I was reading some of my classmates' blogs this morning for fun, and I was deciding what my blog should be about, too. It was between the process editors have to go through regarding stories that might or might not be "appropriate" and something that has to do with copy editing.
After reading Scott Frankel's entertaining blog this morning, I will write about neither. I'll have to take the other side of his conclusion this morning.
He wrote about the media coverage of Sarah Palin and how we have been, for the past week, inundated with all things Sarah Palin. She has given a plethora of interviews, including multiple ones to CNN; she also let Matt Lauer interview her as she was cutting up some food in her kitchen in Alaska and as one of her daughters wore high heels (really! she was in the background and could be seen rummaging around).
Scott wrote, "I think it’s best for her to stop feeling the need to constantly defend herself in the public spotlight. Just go on with life." But readers, try to put yourself in Palin's shoes. Pretty much, imagine get skewered, slammed, and slimed all across America. Imagine getting strongly made fun of and being the punchline of every influential comedian and talk show host across America. Imagine being one of the key reasons that a genuine war hero can be ensured he will not be the next President of the United States. Imagine getting thrust on the national scene unexpectedly and botching a couple of interviews.
You'd feel the need to defend yourself, too. And Palin has every right to "clear her name" and try to let the American people know who she is and understand her side of things. Scott wrote, "It’s almost as if she’s insecure, and feels the need to constantly tell America that she can be a successful leader." Well, I don't know about the insecure part, but she clearly feels the need to let America know she can be a successful leader and that she isn't a joke. She wants to remind America that she isn't who the media made her out to be -- she did have a meteoric rise to the governor's mansion and knocked off the sitting Republican governor in the primary race. Impressive stuff.
Scott, the prank phone call thing occurred before the election, I believe, and that Africa as a country debacle is only according to some "unidentified" John McCain source -- but we can't see transcripts of those conversations and know what really went down. Clearly, the McCain people want to thrust the blame on her; they clearly don't have the capability of being generous and respectful -- like McCain himself. These things, for Sarah Palin, are important to clear up. If she wants a chance to have a greater future and be involved in politics on the national level and maybe run for president herself, she feels she has to clear up the drubbing she has taken.
Simply staying quiet was not an option, considering the McCain campaign kept her well-hidden. The McCain campaign mishandled her. Showing fear that a vice presidential candidate cannot hold an interview does not showcase confidence to a country.
Well, now she's everywhere and has rightfully explained her side of things regarding clothes and that African country thing (kind of strange for her to say she was taken out of context, though! That's not a straight up denial ...). To answer Scott's question, all of this attention is good, not bad, because she at least gets to tell her side of the story.
Of course, none of this changes some of my concerns I had -- and most of the country realizes she is too extreme and unquestionably not knowledgeable enough regarding domestic and foreign affairs -- at least, not even close to Joe Biden's, McCain's, or Barack Obama's knowledge. So, she has tried to undo the damage that has been done, but that damage will last. She seems to be popular within her own party, which is always a good thing. Like many have said, Democrats would love to see her win the primary for the presidential nomination in 2012; it would be a "gift" to us Democrats.
But first she had to clear a few things up. And unlike Scott, Bill Maher, and others, I do not blame her.
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4 comments:
A part of being a journalist is seeing every story from every angle, and most of the time there is always more than two sides to a story. Yes, I agree Palin has a right to defend herself and attempt to clear her name, but the media attention she was getting seemed silly and very tabloid-ish. If the media really wanted to do their job they should have done more fact-checking into the validity of the McCain campaign's statements, rather than make this a "they said" "she said" debate. This type of journalism is pointless and does not encourage intelligent discussion, but instead forces people to choose sides.
Was Palin attacked? Yes, but that is the price of being a public official and voluntarily putting yourself in the public's eye. Her defensive interviews with the media seemed to make me only consider more that McCain's statements were true. Sometimes saying nothing at all sends a very clear, mature message.
I can see where an actor/actress who's been in one film could be confused and angry about the media's incessant barrage of paparazzi.
Politicians need to realize, however, that every single thing they do will be scrutinized and magnified. And why is that? They're running for office. People tend to not like secret scumbags anywhere near the oval office.
Our girl Sarah made the bed. She has since slept in it.
It's interesting to see her at the governors' meeting with Barack today, the mini-hive again perched atop cheekbones and LensCrafters.
By the end, the McCain-Palin ticket was a farce. It could make for a great film, though -- just imagine Ben Stiller playing a freshly retired W. with Tina Fey, galivanting about the Heartland.
It would be our Gone With the Wind.
In the future I would actually prefer you quote me as "Sir Frankel." "Scott" is solely used in school, as to not intimidate my peers with my real name -- Sir Arthur Conan Abraham Lincoln of Nazareth Frankel.
Haha, but all joking aside, I appreciate the rebuttal entry. But I still must stick with my original argument -- Palin became a political, pop culture, public figure that she wasn't ready to become. And her coverage, pre- and especially post-election, shows this.
Drake, let's write that script together...
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