Low expectations have been a tried and true Republican debate tactic for years now. To the surprise of many Democratic voters and politicians who think issues matter, and specificicity on issues matter, the tactic of low expectations works to the benefit of Republicans, or at least doesn't seem to hurt them.
Now, in the words of Ronald Reagan, "There they go again." The GOP is playing the low expectations game again with Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. Don't fall for it. We should always expect the best from everyone in the country, including our politicians.
The first time I remember the Republicans using low expectations is for the debates between George Bush Sr and Mike Dukakis. Dukakis was the author of the "Massachusets miracle." a technocrat who was familiar with all facts political. The conventional wisdom was that Dukakis was a better debator than Bush Sr., and that even if Dukakis won the debates, it wouldn't help the Massachusetts governor much. This assumption was reinforced by Jim Lehrer in talking to Mark Sheilds after the first debate in 1988.
But, Mark, the expectations going in were just the opposite, certainly Dukakis would win the debate, he's a better debater, and so why is that such a plus for him?
The next time the GOP played the low expectations game, is of course Bush Sr's choice of then little known Indiana Senator, Dan Quayle. (Ironically, Bill Kristol a huge Quayle supporter is also very supportive of the Sarah Palin choice.) Again, the Republicans trotted out the line, If Quayle just held his own against Democratic VP candidate Lloyd Bentson, it would be a win against the older, more experienced Bentson. Liste to the desription of Quayle by his press secretaary in a long biagraphy in Time Magazine.
David Beckwith, calls the Vice President a "classic late bloomer" -- which means that the first three decades or so of his life do not matter, just the last decade. That is starting late even for a faster learner than Quayle has given evidence of being. How can he "rise to expectations" when the U.S. can expect all the troubles of a world coming out of the cold war, and when the person doing the rising came in with the cold war himself? That is why, for all the jokes, we must take Dan Quayle seriously. We must do so, because Bush did not.
Quayle Profile
Despite the fact that Bentson wiped the floor with Quayle in the VP debate, and Quayle's deer in the headlights response to the famous line, "I knew John Kennedy, John Keenedy was a friend of mine, and you're no John Kennedy." Bush Sr. and the GOP were able to make the campaign about Bush vs Dukakis, and not about Quayle vs Bentson. Besides, the country was in a relatively good mood after the perceived successes of the Reagan administration.
The GOP again tried the lowered expectations game in the 2000 debates when Al Gore was the perceived better debator, vs Jr.
Consider this quote from a USA today article shortly after W became "President"
It happened again in the presidential debates this year. For months, Republicans had built up Vice President Al Gore's debate skills and downplayed Bush's. The president-elect himself said later he won simply by showing up and putting coherent sentences together.
Low Expectations Might Help Bush Again
And even though most pundits Gore won the debates easily and even created
the catchphrase "fuzzy math," the media theme that came out of the debates was that Gore "streched the truth."
Here are Gore's "tall tales" from US News and World Report. I'm sure you will agree with me that Gore's tall tales don't amount to a hill of beans.
Gore Tall Tales
The low expectations tactic was so well known by 2004, Al Gore warned John Kerry about it in a New York Times op ed.
My advice to John Kerry is simple: be prepared for the toughest debates of your career. While George Bush's campaign has made "lowering expectations" into a high art form, the record is clear - he's a skilled debater who uses the format to his advantage. There is no reason to expect any less this time around. And if anyone truly has "low expectations" for an incumbent president, that in itself is an issue.
Here's the full op-ed.
How to Debate George W, Bush
So now the Republican spin machine is busy lowering expectations for Sarah Palin, it's already conventional wisdom. Jonathan Ater says it, even in a largely negative article on Palin.
Palin, who supported Pat Buchanan's run in 1996 (unhelpful in the Jewish community), will benefit from very low expectations in her debate with Joe Biden, but she's going to have to have a photographic memory for new information to avoid getting creamed.
The full newsweek article:
Jonathan Alter Article
What I would do if I was Biden is use Palin's own words against her in the debate. For example, she said this about the vice presidency.
What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?" Palin offhandedly asked CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow in July.
On Iraq she said in 2007 to Alaska Business monthly:
"I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq," she said. "I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe."
Biden cannot do as Bush Sr.did against Ferraro when he said: "we tried to kick a little ass". Biden cannt bloat or come off cocky. But he should use her own words to trap her.
I can't wait for the debates. Let the fun begin.