Sarah Palin and Fox News made a night of it yesterday: Palin appeared with John McCain on Hannity & Colmes and by herself on On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren. Aside from the possibly obvious fact that neither of these interviews resembled the Katie Couric fiasco in tone or questioning, here's a few things that stuck out after watching (sorry, nothing else was on) both interviews twice:

Palin is worse by herself. Sitting next to her political man talking to Sean Hannity, she was the best I've ever seen her, easily outdoing her other interviews, upstaging her debate performance, and even making McCain look like the stutterer. Hannity's questions were floating softballs, to be sure, but Palin handled them with a when-did-she-learn-to-do-THAT sort of articulate grace. When Hannity asked how she and McCain handled their disagreement on drilling in ANWR, she had a compact answer: "Well, it's clear that whatever we do, it needs to be an all-of-the-above approach." She echoed Obama's "addicted to oil" mantra, saying that "we've gotten a little spoiled" when it comes to energy, and acknowledging that "when the oil is gone, it's gone." It wasn't as much about what Palin said as how she said it: she spoke in a firm, measured tone, and her manner telegraphed relaxed confidence.

But fast-forward to the next hour in the Fox primetime lineup, where Palin sat outdoors with Greta Van Susteran (filmed, presumably, even before her Hannity interview). This one was a different story, like Palin caves under the stress of being the only one to say the lines. She does exactly that: resorts to cliched, trademark campaign slogans, often repeated twice in the same sentence and peppered liberally with the word "also." She didn't make any more Miss "Like Such As" South Carolina stumbles, but she seemed rushed, as if racking her brain and talking as fast as she could to fill the air. So why does she sound so much better when she's on stage or on set next to John McCain? Better than him, usually? Is it just me, or is her inability to transfer the same confident grace to her solo interviews just a little odd?

Class resentment looks ugly on her. While the Hannity interview was largely devoid of pandering, Palin really brought out the populist lingo on On the Record. She used a million variegated phrases for blue-collor Americans: "everyday Americans," "ordinary, hard-working Americans," and, she even actually said "blue-collar, hardworking Americans" at some point (video here). I would just like to say, Sarah, that I work really hard and I'm not what anyone would really consider rich. Yes, I'm a writer and live in Manhattan, but there's no way I could support a family on what I make, and even now I have to work some pretty long hours to make it happen. I'm your median-income swing voter. So why do I get the feeling you aren't talking to me?

Palin's modus operandi is sounding more and more, as Alisa pointed out yesterday, like anti-intellectualism—Palin leading a charge against educated, successful people with a "we don't need you and your ideas" attitude. Blue-collar doesn't necessarily mean middle class; many blue-collar workers make dozens of times more than I do. Specifying a particular color of collar makes this about more than income bracket. It makes it about class warfare, where labor-force professions are deemed more honorable, more "American," than others. It's as if only middle-class voters who do certain jobs in certain regions count as "hardworking Americans." It's come very close to going something like, "if you make too much money, live in the wrong place, or make your living in media, then we would like you to kindly shut up and stay out of this election."

Of course the middle-class voter's needs and opinions should be part of the discussion. Blue collar workers should have their say. They are a huge part of the electorate, and they matter. But they are part of it. New York is in the United States, too, Sarah, and lots of Americans are "rich." What do you gain by constantly berating those of us who fall into one or more of the categories you don't prefer?

The point is, Palin's red-meat class-baiting has gotten shrill enough, and it's time for her to tone it down. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, and she's just saying the lines someone is writing for her. Either way, it tarnishes what we like about John McCain: the fact that he's not a rural bigot who hates all things sophisticated.

For part II of this discussion, click here.