Well, my cross-dimensional transmitter works in both directions so I am now picking up Friedman's column from across the wormhole in the other universe:
The Sarah Palin Phenomenon is doomed.
Doomed, I tell ya! DOOMED!
But it's not because of her lack of foreign policy experience or her deer-in-the-headlights look during part of her interview last week with ABC's Charles Gibson.
You mean that heavily edited interview with Charles Gibson in which just about everything that would put Palin in a favorable light was cut out? Please continue to entertain us from whatever dimension you are posting from:
The primary reason why the Palin bubble will burst is that the media will decide that they are bored with her. They'll need to move to shine a light on a fresh issue or individual.
Have they decided they are bored with Obama the Lightworker yet? Probably not if we are talking about the alternate liberal universe in which The One will heal the sick and make the seas fall. However, let us not interrupt Friedman while he authoratively lectures us about how Palin is just a mere passing fad:
This is how the world works in the age of 24/7 news cycles. Whether the subject is Britney Spears, Michael Jordan or Sarah Palin, we inevitably raise stars to mythic levels, out of all reasonable proportions. Then we knock them down. (Look out, Michael Phelps. Your time is coming, too.)
Yes, in just six weeks in the alternate universe we will all have forgotten about Sarah Palin. Meanwhile she is attracting crowds that exceed even those of the beloved Barack. Please continue your treatise from the Land of Oz, Mr. Friedman:
It isn't a case of quixotic behavior by reporters and editors. Internet sites, blogs and cable news operations all thrive on presenting fresh headlines and updated story angles as often as possible so readers think we're on top of things. The news world moves at warp speed.
Keep in mind that Friedman was the "genius" who predicted that YouTube phenomenom was just some passing fad. Here is his subsequent apology for being so wrong:
"...the YouTube phenomenon has taken over the country. Media. Communications. Business. Everything. Society. Young people. It's all in there. And I was sure wrong."
We now return you to Mr. Prediction:
The interview with Gibson may be remembered as the first brick being pulled out of the wall. The reviews weren't favorable from the media in the segments when Gibson asked Palin questions about foreign policy.
For instance, the New York Times called the exchange "strained." The Washington Post-owned Slate went so far as to say that "The ABC News anchor flummoxes the GOP amateur."
I'll be interested to see how Palin -- not to mention McCain and the Republican campaign machine -- reacts when the media's disillusionment sets in for real. Their actions may determine the course of the 2008 race.
Yeah, Sarah will be just some passing fad like that YouTube thing. We now bring you to Friedman's money quote. Try not to burst out laughing in the hilarious way he characterizes Charlie Gibson:
Gibson, as dignified a newsperson as America has now, treated Palin fairly and didn't resort to hectoring her with "gotcha" questions, either.
Friedman follows up with a couple of other Charlie Gibson punchlines:
Palin's supporters may be chagrined that their candidate didn't sound more self-assured or expert when she discussed Alaska's relationship to Russia. But Gibson didn't try to trip her up. He pretty much asked the kinds of questions I would have put to Palin as well.
Gibson treated her with the respect befitting a vice presidential candidate. ABC, while discussing the interview Friday on "Good Morning America" unleashed political correspondent Jake Tapper to assess the "truthiness" of Palin's remarks on the ABC show.
Charlie was just too good to Palin...in the alternate universe. And now a suggestion for Jon Friedman. Close your eyes, lean back, and click your heels together three times while repeating: "Sarah Palin will disappear! Sarah Palin will disappear! Sarah Palin will disappear." Perhaps your wish will come true...but only in your alternate universe where YouTube was just a flash in the pan like hula hoops and pet rocks.
