Patterico's Pontifications

9/3/2008

Sarah Palin Speaks Tonight

Filed under: 2008 Election,Media Bias — DRJ @ 2:18 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Sarah Palin speaks tonight at the Republican National Convention. I haven’t surveyed the internet but I did watch CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News this morning. It’s fair to say she is the number 1 story on those channels and there is widespread anticipation (or dread) at hearing her speak.

McCain’s announcement that Sarah Palin was his VP pick also energized the media and bloggers. I can’t possibly link all the Palin stories in the last few days but here are three that address how the story has been covered:

Via LGF, Reuters celebrates how the “online rumor mill” led by liberal bloggers forced Sarah Palin to reveal her daughter’s pregnancy.

Rich Lowry at NRO surveys some of the new Palin-haters.

In Tuesday’s lead article, the Politico claims Sarah Palin has single-handedly “reignited the culture war.”

The Politico wonders: Can the GOP stop talking about Sarah Palin?

It’s true the GOP needs to talk about McCain and Palin but there’s nothing unusual about several days’ coverage after the announcement of her selection as McCain’s VP. It’s news and right now Sarah Palin is interesting to the media and the public. But I don’t think many in the media are worried Palin will overshadow McCain. I think what they really mean is “Let’s talk about Obama.”

I also watched a group of Republican women on CSPAN criticizing the media and bloggers for their sexist response to Palin. I agree the response has been sexist and I’m glad they objected to it. But the overall point is a widespread bias for one candidate and against another. Sexism is the tool used to discredit Palin, just as sexism was used against Hillary Clinton and racism was used against Bill Clinton. I wonder if Hillary or Bill will say something further on sexism?

— DRJ

18 Responses to “Sarah Palin Speaks Tonight”

  1. JD, Are you out there?

    Icy Truth (614178)

  2. I wasn’t sure if they would do it but the Clintons (through their aides) have weighed in on allegations of sexism:

    Sarah Palin found some unlikely allies Wednesday as leading academics and even former top aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed the Republican charge that John McCain’s running mate has been subject to a sexist double standard by the news media and Democrats.

    Georgetown University professor Deborah Tannen, who has written best-selling books on gender differences, said she agrees with complaints that Palin skeptics — including prominent voices in the news media — have crossed a line by speculating about whether the Alaska governor is neglecting her family in pursuit of national office.

    “What we’re dealing with now, there’s nothing subtle about it,” said Tannen. “We’re dealing with the assumption that child-rearing is the job of women and not men. Is it sexist? Yes.”

    “There’s no way those questions would be asked of a male candidate,” said Howard Wolfson a former top strategist for Clinton’s presidential campaign.

    DRJ (7568a2)

  3. I couldn’t help notice that the RNC is very different that the DNC.

    There is almost a total lack of color in the
    delegates.

    They seem to be all white with a heavy emphisis
    on male vets.

    They seem to think they have a corner on
    love of county and service to country.

    I appreciate all the sacrfices of the vets
    but the GOP does not have an exclusive
    on patriotism.

    I love my country and have served in, without
    joining in any foreign war.
    I beleive we would be better served in the
    long run if we incresed particpation in the
    Peace Corps and Volunteer Corp than trying
    to liberate, and install demorcracy by
    force.

    Richard Brown (56a0a8)

  4. I am a vet as well, as was my father (also a POW) and his father before him. I am insulted by the premise that the Republicans have an exclusive on Love of Country. I love my country. I love her enough to feel pain when I see her straying from her ideals. I am horrified when I see her letting her children suffer in poverty and illness. I am devastated when I see her fine young men and women sent to die in foreign lands on the basis of lies and misrepresentations. I am angered when I see her leaders lay waste her precious resources for their own selfish ends.

    John McCain and Sarah Palin seem both to be wonderful people that love their country and their families. I would be honored to know them. But I do not want them leading my country.

    We need new leadership with new ideas. People who will represent us with intelligence, creativity, honor, and with a willingness to use diplomacy before force, thought before action, and kindness before rhetoric. We need Barrack Obama; we need him to help us find our way again as a nation.

    Bill Peterson (39564c)

  5. Yeah! We need Barack Obama. Never mind the fact that you can’t even spell his FUCKING name; you’ll still pull the lever for him.

    Icy Truth (6189a6)

  6. Palin is the poorest public speaker I have seen in politics, and you mean to tell me the Republicans of ALL people are allowed to play the sexism card? Wait a minute. Where was the outrage when Hillary was told to go home and iron shirts? I don’t even understand how this woman became governor of the state of Alaska. It goes to show you, some people can be unqualified (Palin), and its considered a victory while others have to work harder to prove themselves in spite of their efforts.

    Zion (ecd2ee)

  7. No hard work required to be a troll.

    Icy Truth (6189a6)

  8. Palin’s speech would have been great if any of it had been true. It was just more loud bluster from republicans trying to distract voters from the issues. There was a lot of sarcasim and little else, at least nothing of value. I can’t understand how so many people can be lead by these republicans to their own ruin.
    Did you notice the buttons many of the republicans were wearing? If that’s not sexist I don’t know what is.

    ksforobama (8269eb)

  9. ksforobama, that’s pretty special coming from an Obama supporter.

    The reason you were surprised by what she said, is that like all Obama supporters, you’ve been ignoring the empty suit your party nominated. It was all true – especially every word that she and Rudy said about Obama.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  10. Zion, us Republicans have been outraged by Obama’s dirty campaigning for years. Welcome to the club.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  11. bsforobama – Which site did you copy and paste that from ?

    JD (75f5c3)

  12. I thought I was watching a WWF wrestling match. Hardly anybody knew her, and yet they screamed and yelled and worshipped her, calling “we love you.” What has happened to our country, that we prefer to elect a person we don’t know, who wouldn’t even get her foot inside the door for a job interview for the 2nd most important and demanding job in the world? Why would people react to her scripted speech like she’s a wrestlemania star? I guess we just want actors to run our country!

    Jane-Des Moines (d671ab)

  13. we prefer to elect a person we don’t know, who wouldn’t even get her foot inside the door for a job interview for the 2nd most important and demanding job in the world?

    As opposed to electing someone who wouldn’t even get his foot inside the door for a job interview for the 1st most important and demanding job in the world?

    Funny, your Dems have rejected Biden, soundly, every time he ran for President, yet you have no problem with him.

    Wrestlemania? Did you watch Baracky?

    JD (75f5c3)

  14. Not impressed. More of the same mud slinging politics from the right. Republicans just don’t get it. We’re behind Barack Obama because he talks to us about real issues and solutions, and doesn’t waste our time with angry negative rhetoric about the right. John McCain is desperate, and it shows.

    Tracey (df5a3a)

  15. What has happened to our country, that we prefer to elect a person we don’t know, who wouldn’t even get her foot inside the door for a job interview for the 2nd most important and demanding job in the world

    You’d have prefered we make her the presidential canidate like you Dems did?

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  16. We’re behind Barack Obama because he talks to us about real issues and solutions

    Name me three solutions he has proposed…

    And then, because I want to challenge you further, list for me any 3 pieces of legislation Obama has authored.

    Ever.

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  17. Scott Jacobs–

    For starters how about creating 5 million green collar jobs by investing 150 billion dollars over the next 10 year’s to catalyze private efforts to build clean energy resources.

    Education: Obama will roll back the No child left behind laws. The program itself had the right ideas, but Bush never really funding or designed the program effectively. What does this change look like? Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB’s accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

    Solution #3. Trade, and keeping jobs in America.
    Fight for Fair Trade: Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports.

    Now, as far as bills he’s authored in the Senate..here you go.

    Senator Obama has co-sponsored the Working Family Child Assitance Act along with Senators Snowe and Lincoln, to adjust the income requirement for the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit.

    Senator Obama cosponsored Dru’s Law which creates a nationwide sex offender database and requires greater monitoring of sex offenders upon their release from prison. The bill passed the Senate in July of 2005. This legislation was incorporated into a larger bill, the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, which Senator Obama supported and which has been signed into law.

    Working with Senators Akaka and Craig, Senator Obama passed legislation in December 2006 to provide comprehensive services and affordable housing options to veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development and nonprofit organizations. This legislation was signed into law and is modeled on parts of the SAVE Act and the Homes for Heroes Act, a measure that Senator Obama had previously authored.

    Tracey (df5a3a)


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