Biden, Body Language, and Pasting Palin
In a prior post, I examined how Barack Obama's body language in the first presidential debate exuded presidential confidence and a position of power. I contrasted it to John McCain's body language, which came across as deferential to Obama's superior presence.
After watching Joe Biden debate Sarah Palin, as well as portions of Katie Couric's interview and the SNL spoof of the same, I thought it would be fun to perform a similar analysis. I am not going to get into there general performances, but will focus instead on the subtle nuances.
Let's start with Biden. During some of Palin's "oh gosh, that's just that Washington insider stuff again", he exhaled deeply and loudly. Whether it was planned or an expression of sheer exasperation I cannot say; I can say that I've done that plenty of times when cross-examining a witness who just will NOT answer the question. Quite a few times the split screen CNN cameras caught Biden shaking his head in disbelief, presumably over Palin's complete and utter lack of ability or desire to say anything more specific than that she was McCain's running mate.
I'm not sure how well it went over with undecideds, but I though Biden's use of the phrase "let me say that again . . . ." came across as impatient Palin's half-truths and flat out refusal to engage in anything remotely like a debate.
For me, Palin's body language and facial expressions came across as worthy of an elected executive--the mayor of a small town rather than the Republican nominee for vice president.
Whether others feel Biden ran roughshod over Palin's lack of knowledge on anything other than ruining Alaska's environment to "drill baby drill" for oil I cannot say. I can say that she came across to me as someone who, when asked to write an essay on all she knows about foreign affairs and the national economy, leaves the pages blank. In her mind, and it seems like in the mind of McCain's campaign team, she answered the question perfectly--an empty page does represent all she knows about foreign affairs and the national economy.
You can't see my body language right now, so I'll use words and be direct in communicating directly what I think Governor Palin brings to the table as a vice presidential candidate: a blank page.
After watching Joe Biden debate Sarah Palin, as well as portions of Katie Couric's interview and the SNL spoof of the same, I thought it would be fun to perform a similar analysis. I am not going to get into there general performances, but will focus instead on the subtle nuances.
Let's start with Biden. During some of Palin's "oh gosh, that's just that Washington insider stuff again", he exhaled deeply and loudly. Whether it was planned or an expression of sheer exasperation I cannot say; I can say that I've done that plenty of times when cross-examining a witness who just will NOT answer the question. Quite a few times the split screen CNN cameras caught Biden shaking his head in disbelief, presumably over Palin's complete and utter lack of ability or desire to say anything more specific than that she was McCain's running mate.
I'm not sure how well it went over with undecideds, but I though Biden's use of the phrase "let me say that again . . . ." came across as impatient Palin's half-truths and flat out refusal to engage in anything remotely like a debate.
For me, Palin's body language and facial expressions came across as worthy of an elected executive--the mayor of a small town rather than the Republican nominee for vice president.
Whether others feel Biden ran roughshod over Palin's lack of knowledge on anything other than ruining Alaska's environment to "drill baby drill" for oil I cannot say. I can say that she came across to me as someone who, when asked to write an essay on all she knows about foreign affairs and the national economy, leaves the pages blank. In her mind, and it seems like in the mind of McCain's campaign team, she answered the question perfectly--an empty page does represent all she knows about foreign affairs and the national economy.
You can't see my body language right now, so I'll use words and be direct in communicating directly what I think Governor Palin brings to the table as a vice presidential candidate: a blank page.
# Posted by Michael : 1:50 AM
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