Friday, September 12, 2008
Sarah Palin as tar baby
OK, you're not supposed to say "tar baby" any more, but according to its Uncle Remus meaning that is exactly what Sarah Palin has become. The media have grabbed hold of the governor and cannot let go, no matter how much it hurts the Obama campaign. Mark Steyn:
Howie feels the press is being "manipulated" by the McCain campaign.
Maybe it is. A conventional launch strategy for a little-known vice-presidential nominee might have involved "manipulating" the media into running umpteen front-pagers on Sarah Palin's amazing primary challenge of a sitting governor and getting the sob-sisters to slough off a ton of heartwarming stories about her son shipping out to Iraq.
But, if you were really savvy, you'd "manipulate" the media into a stampede of lurid drivel deriding her as a Stepford wife and a dominatrix, comparing her to Islamic fundamentalists, Pontius Pilate and porn stars, and dismissing her as a dysfunctional brood mare who can't possibly be the biological mother of the kid she was too dumb to abort. Who knows? It's a long shot, but if you could pull it off, a really cunning media manipulator might succeed in manipulating Howie's buddies into spending the month after Labor Day outbidding each other in some insane Who Wants To Be An Effete Condescending Media Snob? death-match. You'd not only make the press look like bozos, but that in turn might tarnish just a little the fellow these geniuses have chosen to anoint.
Yeah, that's what happened. Karl Rove mind rays caused the chattering classes to completely farookin' insane. It cannot possibly be that they are getting confused signals from their Democratic overlords, one moment writing things that would get them sued for hostile environment sexual harrassment if they actually said them in a normal American workplace, and the next deciding that their irritation means ipso facto that John McCain exercised poor judgment in selecting her.
If John McCain is as lucky as he is smart, the lefty pundits and bloggers -- for example -- and their allies in the press will keeping hammering Saracuda all the way to Halloween.
4 Comments:
By 
Gordon Smith, at
Fri Sep 12, 03:38:00 PM:
Well, the fact that McCain himself is now lying about Palin's record is actually news. You may believe this will backfire as the right takes an Attack-The-Media stance and rallies to defend their arranged bride.
In fairness, he's lying to appease the hard right wing rather than trying to bring over independents. Even Powerline is tying itself up in knots trying to defend Palin's shifting Bridge To Nowhere stance.
She really didn't know what the Bush Doctrine was in the Gibson interview. That's some really basic stuff. It was embarrassing.
There's the obfuscation regarding her stance on global climate change. In the Gibson interview she told him that he couldn't find an instance in which she said humans weren't contributing to global warming. Well it didn't take long - she said so on August 28th to Newsmax:
"A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”
You seem to infer that the media scrutiny of Mrs. Palin will make more people rally to her through a reflexive response to defend.
But once folks know that she's misleading them on the facts, unprepared on the basics of American policy, a creationist who believes in a young earth, and a global warming denier, I can't imagine that she'll appear to be anything but a failed attempt by a desperate candidate to co-opt the "Change" message through the boldest deceits available.
By K. Pablo, at
Fri Sep 12, 05:39:00 PM:
Gordon, do you know what the Bush Doctrine is?
By Gary Rosen, at
Sat Sep 13, 07:04:00 AM:
"Gordon, do you know what the Bush Doctrine is?"
I hope somebody knows, because Gibson sure doesn't. By the way, was the "Bush Doctrine" actually enunciated by Bush himself, or is it just a phrase coined by the media? And if the latter, why is it so important for Palin to know what it is?
By JPMcT, at
Sat Sep 13, 08:20:00 AM:
HMM...I was not aware that state governer's could request congressional earmarks. I must have taken the wrong civics class. I would have commented on that video if You Tube didn't edit and delete politically inconvenient dialogue.
Personally, I thought McCain acted like a true gentleman with that collection of howling harpies yapping in his face. Compare that to Obama's reception on the same show...handshakes, high fives and powderpuff questions.
The "Bush Doctrine" was coined by Charles Krauthammer, a Washington Post columnist. His latest column actually asks Gibson to correct the record as Gibson clearly did NOT understand what he was talking about...and Palin clearly DID.
Gordon should get his information somewhere else than You Tube and the Daily Kos. I suppose we sill soon see a post from him about Palin appearing in a red, white and blue bikini and an assault rifle...and McCain is trying desparately to cover her up!!!
