Palin Wows the Crowd.

Funny thing about that word "Wow". It can cover a multitude of meanings. Palin spoke at the invitation of the brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. If you recall, there were some questions raised about the purpose of that engagement.

Her performance, which was closed to the media, divided opinion. Some of those who attended praised her forthright views on government social and economic intervention and others walked out early in disgust.

"She was brilliant," said a European delegate, on condition of anonymity. "She said America was spending a lot of money and it was a temporary solution. Normal people are having to pay more and more but things don't get better. The rich will leave the country and the poor will get poorer."

Two US delegates left early, with one saying "it was awful, we couldn't stand it any longer". He declined to be identified. ...

One Asian delegate complained she devoted too much time to her home state of Alaska. "It was almost more of a speech promoting investment in Alaska," he said, declining to be named. "As fund managers we want to hear about the United States as a whole, not just about Alaska. And she criticised Obama a lot but offered no solutions." ...

There were no apparent gaffes though from Palin, who was mocked during last year's presidential campaign for her lack of experience in foreign affairs and for her verbal blunders. ... "It was fairly right-wing populist stuff,' one US delegate said. Palin blasted Obama's proposals on healthcare, reiterating a previous statement made to the press that the plan would include a bureaucratic "death panel" that would decide who gets assistance, he said.

Another from the United States said: "She frightens me because she strikes a chord with a certain segment of the population and I don't like it."

CLSA, an arm of French bank Credit Agricole, said it closed Palin's session to the media after she indicated that she would have to adjust her speech if reporters were present.

From here.

Wow indeed.

Update: More about Palin's speech here.

Fred Malek, a friend and Palin adviser, told Associated Press: "You can read a lot of things into [her speech] – 'Is she trying to burnish her foreign policy credentials?' and the like. But really, it's a trip that will be beneficial to her knowledge base and will defray some legal and other bills that she has."

Earlier this month, Karl Rove told Fox News that Palin would require extensive preparation ... "She's not going to be able to just get on a plane and take out a pad, [as] she wings her way to Hong Kong and scribbles out a few notes."

What an interesting observation. Is that Palin's habitual, or standard operating procedure in how she approaches speaking engagements?