ANCHORAGE, Alaska — When she appeared for a candidates forum in front of a room filled with unionized Alaskan electrical workers during her run for governor in early October 2006, Sarah Palin arrived woefully unprepared.
When the union members grilled her on labor policy, Palin faltered.
Afterward, Palin cursed in anger and berated staffers, recalled two former campaign aides who blamed her unwillingness to bone up on workplace issues for the blunder.
But a few weeks later, when Palin jousted with her two main rivals during pre-election debates, she was much more at ease. Palin distilled policy questions into simple answers and countered her opponents’ attacks with verbal stiletto thrusts delivered with a sunny smile.
When a moderator asked about abortion, pressing Palin about what she would do if her daughter had a child out of wedlock, she had a ready answer, defending her anti- abortion stance and deflecting the question toward her male rivals: “I would choose life. And I am confident you will be asking my opponents these same scenarios?”
During Palin’s brief exposure to the high-stakes environment of political debates, she has unnerved handlers and opponents. At times she has been handicapped by her lax approach to learning the nuances of policy and state issues, but she also has projected a Rea ganesque ability to offer pithy answers and charm on camera.
“The political landscape here is littered with people who have underestimated Sarah Palin,” said Eric Croft, a former state representative who ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006 and appeared with Palin during several early forums.
Palin’s split-personality debate persona — mirrored both in her confident speech to the Republican convention in Minneapolis in early September and in a series of wobbly performances in recent TV interviews — poses a challenge for her Democratic opponent, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, as each approaches Thursday’s nationally telecast vice- presidential debate in St. Louis.
Biden could face trouble, Alaskan political observers said, if he takes Palin too lightly.
But he also has to take care not to be overly aggressive against a candidate who radiates telegenic appeal.
As she began her run for governor of Alaska, Palin repeatedly proved difficult to prep for a debate, recalled two former political aides, who had pivotal roles during her campaign but declined to be identified because of their continuing involvement in Alaska politics.
Palin, the former aides said, had a sharply limited attention span for absorbing the facts and policy angles required for all-topics debate preparation.
Staffers were rarely able to get her to sit for more than half an hour of background work at a time before her concentration waned, preoccupied by cellphone calls and family affairs.
“We were always fighting for her attention,” said one of the aides.
