Rock Star Embarrassment?

November 25, 2008
Rock Star Embarrassment?

Thank you Kelly for sharing that sentiment :-) That is a reference to the note she added to the "Time to Take Campaign Posters Down" article in which she opines that "Sarah Palin is an idiot and an embarrassment to the state of Alaska." Actually, I mean that. I appreciate all opinions here. It would be nice to flesh it out a bit; for instance it might make a lot of difference to some folks to know whether Kelly is an Alaskan or just someone "out there" feeling sorry for us :-) But it certainly represents a fairly widespread opinion and one that begs for a response. So, Kelly, I hope you don't mind, but I'll use your comment as representative of that "mindset". I've been wandering blogs and online news outlets. Clearly there are a lot of folks saying essentially the same thing.

The mainstream online media outlets and the "linked-in sold-out" blogs talk about how Palin's approval ratings in Alaska have "plummeted" giving the implication that now that Alaskans have learned more about her they see her more clearly. This is the equivalent, I believe, of Kelly's comment about how Palin is an embarrassment.

So, I have researched the issue at some length to determine its validity. We are somewhat hamstrung in Alaska because we only have one statewide newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News. ADN is part of the McClatchy chain which means (given the number of times I've known a lot about something that McClatchy reports on, I can safely say) that the paper is inherently untrustworthy and at times it seems that it must be intentionally lying because the only other possibility would be stupidity at a level where they couldn't possibly compose understandable sentences. But, as long as one understands that and can work around it, it is still possible to find the truth in the nooks and crannies of small local papers with an online presence, independent bloggers, going to the cited sources of the ADN articles and finding out what was really said or done, and lots of other ways including just talking to people. So it is with some confidence that I can report that the idea that the people in Alaska are embarrassed by our Governor and that her popularity has "plummeted" due to the enlightenment of the citizenry such that they truly understand her better is total and utter balderdash.

It is true that Palin's approval rating in Alaska did drop. It hovered around 89% to 93% in 2007 (an insanely unsustainable number potentially unmatched by any Governor anywhere ever!) As late as mid-September, 2008, (after the Couric interviews!) it was still the highest of any Governor in the nation at around 85%. By late September, it was down to 68%. This is the "plummet" that folks keep mentioning. It is true that knocked her off top rank. She was, at that point, only the 4th most popular Governor in the U.S. (not quite what I'd call an embarrassment). In fact ... virtually any politician would sell their soul for ratings that high. (Palin is one of those rare politicians whose soul really isn't for sale. The Big Oil boys found that out to their chagrin.) But it does keep the evangelical right (of which I am not a member) happy, and gives her that "God is on my side" power that I personally find distasteful but has a substantive demonstrably positive effect.

But back to her "plummeted rating". I seldom do this, but I'm going to give some significant space here to the folks over at FemiSex.com. They are pro-female but definitely not generically Republican or right-wing. Indeed, most were Hillary supporters (which should give them at least a little more credibility with the Kelly's of the world than I have :-). I won't quote it all here, although it is tempting to do so. If you'd like to, it just takes a click on this link! The article is discussing a posting by a "Palin-hater" about her plummeted rating:

"It is ... wonderful as an exemplar of how the press inflicts fatal blows to female candidates. … Proof Positive that the Media inflicts violence upon women candidates by a sustained pile-on of besmirchment ...

Up until the media told us all over.. and over.. and over.. and over.. again what a dolt, sinner, adulterous, contriving, ambitious, book-burning, vicious Bitch Palin is ... Palin had an 80 % approval rating in Alaska by her constitutes.

LET ME REPEAT THIS: UNTIL THE MEDIA SAVAGED PALIN, SMEARING HER DAILY, SHE HAD A SOLID 80% APPROVAL RATING ...

Then came a poll—a poll taken a mere three weeks after the Lefty Press gang-smeared Palin in a manner befitting their conduct towards Hillary Clinton.

Guess WHAT?????????? Palin’s approval rating fell 12 points. Now does any intelligent person think the manner in which she governed Alaska changed in three weeks? For crying out loud, the woman has been campaigning the entire time!! There is zero chance Palin committed anything policy-wise to make Alaska’s citizens turn against her by 12 percentage points.

And there is ZERO chance that her past efforts and successes and failures changed. (There is a 100% chance the media perpetuated lies about Palin, such as the continued fabrication that the woman tortured rape victims, and afterward put on witch-clothing and burnt books toasty at the public library, while having adulterous sex with an unknown entity, faked a pregnancy, and toasted male testicles on the remnants of her book fire.)

When a woman is in the mix, the press spins things into such ludicrous negativity, invents stories, and ABOVE all fails to outline the many positives ... Hats off MSM, u’ve done it again. First with Clinton, now with Palin. NO woman running for Top Doggie or 2nd Doggie is safe. We hear u loud and clear ...

-Now just try to tell me that Media did not Kill off Hillary. Tell me about how Joe Biden lied about being shot at in Afghanistan. Wait, you haven’t heard about that if you're in middle American and listen to the six o’clock news.

-Now tell me about Hillary’s sniper fire lies. Sure, that u can quote verbatim. Round the clock negative coverage kills female candidates. If I had a nickel for the # of women who’ve said to me: “I really liked Hillary, until I didn’t.” When they didn't occurred during the media hate frenzy towards Clinton.

There is almost no way anyone could hold up against such sustained smearing..."

I honestly don't know that the media is that anti-female. It certainly is possible. But it is quite clear that the press intentionally attempted to destroy her, whether it was because of her gender or, my theory: that the Obamamedia was scared to death when she showed up because her incredible charisma had crowds reacting like she was the world's greatest rock star and they thought that if they didn't destroy her she might be able to drag McCain across the finish line.

If they had treated Obama the same way they'd treated Palin ... McCain would have won in a landslide. I have never before witnessed such vicious lock-step attempts at utter character assassination.

But a funny thing happened on the way to her destruction. People paid [the ever so self-important punditocracy] less attention than they believed they should. Oh, it was enough to elect Obama. But Palin's star is continuing to rise like crazy. I also assume that she will be back up in the 80s statewide in her approval ratings soon if she is not already. (Even when she was "down" at 68% she still kept a 93% favorable rating with Alaska Republicans!) And her star is not just Alaskan any longer.

CNN reports: "Oprah wants her, and so do Letterman and Leno. Fresh from her political defeat, Sarah Palin is juggling offers to write books, appear in films and sit on dozens of interview couches at a rate that would be astonishing for most Hollywood stars, let alone a first-term governor. Sarah Palin continues to attract huge media interest despite her failed bid to become vice president.

[Governor Palin] crunched state budget numbers this week ... Meanwhile, her staff fielded television requests seeking the 44-year-old for late-night banter and Sunday morning Washington policy. Agents, including those from the William Morris Agency, have come knocking. There's even been an offer to host a TV show.

'Tomorrow, Gov. Palin could do an interview with any news media on the planet," said her spokesman, Bill McAllister. "Tomorrow, she could probably sign any one of a dozen book deals. She could start talking to people about a documentary or a movie on her life. That's the level we are at here.'

'Barbara Walters called me. George Stephanopoulos called me,' McAllister said. 'I've had multiple conversations with producers for Oprah, Letterman, Leno and 'The Daily Show.' Palin ...[has]... returned to Alaska with an expanded, if unofficial, title: international celebrity."

And! The lady has coattails! The Republicans are still scraping and scrounging to try to keep the Democrats from getting that 60 seat filibuster blocking majority they want so badly.

As McClatchy reports: There are still two undecided positions in run-off campaigns and those two will determine whether they get their 60 chairs or not. One of those elections is in Georgia. So, in an incredibly close and critical situation in which their degree of national power for at least the next two (potentially incredibly important) years hangs in precarious balance ... what do the Republicans do? They call Sarah!

It is a tight, tight election. So they reached about as far distance wise as one can go in this country to bring in who they call "the closer". Sarah Palin will be in Georgia on Monday campaigning (at least four big rallies are planned so far) for Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.

So ... sorry, Kelly, but the idea that we are so embarrassed that we have a Governor who is so incredibly popular nationwide with the people (even if clearly not the lockstep media) that they beg her (and pay her way) to come clear to Georgia to win this thing for them just doesn't pass the smell test.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution entitled their article about it: "Ohmigoodness ... the goddess descends."

She is featured at the top of Chambliss's web site to help attract people to the rallies which are expected to be so packed you need to RSVP reservations!!! Chambliss spokeswoman Michelle Grasso said "She has a lot of support, a lot of fans down here. A lot of people are very excited that she's coming ... I think it's absolutely the way you want to end a runoff."

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile is campaigning for the other side [the big guns are out on both sides for this one]. Donna says "Saxby Chambliss is calling out the cavalry because he needs to motivate his base". So now even the top Democrats figure Sarah is the cavalry!

She's not skipping out on Alaska business ... she is going to be in the area anyway. She'll be meeting with Obama and other invited governors in Philadelphia in a big bipartisan attempt to figure out how to deal with the ailing economy.

And of course, she just returned a couple weeks ago from the Republican Governors Association meeting in Miami. Alaska governors often attend these functions, but it was a little different this time. Even McClatchy says: "She dominated media attention at the conference and did an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. 'Poolside paparazzi' photos were even taken of her and circulated on the internet."

I have to agree with one of my commenters that I'm not 100% sure I'm thrilled to have a rock star governor. But are Alaskan's embarrassed by her? I don't think so.