Sarah Palin released her new book, “Going Rogue,” this week and has gained the attention of national mainstream media once again. The more she makes herself known, the more she furthers her silly public image.
Unlike Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain and all other actual politicians who have to confront real domestic and global issues, Palin quit her job so she would have time to write a book about how people have insulted her in her lifetime.
As the Wall Street Journal’s Thomas Frank said after reading the book, “She reminds us that someone hacked her e-mail, that she got a prank phone call and that she once saw someone wearing an insulting T-shirt in Philadelphia.”
Not only is the book filled with pettiness, but also, according to the fine people of the working press who took out time to read the book so I wouldn’t have to, it is filled with a number of inaccurate mishaps.
The Associated Press fact- checked the book, as they have done with other confusing documents lately (see the House health care reform bill), and found Palin really isn’t different from any other politician when it comes to truth.
You can read what the AP has to say on your own time, but perhaps her biggest manipulation is she said she has stood against the government bailouts Obama has supported.
The AP reports, “Palin is blurring the lines between Obama’s stimulus plan . and the federal bailout that Republican presidential candidate John McCain voted for and President George W. Bush signed.”
Although Palin briefly stood against the federal bailouts early in her blossoming career on the vice presidential campaign trail, she quickly aligned with her party and her running mate in support of them. So much for her book description, which draws her out to be a “reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual.”
The reason I bring all this up is not because I particularly care about whatever Sarah Palin is up to these days (I’m not worried at all she will become the next president). But the fallout among her fans from the criticisms levied against her in the media is the really interesting story. Specifically, why do people still like Palin?
For instance, let’s look at FOX News, the golden deposit of fairness and balance. In a news article written by Robert Schaffer, you can sense a bit of whining and complaining about Palin’s allegedly inaccurate statements.
“Reviewing books and holding public figures accountable is at the core of good journalism, but the treatment Palin’s book received appears to be something new for the AP,” Schaffer said.
Schaffer brings up the fact the AP usually runs “more traditional” reviews of the books of high-profile politicians.
We hear nothing in the article about whether or not the AP’s fact-check is, in fact, true. Apparently, the truth doesn’t matter in this postmodern world of ours. What matters is “the media’s obsession and maltreatment of the hockey mom from Wasilla,” as the article goes on to say, and the fact “Palin supporters believe 11 reporters poring over every word of her book is excessive.”
Or, as Palin bemoaned on her own Facebook page, the media could be fact-checking other things besides her book, like “what’s going on with Sheik Mohammed’s trial, Pelosi’s health care takeover costs, Hasan’s associations, etc.”
Poor Palin. If only the media would stop doing annoying things like running fact checks and being accurate.
Actually, the media’s attention toward Palin is not excessive if she lies, or at least makes false statements and contradicts herself.
Matt Watson is a graduate student majoring in Spanish. He can be contacted at [email protected].