CURRENT AGE: 20
PALIN'S DEBUT
“A.”
That’s the grade this high school senior would give Sarah Palin for her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
While I was impressed with her enthusiasm, the main reason I would give the Alaskan governor such high marks is because of the lively discussions she generated, especially between my friends and me.
My friends are mostly Democrats who favor Barack Obama, so I wasn’t expecting them to be very open to any speech by a Republican. They were furiously texting me during the convention. One friend wrote, “If I was there, Paul, I would attack him,” referring to Rudy Giuliani’s speech criticizing Obama’s community organizing. The friend was equally disgusted with the other Republican speakers.
My friends didn’t really say much about Palin’s speech because she wasn’t as aggressive as Giuliani. But when she did attack Obama, my friends let loose with a few colorful comments. One friend, Ashley, said “If I was there, I would go down there and kick her a--.” Another said, “She is an a------ for calling out Obama on his community service.”
I was not as quick to leap to conclusions as I listened to the vice presidential candidate at the Xcel Center. I thought Palin had strong, down-to-earth convictions. Her unwavering voice convinced me that she is ready for any task as vice president, even though she sometimes referred to herself as a hockey mom.
I also was impressed by her self-confidence. I get nervous meeting one or two people for the first time, but Palin met 40 million Americans for the first time that night and showed no nerves, though she is used to much smaller audiences.
My former speech teacher, Rob Hueni, had a different take on her speech. In an e-mail the next morning, he wrote, “She was very nervous in the beginning but warmed up nicely.”
Overall, he gave her good marks but said she sometimes seemed to forget to whom she was speaking, which is something we all need to remember when we are speaking in public. “When speaking to a specific audience that shares the same passions and ideals, you can say anything and get away with it,” Hueni wrote. “Yes, her speech was to convention attendees, but it also went out to the rest of the world. Some of her comments offended the opposing side, which I don’t think she minded at all.”
He concluded that he wished she wouldn’t have resorted to “bashing” Obama, and I had to agree. “Both side are now spending way too much time speaking in public about ‘children’ or ‘churches,’” he wrote. “Stay to the point so the voters are better equipped to make an intelligent decision.”
While Palin has made plenty of speeches since the Republican convention, she hasn’t generated much discussion among my friends. However, they have become big fans of Tina Fey.
Copyright 2008 Y-Press