So, did you know Sarah Palin lost the election? Here, let the AP remind you (My bold throughout)...
Oprah wants her, and so do Letterman and Leno. Fresh from her political defeat, Sarah Palin is juggling offers to write books, appear in films and sit on dozens of interview couches at a rate that would be astonishing for most Hollywood stars, let alone a first-term governor.
Gosh. Fresh from that defeat and all? Imagine.
But, wait. Not to be outdone by the first paragraph, the second paragraph goes one better. It starts OUT telling us she is a failure.
The failed Republican vice presidential candidate crunched state budget numbers this week in her 17th-floor office as tumbling oil prices hit Alaska's revenues. Meanwhile, her staff fielded television requests seeking the 44-year-old Palin for late-night banter and Sunday morning Washington policy.
Now, the AP continues for a few paragraphs not mentioning her abject, ignoble failure, but just when you are lulled into a false sense that the AP wants to do anything other than constantly sling arrows Palin's way comes the 7th paragraph with a helpful reminder that she is finished as an effective politician.
Palin may have emerged from the campaign politically wounded, with questions about her preparedness for higher office and reports of an expensive wardrobe, but she's returned to Alaska with an expanded, if unofficial, title -- international celebrity.
Wow, I wasn't aware of all of that messy stuff about her, were you? Thank God the AP is here to enlighten us!
But wait, the AP wasn't content just to mention those messy issues. A few paragraphs later the AP has to bring them up again and expand on them.
In her two months on the national stage, Palin energized the Republican base but turned off moderates and independents, according to some surveys. Flubbed answers in national television interviews raised questions about her competence. She was embarrassed by the disclosure the RNC spent at least $150,000 for designer clothing, accessories and beauty services for her and her family.
And, just when you thought that all the Palin smears were to come only from the AP, guess what? AP found an "expert" to bash her, too. I know, imagine that, right?
"She has to deal with the perception that she bobbled her debut," said Claremont McKenna College political scientist John Pitney. "She needs to stay home for a while. If she wants a future in national politics, her No. 1 job is doing a good job as governor."
In other words, Johnny wants Palin to shut up and stay in Alaska and above all not to try and keep her profile up!
But, not to be left behind by other bashers, the AP gets one last shot in. Palin is painted as a shirker.
Just this week, shortly after conducting a string of national TV interviews and skipping a state education conference, she was scolded by the Anchorage Daily News.
This "story" by the AP is twice as long as it needed to be because it is stuffed with needless harping on her "failures." But this piece does reveal one thing quite clearly. The Associated Press simply cannot fathom why anyone would want to interview Governor Sarah Palin. Not only that, but with the constant reminders that she lost the election, the AP wishes to ingrain upon the reader that she is unworthy of the acclaim and celebrity that has come her way.
But, let me give the AP a few reasons that Sarah Palin might be worthy of the curiosity. She only excited the base of the largest part of a national political party that has held the reins of power on and off since 1980. She brought out thousands of excited voters at every appearance she made on the campaign trail. She thrilled and invigorated a party convention that was sure to have been moribund and boring.
Millions of votes, AP. THAT is why she deserves to at least be given a shot to be heard, a shot that you and your media cohorts did their level best to stifle.
So, AP, let me introduce you to Governor Sarah Palin.
(Photo credit: FoxNews.com)
