Is Sarah Palin's "Folksy" Talk All an Act?
Saturday October 4, 2008
It's a question that many are asking in the wake of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's recent debate with Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden.
Is Palin's "folksy" talk all part of a calculated move to appeal to Midwestern, working class and rural voters? Or is it a genuine part of her speech? How come she goes in and out of it, depending on the audience or depending on whether she's excited or trying to make a point?
What's the deal?
Get the answer to this frequently asked question and others by checking out the long list of so-called Sarah Palin controversies we've been tracking since Palin was nominated on Aug. 29, 2008.
Comments
Excellent article Justin! Well all of your articles are excellent even though I don’t agree with some (like the last one). This one I do.
I don’t think it’s an act but I do find it annoying for the reasons your article said.
I think they must suggest some things to her though. On a recent episode of The Daily Show they showed several clips of George Bush using the phrase Palin uses about “not blinking” when faced with a hard decision.
Speaking of blinking that wink she does is super annoying to me. Don’t know why, it just is. Oh and if I have to hear “soccer mom” or “six pack dad” one more time I think I’ll scream. There is nothing wrong with a soccer mom but geez, she’s running for the office of Vice-President of the United States of America. Can she at least pretend to act Vice-Presidential? The same way you don’t go into any executive position interview using unprofessional language.
I especially agree about the part of going in and out of it. When I moved from Midwest Ohio to Southern Florida I had to consciously change some sayings to “fit in.” After all you don’t call Coca-Cola “pop” in Florida because people look at you like you have two heads. You say “soda”.
Also, in South Florida did you know most people don’t have a southern twang? Thats more evident in North Florida near the Georgia border though. When I was surprised by that a new neighbor told me that you have to go North to get to the deep South!
Kari
folksy=stupid
Justin, I’ve never seen this blog before today, but as an Alaskan I have to say your article gave me a pretty good laugh when you explained that “in remote areas like Alaska” we may not see national TV, only small regional broadcasts, so that may be why Sarah talks so cutesy. You are right, Justin. It is hard to get the cable or satellite dish in our igloos, so we rely heavily on quirky local little home-spun programs to get our world view. We get funny little programs like ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, CBC, BBC,and this thing called the internet! No wonder we talk goofy! By the way, in spite of what you hear, many of us who have worked around Palin and her husband are very frightened of her being in the VP (and soon the Presidency)position. And I am a republican, but cannot vote for her in any way. Please, America, understand how incredibly self serving she and her husband are.
My good man, you speak out of your posterior on this topic. How could dialect possibly be an excuse in regards to ones inability to pronounce the word nuclear when English is their main language? ‘New-clear’, I am sure she could manage those two words in succession without getting her tongue in a twist. The woman is positively unintelligent, ill informed and frankly quite unsuited to what she must obviously have mistaken as another beauty pageant and not the most important and difficult position in the United States of America.