Say It Ain't So, Sarah! Palin Uses Government Resources to Publicize Her Pain

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White

Much was made of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's recent whining over how she was treated by the media as Sen. John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election. In an interview with a conservative filmmaker for his new movie titled Media Malpractice... How Obama Got Elected, Palin faults the media for practically everything up to and including her failure to win the vice presidency.

But that shot off the bow apparently wasn't enough for Palin. She went further last week, complaining about the media's treatment of the interview in which she complained about the media. But the truly reprehensible part about it is that she used public resources to do so, publishing a press release on the official governor of Alaska's Web site titled, "Governor Says 'There You Go Again' to Salacious Nature of Recent Reporting."

Her main beef was with the right-of-center news Web site Politico.com, which published a story about the interview that concentrated on Palin's response to a question about the treatment of Caroline Kennedy in her bid for the open Senate seat in New York.

From Palin's press release:

Particularly troubling was a post on Politico.com titled, "Palin: Media Goes Easy on Kennedy." The headline inflames the governor's quote in the transcript, in which she answered a question about media treatment of the prospect that Caroline Kennedy would be appointed to the U.S. Senate: "It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be."

"I was not commenting at all on Caroline Kennedy as a prospective U.S. senator, but rather on the seemingly arbitrary ways in which news organizations determine the level and kind of scrutiny given to those who aspire to public office," Gov. Palin said today. "In fact, I consider Ms. Kennedy qualified and experienced, and she could serve New York well."

Palin may be glossing over a few things, however. Politico merely wrote that Palin "believes Caroline Kennedy is getting softer press treatment in her pursuit of the New York Senate seat than Palin did as the GOP vice presidential nominee because of Kennedy's social class."

Which is pretty much exactly what she said. Politico never said that Palin thought Kennedy was unqualified for the job.

Palin also insisted that the media has printed lies about her family and then never corrected them, even after she requested a retraction. However, in every instance in which she insists she's been wronged by liars, she hasn't yet provided proof of the contrary, and generally refuses to answer reporters' inquiries.

This is evident in how she went after the Anchorage Daily News. The newspaper has been trying to put to rest rumors about Trig's birth, and asked Palin's staff a few additional questions about it recently. Palin's angry press release alleged that, in trying to disprove the rumors with factual evidence of Palin's pregnancy, the Anchorage Daily News is giving "credence to the sensational allegation that the governor's child, Trig, is not hers."

That assertion also appears to be an exaggeration at best. On their editor's blog, the Anchorage Daily News posted an e-mail exchange between the paper's publisher and Palin, prefacing it with the following:

"The newspaper never took seriously the conspiracy theory that the governor did not give birth to her son Trig, but that recently we had made an effort to document his birth in pursuit of a story about why the Trig rumors, while baseless, are apparently so widespread and persistent."

I would encourage readers to read the e-mail exchange; it's quite entertaining and sheds additional light on the extraordinarily indignant acrimony Palin is able to dredge up at the drop of a hat. She even writes "say it ain't so" at one point, for all our readers who might be missing her charming colloquialisms.

But the fact that Palin is totally off base in her accusations is beside the point. Palin's obsession with her own victimization makes it impossible for her to see how inappropriate it is to post such self-pitying aggrandizement on a government Web site.

From Troopergate to Trig, Palin has always had a difficult time separating public from private. This is part of the reason the media latched on to reports about her family. When you parade your children around as campaign props, you shouldn't be surprised when people start asking questions about their lives.

The press release amounts to a highly personal rant against the media. Palin airs her grievances in an area that should be reserved for official government business. Even if the press release were truthful, it's highly inappropriate.

That said, I'd love to see BuzzFlash attacked in an official gubernatorial press release issued from Juneau. After all, we've given this attention-mongering governor plenty of free press, and it's about time she returned the favor.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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