There's a way of lowering the bar so much that it pins you to the floor

[jpgray]

And I think that's what's happening with Palin. Her total perceived lack of competence has become a narrative; the day-by-day bottomless cookie jar of Couric interviews has not simply made her seem occasionally gaffe-prone, but has raised fundamental and solidified doubts about her competence. In this sense, the bar is -raised- for her. She isn't just climbing up from the bottom of the barrel, she's having to claw her way back -into- the barrel, as currently she's plummeted below decks amongst the rats and bilge-water.

People aren't waiting for her to prove she can throw a good zinger, they're expecting her to prove basic competence. It's not the issues of the day that she must show knowledge on: because she's such an unknown and doubted quantity, the field of possible questioning is opened wide. That's why we saw the far more general line of questioning from Couric on SCOTUS and "what papers do you read?" Nobody knows much about Palin, and therefore people are anxious to discover her views on general politics and history -on top of- the current issues.

It's something that W for example never had to deal with, because he didn't completely sequester himself away. And while you can prep an uninformed candidate on every major current issue, you can't prep an uninformed candidate on every single bit of general knowledge the public and media expect their candidates to know.

If Ifill sticks to current issues alone, Palin could do a passable job, but that's not going to answer the doubts. The bar for her is showing a -fundamental- wisdom and knowledge about the world and this country overall. Frankly, it's impossible to prep for that.

[PeaceNikki]

1. The REALLY sad part is

the "bar" to which you refer that she'll never meet is only a bar set by those of us with critical thinking skills. Sadly, we're the minority. There's a good portion of the voting pool that sees her ignorance of everything in the world as endearing and something to which they can relate. All we can hope is that the constant showcasing of her complete lack of knowledge energizes us with any sense to show get our asses out there and vote and register as many others to as well.

[jpgray]

2. 60% doubt her competence, according to the ABC polls. That's pretty substantial

But I get what you mean. :(

[Cha]

3. "Bottomless cookie jar"! That's a great way to say

the gift that keeps on giving.

Awesome analysis, jpgray. I've talked to so many people who disagree with the media "that the bar is set so low she doesn't have to do much to pass".

We've had 8 years of that and now the country is ready for the smart people.