate performance designed to exorcise the memory of her recent disastrous TV outings - as someone who could bring soccer-sidelines common-sense to a confused capital, the same appealing delivery that sent her approval ratings soaring just five weeks ago.

But just because it worked once for Palin, doesn't mean it will work again.

And a lot has changed since her debut acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention - most notably a financial crisis that has made voters feel like they're not ready to take a chance with a relative novice like Palin.

More than that, her strong showing last night probably didn't answer the one question voters tuned in to see - whether she's truly up to the job of president. Her answers often were crisp and entertaining, peppered with the occasional zingers and slogans that boosted John McCain and cut down Barack Obama. But she offered few specifics as to how she would do the job beyond saying she would hew to McCain's policies.

If McCain's campaign needed a game-changer to shake up a race that increasingly seems to be moving Obama's way, they probably did not get it with Palin's performace - as sharp and appealing as it was. About 60 percent of voters now tell pollsters she doesn't have enough experience to be president - and it's hard to picture that no matter how much they liked her Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington appeal last night, that's going to change significantly.

Democrats could breathe a sigh of relief that her rival, Joe Biden, got through the 90 minutes without a single significant gaffe, or worse, some inappropriate comment toward Palin. He was on his best behavior, often smiling while she spoke and interacting with Palin only in the most respectful of ways.

Being Biden, his answers at times were wordy and a bit muddled, but he proved an able defender of Obama and suggested a depth of experience and grasp of issues that would make him an able stand-in if necessary.

Biden's job was far easier last night - don't mess up, and by that measure, he probably did just fine. Vice presidents almost never make or break a presidential race, and Biden can feel comfortable he did nothing to change that.

Palin, on the other hand, needed to do more than she could realistically accomplish with a single debate to erase voters' doubts.

But with the stakes high, Palin raised them a bit herself - all but daring voters to find her unsuited for office, if they used the traditional measuring sticks. She reminded Americans she's been on the national scene for five short weeks, doesn't understand the ways of Washington and would answer the debate questions any way she saw fit.

In effect, she played the neophyte at a time when many voters think she really is a neophyte, not ready to succeed a 72-year-old McCain. But her performance seemed designed to draw a clear contrast to the more buttoned-down Biden and offer voters a choice - Washington insider vs. the ultimate Washington outsider, from about as far away from the capital as possible.

At times, Palin laid it on a little too thick. "So Joe, there you go again, pointing backwards," she said at one point, throwing in a "doggone it" for good measure, and later, a "God bless."

At one point she even said, "It's so obvious, I'm a Washington outsider," almost trying to goad Biden by pointing out his answer reminded her of John Kerry's answer that he voted for a bill before voting against it.

Biden didn't shy away from the fight, saying at one point as he tried to compare McCain to Bush, and saying of voters, "Guess what, they're looking for help. They're not looking for more of the same."

For Palin, it was a transformation that might leave some voters' heads spinning. The same person who, during an interview with CBS' Katie Couric, couldn't name a single newspaper she reads or a single Supreme Court case beyond Roe v. Wade, seemed forceful and confident on stage. Voters may well decide they have no idea which Sarah Palin would show up in the White House - a damaging conclusion indeed.