Your Mileage May Vary

Which, of course, is the tag line I add to most of my… ummm… “controversial” posts and/or ideas. I do this out of a sense of politeness, a written recognition that opinions are like noses, everyone has one and no two are exactly alike. (Yeah, I know… the original quote wasn’t about noses at all. But leave us not digress.) So, with the explicit understanding that your mileage may indeed vary, here’s my take on Governor Palin and the media.

I’ve sensed over the last few days that Governor Palin is being cited by a lot of folks as THE reason they won’t vote for a McCain/Palin ticket. As a matter of fact, one of my Blog-Buds is firmly in this particular camp, as demonstrated in his comments here (first comment in the thread). But… here are a couple of items I find noteworthy in this particular space. First, a few excerpts from Brit Hume’s Special Report panel discussion… specifically what Charles Krauthammer has to say (highlighted):

KRAUTHAMMER: What's remarkable about the reaction to Palin is not only the unfavorable. It's the loathing, the absolute hatred that you hear, especially from intellectuals, feminists, sort of east coast, west coast, pointy headed. And this is because —

EASTON: But some conservative women, too.

KRAUTHAMMER: But this had a pedigree. It didn't just start.

In the '80's, you had the Margaret Thatcher and Jeane Kirkpatrick who were considered because they were not liberal, they were conservative.

They were actually — it was said of them as has been said of Sarah Palin, they were not women because you couldn't be. If you were a conservative. You were, by definition, a patriarchal thug. And if you happened to be a woman, it was simply in women's threads.

EASTON: That is not true. There is a lot of respect for Jean Kirkpatrick. There was. There was a lot of respect for her.

KRAUTHAMMER: The viciousness with which she was attacked as a contradiction in terms, a conservative woman.

In Palin's case, I think what adds to it is her decision at her age with four other children to have a down syndrome child. This, too, as Joseph Epstein wrote, in feminist circles if abortion is not about this, what's it about?

And they look at her as sort of a back room — a backwater hick, who, for religious reasons, went ahead and had a child that they would never have.

Underneath it, I think, deep underneath it, I think it's a self-loathing on the part of these feminists, knowing that what she did is virtuous and a generous act that they would have never have undertaken. And her having undertaken it is an affront to them, a silent rebuke.

Keep in mind… Krauthammer is a licensed (although non-practicing) psychiatrist, so he should/would know from whence he speaks, particularly in this space. But Mr. Krauthammer only addresses one small slice of the anti-Palin pie, albeit perhaps the most vocal group in opposition to Governor Palin. But the anti-Palin mob is much deeper and wider than pissed off radical feminists. And how could your average American not be disenchanted with Alaska’s Guv’nor, given all the negative press she’s received? (Assuming, of course, one lives somewhere other than Alaska, where her approval ratings are still high, although they’re lower than they used to be. Dubya would probably kill for her current numbers… just sayin’.)

Enter Newt Gingrich. A lot of EIP readers will have already seen this video, since a lot of you watch Faux News, myself included. But Ol’ Newt is on an absolute tear in this video… ranting about the media’s coverage of Governor Palin. This video is just one of two vids… but the meat is in the first installment, which I’ve chosen to publish here. The video is about nine and a half minutes long…

Part Two is here. I’ve said this elsewhere… but when the history of Campaign 2008 is written, the media campaign against Governor Palin will go down as one of the most successful media campaigns… ever. It doesn’t really matter if it’s the truth or not… it’s whether the media’s campaign succeeded or failed. In this case, and at this point in time, when all the sticks seem to be falling in Obama’s favor… one would HAVE to conclude the campaign is successful beyond The Left’s wildest expectations.

Shame. Shame on them. My contempt for today’s media… teevee AND print… knows no bounds.