WSJ- Does the Media Fear Palin?

[1480]

Interesting op-ed piece I ran across this morning:

Even as the Obama camp ponders how best to handle John McCain’s veep pick of Sarah Palin, the high priests and priestesses of the media have marked her as an apostate. The Beltway class is in full-throated rebellion against a nondomesticated conservative who might pose a threat to their coronation of Barack Obama and the return of Camelot-on-the-Potomac. …

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1220...w_and_outlooks

Quick but interesting read.

[Sea Demon]

Yes. The media and the Democrats both fear Palin. She is in the second spot on the GOP ticket, yet outshines the top of the other ticket, which is Obama. Obama's meager experience as "community activist" is being outdone by a female governor of a state that provides 20% of America's energy and 13 billion in revenues. She's actually had to make tough executive decisions unlike Obama. And she's not afraid to tell it like it is about her opponents. Yes, they're scared of her.

[SUBMAN1]

I love this part!

...We are instructed that Mrs. Palin isn't qualified, because she lacks Washington experience. But until recently that was said to be a virtue in Mr. Obama, who is at the top of his ticket....

-S

[SUBMAN1]

This is also good!

...The irony is that while Senator Obama is running on change, his acceptance speech made explicit that he's promising only more power and money for Washington. Sarah Palin's history of taking on the career politicians of a corrupt Alaskan GOP machine -- her own party -- shows that she's the more authentic change agent....

-S

[joegrundman]

Does the media fear Palin? Apparently the WSJ does not. The WSJ is media, isn't it?

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by joegrundman

Does the media fear Palin? Apparently the WSJ does not. The WSJ is media, isn't it?

Not what I would call the mainstream media - CNN, NYT, etc. They are a financial peice.

Nice try though.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

More on it:

-S


Palin Draws Cheers, Respect, Fear

Hockey Mom Sarah Palin unquestionably fired up the Republican National Convention last night. As Dan Balz wrote in his analysis of her acceptance speech, the GOP's vice presidential nominee "proved to be an instant jolt of energy for a political party that has been worried and demoralized for much of 2008."

She also fired up our Readers Who Comment -- both for and against. Usually comment strings on political stories wind up largely in the hands of one side or or the other. But those on this article, at the hour of this writing, seem fairly evenly divided between Democratic and Republican sentiments.

The tone of the comments from both sides suggest that this candidate will not be written off as a lightweight, despite her small-town, small-state political resume. You can read respect or fear (you choose) in the remarks from those who appear to be Democrats. Palin clearly came across as a formidable battler who understands and enjoys political combat.

We'll start with AlexZ83, who wrote, "...Judging by the stunned media reports and the low-key comments of the liberal pitbulls tonight, Palin polished up the Democratic Party completely! I'd like to see the "independent" media go after her one more time.... if they dare!"

But davestickler said, "Maybe it's just me, but I felt her speech was boilerplate meanness. I didn't notice a vision for what America should be, nor did I hear anything in her speech that should relieve her of the questions about her lack of policy knowledge..."

debera109 wrote, "Oh man, she is awesome! I cannot wait to see more of her in action. She was inspiring tonight. Finally, finally, I get to vote for a women on a presidential ticket whom I admire immensely!..."

But DianeW18 said, "She's perfect for the Republican party, nasty, mean, divisive, vindictive, full of venom...and delivered with a perky smile. Welcome to your new and improved GOP..we still suck at governing but we can wage war during elections..and usually find a way to win..."

Wordyguy wrote, "...I voted for Hillary here in Wisconsin and sent her what I could afford. Governor Palin has convinced me that it's Ok to vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin...and send them what I could afford..."

Cognomen08 said, "I'm kind of glad the Republicans are feeling confident. I don't miss the terror alerts."

jmcauli1 said, "Well, chalk the VP selection up to the Republicants... The Dummercrats had better disarm her quickly... make no mistake, the Republicant ticket is now a dangerous animal."

regleoboy said, "...she is someone who will stand toe-to-toe with [Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph] Biden in a debate. It would be a terrible mistake for Biden to approach this woman from a position of empathy... Palin has officially fired-up the Democratic base and as we thank her, we shall proceed to "squash" her..."

choskasoft, whose computer apparently doesn't have question marks, wrote, "In case anyone was wondering what the opposite of hope is, we learned tonight that it is hate... It's game on for the future and soul of America. Do we want hate. Do we want permanent war. Or do we want to come together to actually make America truly great..."

GeneGuffey said, "I think the Governor Palin speach is going to be well recieved in all the small towns across America as she stated quite openly - I am going to be serving the People of the United States - not the media. A real breath of free air is going to Washington DC in the name of the people."

And mollycoddle1 observed that "The Republican base seems to love her. I don't get it. It looks like they are doing the same thing that they did in 2000 with GWB. They just liked him... McCain picked a showhorse to win the contest. Pure and simple."

LTADM said, "...As someone who volunteers with many community groups, I was insulted with the reference to as if someone who organizes with community groups work is not valued. It was the typical GOP platform, fear and attack... just because one does not agree with the GOP position, does not make one unpatriotic..."

rscott251 wrote, "I just love the posts's deriding her experience, when she has more than Obama. And she is only the VP nominee, not the Presidential nominee. That tells me, Obama supporters are running scared..."

We'll close, not with a comment from a reader but with the last paragraph from Post television critic Tom Shales's review of Palin's speech. He wrote, "She proved herself in the great arena; that's what counts politically. Nobody could watch that speech and still consider her a joke, no matter how flimsy her credentials and qualifications may seem on paper. The joke, it seems, is on those who'd been laughing at her. Last night the laughing ended -- and the cheering began."

All comments on the Balz analysis are here. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dot...for_palin.html

[Sea Demon]

Palin will eat Biden alive during the VP debate.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Sea Demon

Palin will eat Biden alive during the VP debate.

That might make it interesting to watch!

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Not what I would call the mainstream media - CNN, NYT, etc. They are a financial peice.

Nice try though.

-S

They sell more papers in the US than anyone except USA Today.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

They sell more papers in the US than anyone except USA Today.

Mainstream media to me means "General News". Distribution is not the same. This is a financial paper.

-S

[Tchocky]

It's not specifically a financial paper, though. Certainly in origin, but not in practice.

Simply put, only one other paper reaches more people via print.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Not what I would call the mainstream media - CNN, NYT, etc. They are a financial peice.

Nice try though.

-S

The Wall Street Journal has roughly twice the daily circulation of The New York Times. Thus, it is a mainstream paper, whether you would call it that or not.

EDIT: It has also been a major political outlet since 2006.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

It's not specifically a financial paper, though. Certainly in origin, but not in practice.

Simply put, only one other paper reaches more people via print.

Everything has blogs about other topics. This is one case. The primary focus is not on general news like "Mainstream Media". This is why the guy who wrote this article in the WSJ writes it like the way he did.

Get the picture?

-S

[SUBMAN1]

I think we need a definition of Mainstream Media in this thread!!! Someone find it.

-S