From the very beginning this has been a crazy race. Candidates counted out early on came back to upset the favorites. Established favorites made very odd choices (i.e. Giuliani not competing until Florida, Clinton not competing in caucus states) basically handicapping their own campaign. This last week, the media has added a somewhat new wrinkle to this already crazy race, borderline insanity. Media bias is nothing new, ask any Clinton or McCain supporter, and they can give a dozen or so examples of the media’s double standard. However, as Governor Palin arrived on the scene the media appeared to come unglued. Networks sent crews to Alaska to investigate Palin’s daughter. The rumor mill unleashed a string of nasty and unfounded accusations about Palin and her family. People like Whoopi Goldberg have made comments referring to Palin as ‘Nazi’ like; granted Madonna already compared McCain to Hitler, but ‘Nazi’ seems a tad harsh for simply accepting the Republican vice presidential nomination. Reports have surfaced that prominent female Democrats are being asked to attack Palin, like that is somehow more appropriate than a man attacking her. Frankly, it’s unclear if that tactic is sexist or stupid, but what is apparent is that Governor Palin has knocked the left wing media on its ear.
If the media had a modicum of decency and perspective they would start asking questions about actual issues. The irony to the media’s obvious bias is that they’re actually drumming up sympathy for Palin. By the looks of Governor Palin’s speech on Wednesday it is sympathy that is neither sought after nor needed as she can clearly handle the media. However, the press has been so ridiculous in their coverage of Palin that they have not only destroyed any remaining credibility they may have had, they missed an opportunity to ask legitimate substantive questions. At some point they will likely have to get back to asking questions of substance, but their behavior over the last week and a half has shown them as completely untrustworthy.
Filed under: Clinton, Independent, McCain, Moderate, Obama, Palin, Politics | Tagged: palin alaska, palin media, palin bias, palin stories, palin family