THE US REPORT

Commentary by Kay B. Day

[Photo of Gov. Palin from Alaska Governor website.]Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) heads to Florida November 24 and organizers are preparing for what will likely be a warm welcome. Palin, new book and perseverance in hand, will visit supporters in Jacksonville, The Villages and Orlando. Palin’s press tour in conjunction with the release of ‘Going Rogue’ has garnered deep coverage from print, Web and traditional TV networks. From the moment Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced her as his running mate in the 2008 elections, Palin drew media like a ripe orange draws wasps. Obviously, she still does.

During the presidential campaign, branded national media, mostly tilting left editorially, skewered the woman who personified Main Street. Reporters even investigated where Palin’s clothing came from. No reporter ever questioned where then-senator Barack Obama’s suits came from. Or for that matter where the junior senator himself really came from politically. That’s still a subject for a debate that has yet to take place. Not a single reporter asked the big-spending senator about the nearly $1 billion in earmarks he sponsored or co-sponsored.

Ironically as neoliberal media maligned Palin, only The National Enquirer came forth to divulge high profile democrat John Edwards’ adultery. That adultery occurred as former trial lawyer Edwards’ wife battled cancer, even as he projected himself a devoted husband and keeper of family values. Edwards followed Democrat presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton [he also campaigned on family values the first go 'round]  in a traditional path of viewing women as either sexual objects or political career helpmates.

In ‘Going Rogue’ Palin said, "Slowly and steadily, my record, my administration's efforts, and my family's reputation were shot to hell." [Pg. 373]

Most grassroots conservatives believe Palin rescued McCain’s ailing, uninspired campaign. She had the ‘it’ factor that brought thousands out to rallies and campaign events.

Some conservatives, primarily upper crust politicos, were as critical as political class Democrats. Palin obviously had not been trained to deal with national media, and gaffes with neolib anchors drew ridicule. Ironically Obama was clueless as to the number of U.S. states and then-senator Joe Biden was clueless as to Franklin Delano Roosevelt [Katie Couric was clueless to the male candidates’ gaffes as well.]

Neolib media still give a pass to Obama and other Democrats. One example is the infamous exaggerated bow Obama performed before the Japanese emperor. As Democrat-allied media rationalized about the bow, Newsbusters revealed the facts, courtesy of an excellent video created by a young Republicans' group.

Palin still draws fire. Fox News said the Associated Press assigned 11 reporters to fact check Palin’s book. Not much has been said about fact-checking Obama or Biden’s books. And like other establishment media, the AP did not dog the John Edwards story either.

We must point out the Heritage Foundation revealed the Associated Press is outsourcing news to nonprofits. Heritage said, “Earlier this summer, the 163-year-old news cooperative announced it would distribute ‘watchdog and investigative journalism’ penned not by its own staff or that of member papers, but by four outside groups: the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, Calif.; New York-based ProPublica; and two D.C. outfits, the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) and the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.” Most of those groups would be described by even a moderate conservative as far left.

The practice raises an issue the Federal Trade Commission recently addressed regarding bloggers—if those nonprofit pundits are paid for content, should there be full disclosure when a newspaper picks up an investigative wire story penned from an ideological standpoint from the AP?

Whatever media brings on, Palin appears to deal with it in her usual head-on manner. It’s hard to tell where her latest venture will take her, but one thing’s for sure. Palin represents the heart of Main Street and for that, she is admired by those who do not feed at the public trough from a political class pedestal and disdained by those interested primarily in politics rather than common-sense substance.