Palin gets passing grade from political science profs

Good. Effective. Energetic. Spunky.

Those are the words used by some political science professors to describe Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

“It can’t be an easy thing to do,” said Don Crowley, University of Idaho professor and chair of the school’s Political Science Department. “She comes across as very energetic and feisty. It seems she intends to play the role vice presidential candidates often assume — an attack dog against the other party … and she seems capable of playing it.”

Another political science professor, Henry Brady of the University of California Berkeley, described Palin as “spunky” and referred to the “Mary Tyler Moore” television show when her editor tells her she has spunk.

“I think for the first time in the convention, the Republicans didn’t feel stodgy and desperate,” he said. “It hit a note that was important for the Republican Party.”

Alaskans, though, may not have been as surprised as others with how well she did.

“I think she laid to rest any doubts friendly people had about whether she was capable or competent,” said James Muller, University of Alaska Anchorage professor of political science. “With the experience Alaskans have with her, we’re probably less surprised that she did so well.”

Gerald McBeath, University of Alaska Fairbanks professor and chair of the Political Science Department, said he thought it was an impressive speech and noticed that Palin didn’t dress in her usual bright colors, probably wanting to keep the focus on her words.

“She also didn’t tell her story completely,” McBeath said. “My guess is that she did not want to steal any thunder from (Sen. John) McCain.”

He also noted that McCain joining Palin on stage at the end of her speech shows a strong gesture of support.

While she emphasized her conservative credentials, she didn’t focus on a lot of specific issues.

“She’s a good and engaging speaker and she shored up her conservative credentials,” said Matt Barreto, University of Washington assistant professor of political science. She’s popular with conservative Christians, which is an important base for McCain to reach, he said.

However, another professor was looking for her to talk about the issues.

“It was free of any policy content, but a lot of one-liners directed at Obama and the Democrats,” Crowley noted. “She supports energy development, but beyond that it was hard to find a lot of content.”