What's the difference between the polished Alaska Palin in these clips (who appears to have been a decent debator in that she didn't totally suck), and the trainwreck present-day Palin?
Context. There's a huge difference between a zone of home state comfort and the unmitigated pressure of a presidential spotlight. Plus, it's really difficult on an emotional level to overcome the syllabus ridiculous answers and the accompanying criticism. It's like a ballplayer on a bad streak. Sometimes the tension makes the streak worse and it all snowballs into a seized-up jumble.
I understand and appreciate the effort to raise expectations, but these are very different circumstances than anything that's come before.