By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
My initial take on Sarah Palin's farewell address was that it was a nothing-burger and therefore a waste: She had the attention of the 24-hour news networks and could memorably lay out her vision for the country, or at least try to appeal to people who aren't already media-hating members of the cult of Palin. Instead, I thought, her farewell speech was mostly forgettable and much like her resignation speech: a strange hodge-podge of self-congratulation, stir-up-the-base sound-bites and awkward ad libs.
Oh was I wrong. Unfortunately for Palin, her speech is proving memorable, specifically a nonsensical sequence early on where she waxes poetic about Alaska. Poetic is the operative word, according to Conan O'Brien and the great William Shatner (h/t Andrew Sullivan):
And yes, that really is verbatim from her speech.
But O'Brien wasn't the only late night comedian to pick up on that phrase. Here's Stephen Colbert, using it to suggest that Palin's speech-writing style is something akin to political mad libs or magnetic poetry:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
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So yes, the speech will prove memorable—for all the wrong reasons.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (23)
louis overs of CA 6:14AM August 05, 2009
GF of NY 5:16PM August 01, 2009
nms of MI 6:03AM August 01, 2009