Patterico's Pontifications

9/3/2008

More Mainstream Media Meltdown

Filed under: 2008 Election — DRJ @ 10:31 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Following Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention, the Politico published this article noting support for Palin from unlikely sources – an academic and a former Clinton aide – who believe Palin has been the victim of sexism.

That must have been hard for the authors to swallow because later on, in a section that was both smug and snide, Palin was compared to some surprising people:

“A choice that was intended to shake up the race did so with more ferocity than McCain ever intended. The mother of five — with one pregnant teenage daughter and an infant son with Down syndrome — has joined a parade of personalities from Anita Hill to O.J. Simpson to Monica Lewinsky to become a cultural flash point.

As the controversy over her qualifications and McCain’s vetting process overwhelmed events here, hypocritical rhetoric was flowing at full tide on all sides of the debate.

Many conservatives, who spent a generation ridiculing the politics of victimhood and group identity, are now zealously invoking both in the Twin Cities. A common GOP talking point here is that Palin’s gender and experiences as a mother should be counted as an asset among her qualifications.”

Hick that I am, I still get the point. The Politico thinks Palin is just another flash in the pan getting her 15 minutes of trailer-trash fame.

If they keep this up, Palin could be the beginning of a permanent Mainstream Media Meltdown.

— DRJ

32 Responses to “More Mainstream Media Meltdown”

  1. I’m beginning to understand what elections in Putin’s Russia are like.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  2. Giving a speech is easy, for a politician. It’s what they do.

    Stupid f***ing Dems. They tore down expectations to where all she had to do was show up.

    She was great. I would love to see her as VP and then maybe as President.

    Daryl Herbert (4ecd4c)

  3. Beginning the meltdown?

    Alan Kellogg (e4e5b6)

  4. Palin = OJ Simpson??

    whaa…??

    Oh come on. If they’re going to go there, why not Ted Bundy or Charles Manson?

    meshugga!

    Darleen (187edc)

  5. Alan Kellogg,

    Thanks for pointing that out. I meant to say this could be the beginning of a permanent Mainstream Media Meltdown but I flubbed it. I’ve added the word permanent above.

    DRJ (7568a2)

  6. Curious — comparing her to OJ Simpson. I don’t think Palin as ever killed anybody.

    Ted Kennedy on the other hand ….

    wls (969303)

  7. THOUGHTS ON SARAH PALIN’S RNC SPEECH – In a word, nauseating. Gov. Sarah Palin, who we are being led to believe is a ‘conservative’s conservative,’ had the opportunity to outline her policies in a clear and coherent fashion. She had the opportunity to share her vision of America, and how starkly it contrasts to the socialist vision of Barack Obama. Instead, we got sarcasm, whining, and just plain old nastiness. The partisan hacks in attendance ate it up with a spoon, of course; but I can’t help but feel that 75% of America was watching and thinking ‘this is Dick Cheney in a skirt,’ only nowhere near as shrewd. We got the tired neo-con lines about terrorism, Islam, protecting poor little ole’ Israel, so on and so forth. Absent a 9-11 type disaster sometime in the next 63 days (always a possibility, I suppose), that is not going to sell in the year 2008. Not a chance, as most Americans have woken up to the GOP fear mongering, which is why Obama’s pie-in-the-sky rhetoric of ‘change’ and ‘hope’ is working as well as it is with the still-quite-ignorant masses.

    Very little was said by Mrs. Palin about our flat-lining economy, only the standard GOP line about cutting taxes. Worse, however, were the unfunny and grossly excessive one-liners, solely focused on Obama’s lack of executive experience and the fact he will raise taxes. First off, Barracuda, you are running for vice president, not performing stand-up at a comedy club. Secondly, and more importantly, she failed to truly present just how dangerous Obama and his ideology really is for America. Par for the course for the entire McCain Campaign to date; they won’t dare touch the really juicy stuff, such as Obama’s communist and terrorist connections, or his sordid affair with the homosexual Larry Sinclair. If Sarah Palin really wanted to jab Obama, she would have called Obama out, in front of millions, for what he really is … a Marxist! Mrs. Palin, to her credit, has been a very strong pro-life voice. Yet, did we hear the word ‘abortion’ mentioned even once in her spiel? She had the opportunity, in front of the whole world, to bring attention to Obama’s enthusiastic – and documented – support for the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, otherwise known as infanticide. No, instead we got lame jokes about him being a ‘community organizer.’ Yeah, you really came out swinging, Governor. Finally, the whining about the media was just plain pathetic. However bad the MSM is, it’s not their fault that Mrs. Palin’s 17 year-old daughter was stupid enough to get herself knocked up.

    I was prepared to perhaps put aside my eternal cynicism and give you a chance, Sarah Palin. Although skeptical, I thought maybe – just maybe – a true American and true Christian had somehow managed to sneak herself onto the top of a major party ticket. On the surface, Palin’s record looked pretty damn good. What’s beneath the surface, however, is truly scary. One of only two conclusions can be drawn: Either Gov. Palin is a typical politician knowingly masquerading as a ‘maverick’ (like McCain himself) and laughing all the way to the bank; or, she is an ignorant, airhead dupe who is being used by McCain and the GOP in the most disgusting way possible. Either way, I feel a deep sense of sorrow for the Palin children – even the stupid one who got knocked up by her loser boyfriend – much in the same way as I do for Obama’s little girls. The one thing I could always respect about George W. Bush, if nothing else, was that he refused to use his young daughters (now grown) to grab votes. Perhaps the same can be said for McCain today, as we never see much of anything about his children. Palin and Obama, on the other hand, only seem too happy to parade their families before the camera. Palin is actually showing herself to be worse than Obama in this regard, if that’s possible, but that may be only because Obama’s girls are too young to get pregnant, and were fortunate to be born healthy. Perhaps, Mrs. Palin, if you really have conservative family values, you should quit the campaign trail, resign the Governorship, and stay at home and be a mother to your infant, special needs son. Sarah Palin is so typical of women these days: They want their cake and want to eat it, too.

    All of this has only served to cement my conclusion that McCain is the designated loser, and thus is throwing the election. The fix is in, Obama will be president, and the country will go to hell once and for all. Sarah Palin will go back to Alaska, and the dopey people up there will think of her as some sort of folk hero for trying to stand up to the big bad wolf (Obama), when in reality she played a great role in handing him the presidency on a silver platter! McCain himself, like his friend John Kerry before him, will spend the rest of his days in the Senate, fat, rich, and happy while the country crumbles. The cycle of deception and death goes on and on. I hate to sound like Michelle Obama, but on this evening I am most definitely NOT proud of my country! At least not the shell of a country it has become.

    Merriam-Webster definition of ‘Barracuda’: One that uses aggressive, selfish, and sometimes unethical methods to obtain a goal especially in business.

    Sunking278 (bc8b7d)

  8. DRJ: Think back with me, and you’ll remember that the MSM also melted down over Ronald Reagan.

    He ended up being pretty impervious to it. They were still mocking him even after the 1980 election. The turning point, as I recall it, was after the assassination attempt, with him cracking the one-liner from a hospital gurney, referring to the surgeons who were about to operate on him: “I hope they’re Republicans.”

    After that, they continued attacking, but never with quite the same meanness and scorn.

    Beldar (aec07e)

  9. Darleen – Oh come on. If they’re going to go there, why not Ted Bundy or Charles Manson?

    Because Manson would remind everybody of Obama’s friend, Bernadine Dohrn.

    Apogee (366e8b)

  10. Sunking (#7): I have some advice for you. Actually wait for the speech to be delivered before writing your rebuttal and then cut-and-pasting it around from your own pathetic, anti-Semitic, hateful blog. For example, you guessed wrong: Although Gov. Palin (like Sen. McCain) is a strong supporter of Israel, the word “Israel” doesn’t appear anywhere in her speech.

    You’re a strange, nasty person, as your attack on Sarah Palin’s daughter and future son-in-law confirms. You can’t possibly know anything about them, other than one fact — that she’s pregnant. And yet you feel privileged to savage them in public.

    You have my pity. Also, I regret the four minutes I’ve spent thinking about you and reading things you’ve written — I need a shower.

    Beldar (aec07e)

  11. Sunking: You’re a creep. ‘Nuff said.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  12. Beldar – #8 Excellent point. I also remember (during Reagan’s Presidency) first hearing the exclamation that Reagan had ‘ruined’ the country and ‘destroyed’ the economy.

    Now the left can’t stop saying the same things about Bush. Makes you wonder how many times you can ‘ruin’ the American economy. It must be pretty resilient.

    They should make this script into a film and be done with it.

    Apogee (366e8b)

  13. You can’t sunking any lower than #7.

    Apogee (366e8b)

  14. What is worse than a Mainstream Media Meltdown is a political fringe meltdown, such as comment #7.

    BTW, if it matters to that person, Gov. Palin did not mention Israel.

    Icy Truth (6189a6)

  15. Icy #14 – Gov. Palin did not mention Israel.

    Aha! See?

    Apogee (366e8b)

  16. The O.J. comparison might be apt. I’m sure Obama and Biden feel like they got shivved.

    Jim Treacher (592cb4)

  17. As I listened to the speech, I imagined Obama watching it. It HAD to be uncomfortable. That speech masterfully hit virtually every last stupid thing he’s done in this campaign.

    Just awesome.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  18. You ought to do what I’ve done and go reading through the comment sections of some of the nastier leftist blogs. They are PISSED and they are whining. They know Palin got in some great shots — and they really scored because she didn’t seem bitter or nasty. So they’re pathetically (and bitchily) trying to portray her that way to the people who didn’t actually watch.

    I can smell the fear.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  19. #17 – Patterico

    As I listened to the speech, I imagined Obama watching it. It HAD to be uncomfortable.

    — What was uncomfortable for Obama was the blow to his ego as she kept referring to him as “our opponent”.

    Icy Truth (6189a6)

  20. Patterico #18 – I can smell the fear.

    That’s the smell of soiled leftist pants that haven’t been changed since Friday.

    Apogee (366e8b)

  21. As I listened to the speech, I imagined Obama watching it. It HAD to be uncomfortable. That speech masterfully hit virtually every last stupid thing he’s done in this campaign.

    Yep. And with any luck, it’ll trigger more of the same. If his initial response is any indication — “She didn’t write it herself!” — he’s going to have problems. It’ll be hilarious to watch all these talking heads work harder and harder to avoid admitting they’ve propped this guy up.

    Jim Treacher (592cb4)

  22. Obama’s reaction: “She didn’t write it herself!”

    Will Andrew Sullivan demand a paternity test from Obama proving Obama wrote his speeches?

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  23. Obama is missing a pair.
    Sarah “Surgeon” Palin at work.

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  24. Patterico – If you thought that Baracky was uncomfortable watching Gov. Palin’s speech, how do you think he felt when Rudy Giuliani was vivisecting him?

    JD (75f5c3)

  25. Comment by JD — 9/4/2008 @ 5:54 am

    Guiliani was teh awesome. Even better was the mile wide beaming he was doing all throughout her speech. So obviously proud of her.

    GOVERNOR Palin eviscerated Sen. Obama and it was a thing of beauty to see the months of empty platitudes so cheerfully and efficiently shredded. I think that explains a lot of the rejoicing, and certainly mine.

    With her + McCain I think we’re gonna win. It’ll be close, but I think so.

    no one you know (1f5ddb)

  26. I was surprised by Gov. Palin’s speech; she can deliver a witty and sarcastic sometimes sharp attacks on the Democrats, with cool aplomb and humor. She turned her weaknesses–lack of major political experience as a small town councilman and mayor–into political strengths–touting her belief that her experiences as mayor of a town less than 9,000 and her short executive experience as Governor (20 months)as strongly demonstrating both her character/values and her hands on effectiveness in bringing about reforms.

    Does spunk and wit and determination and results as a small town mayor and governor of a state of 870,000 people really qualify her to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency?

    Sen. McCain appears to have made this decision for Gov. Palin, very quickly and impulsively surprising everyone. Apparently, he consulted few (if any) major national or Republican leaders.

    Thus, one of the most important decisions as a candidate appears to have been made with little thought or careful vetting. Remember, he had months to make this decision.

    This gives us a clue as to ‘how’ a President McCain might lead us in a national crises.

    Do we need another President who leads from the ‘gut’?

    This is a man who prides himself on being a ‘rebel’ and a man who likes to take big risks. He is known in the Senate for exploding in anger and rage such that one of his own colleagues in the Republican Party is fearful for the nation if he has hands on the red button. Taking big risks can bring needed and positive change, but it can also end up in a big disaster.

    Is bold risk taking and impulsive decision-making what we want in our next leader?

    Where is the “balance” in the Republican ticket?

    We have two self-described mavericks; two people who love to take the big risks; two people who enjoy taking political risks? And, a potential President in Sen. McCain who can be very impulsive and subject to angry rages.

    Who is going to apply the ‘brakes’?

    Who is going to offer a strong word of experience and caution? Who is going to be there to ward off a major mistake that could hurt the nation from impulsive action?

    In the Cuban missle crisis in October 1962, President Kennedy was being strongly urged by his advisors to take immmediate military action against Cuba.

    General Curtis LeMay of the Air Force was ready to send bombers into Cuba. Indeed, without authorization from the President, he sent bombers with nuclear weapons near the borders of the Soviet Union, ready for an all out attack.

    Decades later, Sec. Robert McNamara former Secretary of Defence. during the Kennedy Administraion. was shocked to hear from Premier Castro himself in a visit to Cuba that if the US had attacked in 1962, Castro would have launced nuclear missles at the US. At that time, Sec. McNamara was surprised to hear from Castro that Cuba even had operational and armed nuclear missles!

    In shock and horror, Sec. McNamara asked Castro if he realized that this counterattack would have resulted in the total annihilation of Cuba and its people? Castro said “yes, but he still would have done it!

    Sen. Kennedy’s caution and coolness under crises saved us from a possible World War III.

    Sometimes, cooler calmer heads, can keep us from taking the quick impulsive action that can greatly harm us and save us from ourselves.

    Sen. McCain has already ‘joked’ about bombing Tehran with a mocking play on the Beach Boy’s song “Barbara Anne”: “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran, bomb….” And, Gov. Palin has stated that she believes that the task of the war in Iraq was “from God.”

    Is this the change we want?

    Joseph Cappleman (b3e819)

  27. Sen. Kennedy’s caution and coolness? Someone enlighten this obamabot about how cool the much exalted JFK was and how Khrushev took him to school? Just who got us in the pickle to begin with, what asshole backed down from supporting the Bay of Pigs invasion? So much revisionist history being undertaken in recent years about the sins of liberals. IMO Kennedy was out of his depth as Obama will assuredly be, even with his 300 foreign policy “advisors”. Just look how the anus handled the Russian/Georgian affair with moral equivalency.
    If Iran is a danger and wants to threaten the world’s oil and Israel, we should at least stand back and allow Israel to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, impotent and in the pocket of despots UN Security council be damned.

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  28. very quickly and impulsively

    Not supported by the facts. But do not be afraid to let that MSNBC meme “she was not vetted” be passed along.

    appears to have been made with little thought or careful vetting. Remember, he had months to make this decision.

    Again, not supported by the actual facts, despite your assertions, and those of the media. Just because she was not on their radar does not mean that she was not vetted.

    Joseph – Good copy and paste rant. Now run along back to that rock you crawled out from under.

    JD (75f5c3)

  29. for JC @ #26…
    FYI, I was on active duty in the USAF at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
    Gen LeMay did exactly as his orders required him to do. When the National Command Authority takes the nation to Maximum Alert Levels, it was the job of SAC to put every strategic bomber into the air, and to get the missiles ready to fire on a moments notice.
    That McNamera was unaware of what the true situation was in Cuba, both militarily and politically, does not surprise me. What many of us learned under his leadership is that he lived in his own little world that had no relation to the one we operated in.
    And, Yes! We came very close to a full-blown Nuclear exchange; but, it wasn’t because Curtis LeMay was exceeding his authority.
    It was because the egg-heads that gathered in the WH were woefully incapable of dealing from a position of strength. And, they couldn’t talk a good game either.
    BTW, who was in charge of the DoD during the events in VietNam prior to Tet?
    Robert McNamera!
    Probably the worse Sec of Defense (or Army, or Navy) this country has ever had to endure.

    Another Drew (22a60f)

  30. max @ #27…

    Does that work for you?

    Another Drew (22a60f)

  31. 26, JC, FYI, it was the Purple Kevins who did the parody, “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iraq”.

    Now, make like Patrick Star(fish) and go back to sleep under a rock.

    PCD (5c49b0)

  32. 29. AD – that was awesome! Thanks for your service and for taking down this cut-and-paste hack that I doubt will be showing up again anytime soon.

    Jack Klompus (cf3660)


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