Palin in Debates

From Contentions, John Podhoretz writes:

To be a governor, even to be interested in being a governor, is by definition to be a policy wonk. The job is nothing but policy. The fun of the job is policy.

That is not true of legislators at all levels. Despite the clear bias, over decades, on the part of the Washington press for senators and (to a lesser extent) House members on the matter of experience and knowledge of the workings of government, it is far easier for those officials to coast on the strength of their staff members and their flesh-pressing, fundraising talents.

But governors grapple daily with the most tedious innards of governmental action. I've never met one, and I've met several, who didn't have an overpowering command of the details of the state budget, the peculiarities of the relation between the state and Washington, and the demands of satisfying constituents by delivering services and dealing with public-sector unions that want to deliver fewer services for more money.

This is one of the reasons why governors have done so well, in the modern era, as presidential candidates, even if they lose (four of the last five presidents have been governors). It's not just that they can claim to have run something; it's because, in the early going especially, they know how to impress people with their ease in dealing with policy matters.