Yes, Rudy Giuliani’s over-the-top red meat speech angered and fired up the Democratic base, just as it riled up the GOP base. But that’s Rudy and to him it’s always 2004 and building off 9/11. The problem with Rudy’s speech is that it lasted too long. So long, in fact, that they couldn’t show the introductory biography video of Sarah Palin before she spoke.
Why does this matter? Well, if you saw the intro bios at the DNC you can see that they’re powerful stuff. Michelle Obama’s mother narrated a pitch perfect video that did wonders to resuscitate her image. The bio video of Biden showed a warm side to him that nobody had seen before. And Obama’s bio video reminded people of his life journey.
New candidates NEED these sort of soft-media images to prepare the viewing audience for the performance. They need to be warmed up and placed in a sympathetic light. Nobody needed the soft-media bio video more than Sarah Palin. Think of the tears that would have come out in the hall and, possibly, across the country with the picture of Baby Trig.
But that bio was missing, thanks to Rudy’s love of his own voice.
And what emerged instead was a Sarah Palin that looked a lot less charming than the woman who was supposed to appear. Instead of her attacks at Obama being subtle, they looked sharp, nasty and condescending. There simply was no contrasting image – a warm image in the bio – to soften the blow.
What could have helped Sarah reach non-Republicans ended up repulsing them. Her introductory appearance was incomplete. She was a pure base rouser, but nothing else.
The Democrats can thank Rudy Giuliani for truncating Sarah Palin’s rollout and making her look less like an inspiring mom and executive and more like an acolyte of Rudy himself.