I thought it “startling” because she has never done this and withstood a tougher grilling than any of the other three of candidates, to my recollection, have received. I thought “startling” because her demeanor and presentation is superior to that of politicians with years of experience. That said, the truly impressive part of the interview was the second half where she essentially debunked the “religious fanatic” meme ( and showed a better recollection of her own words than the ABC researchers). As to the Bush Doctrine moment, she essentially got it “right”– with adequate intelligence information we have the right to act in our national security — and was smart enough to get Gibson to spell out what he was looking for. My guess is that if she did as well as she did in this one, by the time of the VP debate she’ll be more than fine.