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Sarah Palin on Oprah and the blinking of her eyes
by Allison Waldman, posted Nov 17th 2009 4:29PM
I watched The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday to see the one on one between two of the most powerful and influential women in America. Whether you're a fan of Oprah Winfrey or Sarah Palin, there was no doubt that they command a large chunk of public opinion. How could I not see what they would be like in an interview setting? My impression was that they both were completely civil and reserved. I didn't pick up the makings of a great friendship, not that that was likely considering Oprah's support for President Obama.
Still, what I found interesting was that if you read the body language experts, they're reporting that Sarah was not nervous. They're coming to that conclusion based on her ability to control her blinking. Over-blinking mean you're agitated and a normal blink per minute rate -- 30-40 blinks -- is normal. Sarah was blinking normally.
The body language experts also thought her posture indicated deference to Oprah and they saw her entrance as uncertain. I disagree with the latter. In my view, Sarah came out very confidently and she hugged Oprah before Oprah hugged her.
Here's what I picked up and this is not based on any body language, just my impression. Sarah Palin was not comfortable. She was on guard. I don't blame her. After her travails with the media, she should be on guard. Oprah wasn't aggressive or nasty to warrant that stance, but I think it was more that Sarah has been burned and she's learned to keep her dukes up. That makes her smart.
But because of that wariness, the interview was a bit of a bust. I didn't hear anything I wasn't expecting to hear and they were very careful to not step on each other's toes. No revelations. No sparks. No bombshells.
So the bottom line for me was this... meh.
P.S. Please note that I did not discuss politics here. Let's not get into that, okay?
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