I've made no secret of my disdain for Sarah Palin. I didn't like her when she was tapped to be our Vice President, I laughed at her countless screw ups during interviews, and I applauded her high-schooler-lost-the-homecoming-crown-to-more-popular-girl attitude after John McCain lost the presidency to Barack Obama. These days, I don't really pay attention to her antics if I can help it, but she's been in the news a lot lately: Her daughter ("Teen-Activist, Bristol Palin!") was just on Dancing With the Stars, Sarah is on a book tour, and the whole Palin clan landed themselves a Mark Burnett produced reality show. Also, her incessant tweeting and Palin jargon leak through the cracks of the anti-conservative wall I haphazardly slapped together. (It's similar to my anti-Jersey Shore and anti-Jay Leno walls.)
Recently, however, there have been two "newsworthy" Sarah Palin moments that I could not ignore. First would obviously be the "refudiate" fiasco. (Funnily enough, my MacBook just underlined that word when I typed it. Yeah, I don't recognize it either, MacBook.) Back in July, Palin took to her Twitter account to express her opinion about the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. Her tweet read:
@SarahPalinUSA: Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate
Bypassing my thoughts on her statement, I was one of many who were confused about what she meant. Did she mean repudiate (to reject with condemnation)? Or perhaps refute (to prove to be false)? Obviously, she wrote the wrong word. No big deal, right? Admit your mistake, correct it, and move on. But not Sarah Palin. She decided that she MEANT to write "refudiate," comparing herself to Shakespeare by tweeting:
@SarahPalinUSA: Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!
Sigh. First of all, poor William Shakespeare. Second, why is Sarah Palin unable to admit it when she makes a mistake? She should pre-order a tombstone with "I Meant To Do That!!" on it. Showing weakness is human. People make mistakes. But refusing to admit it is egotistical and immature. The fact that the New Oxford American Dictionary decided to name "refudiate" as the Word of The Year just saddens me. They've made it ok for this woman to live in a fantasy word in which she and her family can do no wrong, even celebrate their mistakes. Like when Palin's daughters went on a homophobic rant on Facebook, attacking a young man who commented about their reality show's ratings. No one said the girls were wrong, Palin never denounced their diatribe - in a time where teens are committing suicide over homophobic bullying, her daughters can call someone a "faggot" for expressing their opinion, and nothing is done about it? Why is this not an issue?
Beyond the wordsmith's Twitter account, a recent interview with Fox News caught my attention. When asked if she would grant an interview to Katie Couric, Palin's response was as follows (all grammar mistakes are her own):
"I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism. And I have a communications degree. I studied journalism, who, what, where, when, and why of reporting...I wouldn't waste...time with (Couric), who is so biased and will, no doubt, spin and gin up whatever it is that I have to say to create controversy."
Ok, let's examine this statement, shall we? First off, if you remember the now infamous Couric/Palin interview, it was Palin herself who dug her own grave. It was from this interview that the ever hilarious, "I can see Russia from my house" statement came about. What Palin seems to be referring to here, though, is the question Couric asked her about what newspapers and magazines she regularly read before being chosen to run with John McCain. Palin's answer was, "All of 'em." When gently pressed by Couric, Palin said, "Any of 'em that have been put in front of me. A vast variety of sources."
Now you're going to tell me that this woman, during the time it took to formulate that articulate response, could not think of ONE news source that she regularly turned to for information? Newsweek? Washington Post? NY Times? Alaska Daily? US Weekly? Nothing?? But beyond that, using that specific part of the interview to call Couric biased is just ridiculous. Palin sounds like a petulant child, and certainly not anyone I'd want representing me in any sort of political office. She went so far as to use the term "Lamestream Media" when talking about journalism today. This offends me greatly, as a lover of all things journalism. I implore someone (Couric? Please??) to sit her down and ask her to give very specific examples of biased media sources. I bet she'd hem and haw and circle the question four or five times before acting disgusted and above it all.
Also - "spin and gin?" Seriously? I know she's proud of her "folksy" vernacular, but she's just beginning to sound like white trash. (Tonight, she trashily tweeted a preemptive defense to PETA about her upcoming hunting episode of "Sarah Palin's Alaska," saying "PETA: Yes, that is responsible hunting you see in Sarah Palin's Alaska video tease for Sunday night. Remember: we eat, therefore we hunt." Right, because Alaska doesn't have grocery stores or butchers, right? Take out a few more deer and bears! We've got plenty! You betcha!) I also want to point out this sentence: "I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism." I won't even comment of the sentence structure - it's just too cringeworthy.
In doing a bit of research for this blog, I looked up her degree information. I knew she had been a sportscaster out of college, but what I didn't realize was that she changed colleges SIX times in four years. Maybe you already knew that, but I was unaware. I'm not saying her degree isn't valid - of course it is. But for her to sit there and act like she is so much better than Katie Couric - a woman who has been in broadcast journalism for over 26 years - is pathetic and disrespectful. Also, as a former communications major, I know that it's one of those all encompassing, lazy majors that pretty much works for anything. Sure, Sarah Palin reported sports at a local station for a few years after graduation. But she's also a former beauty queen, and relaying scores isn't exactly hard hitting journalism. (Nor does it cover the "who, what, where, when, and why of reporting" that Palin holds so dear to her heart.) It isn't Katie Couric's fault that Palin can't think on her feet. Perhaps if she had been interviewed by a fellow Hockey Mom, she would have been coddled and asked only easy questions.
Fun Fact: Katie Couric received the Walter Cronkite for Journalism Excellence Award for the Sarah Palin interview. I've heard they only pick the most biased reporters for this honor.
Let us not forget that Sarah Palin signed on as a contributor at Fox News in January, 2010. Fox News, onetime home of Rush Limbaugh and current employers of such people as Bill O'Reilly, Tony Snow, and Ann Coulter. No bias in those offices, right? Nah. I'm sure if Sarah Palin was asked how many sides Fox News reports from, her response would be, "All of 'em."
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