In defense of Rich Lowry
The TED spread is skyrocketing, more bailouts might be coming, and there’s a lot of trouble in the rest of the world. It’s the weekend, however, so I’m going to be frivolous and defend NRO’s Rich Lowry. In a much-linked blog post, Lowry wrote the following: A very wise TV executive once told me that ...
The TED spread is skyrocketing, more bailouts might be coming, and there's a lot of trouble in the rest of the world. It's the weekend, however, so I'm going to be frivolous and defend NRO's Rich Lowry. In a much-linked blog post, Lowry wrote the following:
The TED spread is skyrocketing, more bailouts might be coming, and there’s a lot of trouble in the rest of the world. It’s the weekend, however, so I’m going to be frivolous and defend NRO’s Rich Lowry. In a much-linked blog post, Lowry wrote the following:
A very wise TV executive once told me that the key to TV is projecting through the screen…. Palin too projects through the screen like crazy. I’m sure I’m not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, “Hey, I think she just winked at me.” And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can’t be learned; it’s either something you have or you don’t, and man, she’s got it.
Now, strip away Lowry’s hyperbole prose and, er, straightening, and Lowry is basically saying that Palin connects with the camera better than most politicians. This is clearly true. As David Kusnet pointed out in TNR, a transcript of Palin’s debate performance would reveal lots of gibberish, but:
[P]eople don’t parse debate transcripts, they watch the show on their TV screens. Palin looked and sounded friendly, funny, and confident–not at all like other uninformed and less-than-coherent candidates, such as Dan Quayle, who sounded hesitant and seemed flustered during his debates with Lloyd Bentsen and Al Gore. So the early verdicts are that Palin exceeded expectations and held Biden to a narrow victory or even a draw. Those who predicted Palin’s humiliation forgot that she had been a TV sportscaster and knows how to make the camera her friend. But the lesson isn’t just the benefits of media training–it’s the importance of emotional intelligence. For all her unfamiliarity with many issues–and the unpopularity of her positions–Palin’s performance made sense emotionally, with one glaring exception. Indeed, McCain–and even Barack Obama–could learn some lessons from Palin about how to bond with most Americans.
So cut Lowry some slack, and let him enjoy his starbursts.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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