Woman of Steel

I am more impressed than ever with Sarah Palin.

I just watched Good Morning America on DVR, and they aired a different version of the interview that Sarah did with Charlie last night on World News. I was in shock! The editing was different, and the impression I got of Sarah was different.

This chopping lead to some controversy, covered on Hannity and Colmes last night with Newt.

As a matter of fact, when watching the interview on YouTube, a message comes up warning that the video has been edited by ABC and some of the material is out of context. We could have used that posted on the screen watching World News.

For someone going through her first interview since being named to the VP slot, she was very relaxed, and surprisingly confident. When being hit with at least one question that she was not prepared for, on the Bush Doctrine, she continued to forge ahead with determination and a clear mind. This is one tough gal.

Which got me to wondering about what was different on the news version last night, where I felt Palin looked much weaker. So I went back and watched World News again. The edits were faster, the questions more rapid fire, the answers more clipped. It wasn't so much that Charlie was looking to get her - it was more that they cut to tightly to fit more in. The result was that they sandbagged her.

Then I watched the third and longer version shown last night on Nightline. The expanded Palin looked even better. Answers she had given in the shorter versions that had appeared clipped or slightly disconnected from the questions weren't her fault - she was fairly expansive and able to carry on a relaxed dialogue in the uncut version. The sandbagging penalty went up even higher.

The interview with Gibson shows exactly why I prefer Palin over Obama against Palin. She is cool under pressure, and has enough confidence in herself to not pee her pants.

I'll take the street kid with the street smarts over the Harvard guy any day. Give me the person who has done over the one who has thought any day of the week. Thinking is good, don't get me wrong. But many thinkers lose their brainpower when under stress. Which is why experience is critical - so we know which we've got.

Sarah's a woman of steel. I love her, and now I know why John McCain does to.