It’s time to revisit an old topic….it’s Palinwatch, 2009. Yes, our favorite governor from the far North has been busy since the election…and the only way to make certain everyone is prepared for whatever surprises she might have in store for the 2012 election, is to keep up with her (near constant) sideshow behavior.
A personal anecdote, further fueling my disbelief: Let me first say that I continue to fail to comprehend how Palin would be a viable candidate in any sane and rational world…her behavior is too bizarre, her beliefs too eccentric, her ignorance too obvious, her past too scandal-filled, her hypocrisy too clear. But recently a female friend told me (while still wearing a Palin shirt, weeks after the election): “Since I couldn’t have Hillary, I just wanted Palin to win because we need a woman in power.” Really? It doesn’t matter WHICH woman, doesn’t matter what her policies are, doesn’t matter what her character is…just as long as she’s a woman? Apparently, my mistake continues to be in the assumption that it is a sane, rational world.
Moving on, here’s a brief summary of Sarah’s activities in the last few months:
- In an interview with Esquire, Palin chose to take shots at “bored, anonymous, bloggers,” branding them “pathetic.” She cites specifically her frustration with the persistent rumors that her daughter, Bristol, might be Trig’s real mother, and regarding her statement that you can see Russia from Alaska. Her example comes from the Anchorage Daily News…which makes her comments seem a little strange:
-The reporter and editor that blogged about the aforementioned topics were hardly “anonymous” (I can’t speculate as to whether they were “bored“)
-The purpose of their blogging on the topic of Trig was to DISCREDIT the rumors about his birth. Sarah Palin’s persistent, bizarre behavior resulted in them having difficulty doing so for many months. Her initial responses to the rumor (which was in circulation prior to her candidacy, and honestly did seem more than a little suspicious) were vague and uncooperative. When she finally granted access to her records and her doctor, the rumors proved false…which begs the question: “Why didn’t she release the information MUCH sooner?”
-Sarah claims that the media’s treatment of her “Russia” statement was unfair because, factually, you CAN see Russia from Alaska. What she fails to understand is that we didn’t doubt the VERACITY of the statement…we all thought it was absurd to state it as an example of FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE.
- Speaking with People magazine, The Associated Press, and other outlets, she similarly showed disappointment that her children/parenting were criticized, claiming that her children should be “off limits.” She rebuked the media for writing that her daughter Bristol, and her fiance, are high school dropouts…questioned whether or not Caroline Kennedy was receiving the same scrutiny that she received…and criticized Hillary Clinton for “whining” about the media going on to say, “I’m not whining about the treatment of the press, but I am calling reporters on the family aspect of this. I think it’s unprecedented in some respects what I have seen with my children.” A few remarks:
-She seemed more than happy to trot her children out at every opportunity, and to use her family as part of her claim of being some “idyllic, working-class family unit.” Not only is it normal for her parenting and family to be examined (this happens to all candidates, in all high-profile elections)…but she certainly didn’t try to shield them from the public eye.
-Her daughter…and her fiance…they ARE high school dropouts. It doesn’t matter if one or both are taking online “correspondence courses” to go back and finish school. They dropped out, and yes, it doesn’t speak well to her parenting. We’ll file it right next to the whole “I-support-abstinence-programs-and-have-an-unwed-pregnant-teenage-daughter” thing.
-Caroline Kennedy received A TON of scrutiny and media criticism during her “candidacy” in New York…and ultimately didn’t receive the appointment, in no small part because of the scrutiny. Sarah’s prediction that Caroline would succeed where she had failed because of some “media class-driven conspiracy” is inane and unfounded. So are her claims that she is somehow “working class,” for that matter.
-Hillary was whining about the media…and so is she.
- Palin has repeatedly made claims that she was treated unfairly…especially by Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson. Mike Huckabee, in an interview with Esquire, rightly disagreed:
-”Now I must say I did not think that either the Charlie Gibson interview or the Katie Couric interviews were unfair. In fact, if anything, Katie Couric was extraordinarily gentle, even helpful. [Palin] just…I don’t know what happened. I can’t explain it. It was not a good interview. I’m being charitable. I think it was overpreparation. She’d been hammered by McCain’s aides, ‘Say this, don’t say that.’”
- Reason to be fearful: Palin now has her own political action committee, SarahPAC. Their stated purpose, “Dedicated to building America’s future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.” They must have intentionally omitted, “Candidates not bound needlessly by science, the Constitution, and other forms of book-learnin’ nonsense…mavericks!”
- Some big RNC donors are not happy to hear that Sarah’s $180,000 campaign wardrobe…has not been donated to charity as promised. For no discernable reason, it’s sitting in trashbags at the RNC headquarters. They claim they are “in the process” of donating the clothing items to charity…but won’t provide any details or any estimation of when they’ll manage to get this VERY COMPLICATED task accomplished. Anyone who has ever tried to donate clothing knows how tricky it can be…oh no, I was thinking of brain surgery…donating clothes is no problem at all.
-And lastly, two of Palin’s gubernatorial aides, Communications Director and Press Secretary, Bill McAllister, and Anchorage office director, Kris Perry, are being hit with new ethics charges, according to the state Attorney General. Allegedly, they violated the section of Alaska ethics law prohibiting “the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource for partisan political purposes.” Emails and statements by the accused CLEARLY indicate that they were working to promote Palin’s political career while they were supposed to be serving the public interest. The watchdog bringing these charges already has previous charges against the Palin administration for hiring political cronies, and for hiding (or disposing of) thousands of state emails which Palin copied her husband on…and for conducting similar state business from private email accounts. Is this some vast liberal conspiracy to unseat Palin…no, the watchdog is a registered Republican, Andree McLeod, with a history of service to the Alaskan people. Anyone who has followed the bleak history of Sarah’s use of public time, money, and resources for her own personal and political purposes…should not be surprised by ANY of these charges.
Well, that wraps up another installment…I’ll keep my eyes peeled for each new absurdity as they present themselves…