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Inspirational election be damned. Weâve heard plenty of inspired rhetoric and historic wonderment. Letâs get on to the good stuff: gossip!
New reporting delivers thrilling behind-the-scenes details to reveal the real Sarah Palin, and itâs a hoot!
Palin didnât know the countries involved in NAFTA! And that Africa was a continent! She refused coaching for the Couric interview! She opened the door in a towel! She went off the talking points when she brought up Bill Ayers! The vetting process was âtruncatedâ!
This is a heavy dose of gossip, and watching Fox Newsâs Carl Cameron deliver his report on The OâReilly Factor, you cannot help but notice his glee. His juicy tidbits were previously held in his off-the-record vault, until the election was over. Now, heâs free to spill.
During the broadcast with OâReilly and also with Shepard Smith, Cameron reports:
We are told by folks that she didnât know what countries were in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, that being Canada, U.S., and Mexico. Weâre told that she didnât understand that Africa was a continent, rather than a country just in itself….
Taking those few seconds to explain what NAFTA stands for, and rattle off its member nations, Cameron illustrates a kind of âduh-everyone-knows-thatâ derision toward Palin, now that heâs no longer obligated to cover her as a candidate. Andrew Sullivan called Palin âthe gift that keeps on giving,â and boy, are his palms itching to do the unwrapping.
The cult of personality surrounding Palin is still going strong. Yet the tone has changed: during the campaign, the press attempted to carefully navigate sensitive topicsâPalinâs religion, her daughterâs pregnancy, and so on. But now that the polls are closed, it seems, no need for caution remains. Now, articles stuffed to the brim with quotes from unnamed campaign aides help to write the final chapter of McCain-Palin 2008. Both The New York Timesâs expose and Newsweekâs upcoming election recap rely heavily on quotes from anonymous campaign advisors, previously silent during the run-up.
The sourcing itself has inspired its own share of speculation, specifically about Randy Scheunemannâs role in leaking inside info to the Timesâs William Kristol. This minor drama is interesting enough, but doesnât nourish the appetite for gossip as much as do Fox, Newsweek and the Times.
But the retroactive focus on Palinâs flaws serves two purposes: yes, it feeds the gossip mongers, but it also deflects attention from McCainâs failed campaign. For his staffers, blaming Palin is easy; accepting the blame themselves is harder to swallow. After weeks of sitting on these juicy gems, reporters canât be blamed for wanting to spill. But, I, for one, am looking forward to the serious stuff once the giggles die down.
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