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Sympathy for Sarah

By W. James Antle, III on 7.7.09 @ 5:38PM

A new Gallup poll finds that 53 percent of the American people believe media coverage of Sarah Palin has been "unfairly negative" while just 28 percent think has been fair and 9 percent find it unfairly positive. That's something of a rebuke to her critics, though she is still a long way from solving her political problems -- just 34 percent of independents, for example, want her to take on a new national leadership role.

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Alan Brooks| 7.7.09 @ 5:53PM

she's a tough lady-- campaign, baby, governorship-- but she's mostly about beauty; glamour wont make her POTUS.
Obama WILL be reelected, though I wont vote for him unless the GOP runs another Bushclone.

Alan Brooks| 7.7.09 @ 5:53PM

Angel| 7.7.09 @ 5:57PM

Alan, YOU'RE the one who can't get beyond Palin's beauty. What's she supposed to do, wear a burkha?

You really are a sexist pig!

Bill Pearce| 7.7.09 @ 6:22PM

Only 53 percent found the media coverage “unfairly negative” ??? What was the ratio of Democrats to Republicans. The right wing went nuts over the massive bias in the media reporting. It was one of the main reasons Sarah Palin is leaving elective office. If Gallup polled only Republicans they would find the “unfairly negative” ratio over 90%. My best guess is Gallup polled mostly Democrats to maintain good customer relations with the media. After all whoever pays the piper calls the tune. The media can use this poll as CYA. In short the poll is the usual media cover up.

Liberal Reader| 7.7.09 @ 6:38PM

That's ridiculous.

How has the coverage been "unfair"?

The woman resigned office, giving an explanation so incoherent no one could understand it.

Today she was out trying to clarify, and she was sending surrogates to the media to try to clarify.

But I think this woman has been treated more than fairly, and I think she's trying to milk the whole victim thing. It's getting tiresome.

John| 7.7.09 @ 6:39PM

I love Sarah Palin. She has more "guts" than any politician out there. The elites from both parties are scared of her, and they are the ones who are taking away the liberties of the common citizens with bigger government and more and more control over our monetary system, our industry, our health, and our individual freedoms.

Sarah is one of the few political icons with the following to turn our nation around, voting out one out of touch politician after another. John McCain was a straw man the elites put up for defeat. With Palin on the ticket, those who think they know more than we do how to run our lives almost screwed up. The wrong elite party could have gotten in with Palin a "heartbeat away" from being the head of our government. They went into overtime with their thugs and lying media to invent scandals and to depict her and her family in an almost entirely negative light.

Although I was shocked to see her drop out of the Governorship, I am tickled to see her defend herself and her beloved Alaska from the continued onslaught of her enemies. With her personal attorney expenses around four times her salary as Governor, I don't see any way she could have done otherwise. Now she will have time to rally "her troops" which will include me.

If Congress would do one thing, it would totally change our federal government and our personal liberties nearly back to what our Founding Fathers had in mind. That one thing would be for Congress to consider only Bills involving those eighteen responsibilities authorized by the Constitution, such as National Defense and Establishing Justice, and to leave everything else to the State and Local Governments and to We the People.

I'm not alone when I say, "Sarah, we're behind you."

Flower Power| 7.7.09 @ 6:55PM

Shut up, Liberal Reader troll. Who asked you, moron? Talk about tiresome--I'm sick and tired of your stupid braying, bleating and honking when it comes to Palin.

She's gonna kick your idiotic liberal a$$ in 2012. Fool.

Eric Dondero| 7.7.09 @ 7:05PM

Those are suprisingly overwhelming numbers. Stunning. That represents tremendous sympathy for her.

As a diehard Palin-ite, I was wavering, going on over to Romney after her baffling announcement. But now 4 days later, maybe I should come back tail between my legs, and beg the forgiveness of those who didn't waiver.

This is really, really good news for our gal.

C4P| 7.7.09 @ 7:18PM

No Myth Romney--NEVER!! PALIN 2012!!

Dennis D| 7.7.09 @ 7:20PM

With this massive smear campaign I am shocked only 53% think media was unfair.

Dennis D| 7.7.09 @ 7:23PM

To those who think media was fair I give you this
Palin - 150K in clothing
Obama $ 1,ooo,ooo for Styrofoam Greek Columns and 170 million on a coronation.

Who was blasted in media?

Siegfried X| 7.7.09 @ 8:04PM

Sarah Palin in 2008, tellin Hillary Clinton to stop "whining" about media attacks:

Fair or unfair -- and I do think that it's a more concentrated criticism that Hillary gets on so many fronts; I think that's unfortunate. But fair or unfair, I think she does herself a disservice to even mention it, really. You have to plow through that and know what you're getting into. I say this with all due respect to Hillary Clinton and to her experience and to her passion for changing the status quo. But when I hear a statement like that coming from a women candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism or a sharper microscope put on her, I think, man, that doesn't do us any good. Women in politics, women in general wanting to progress this country, I don't think it bodes well for her, a statement like that. Because, again, fair or not fair it is there. I think it's reality and it's a given, people just accept that she's going to be under a sharper microscope. So be it. Work harder, prove to yourself to an even greater degree that you're capable, that you're going to be the best candidate. That's what she wants us to believe at this point. So it bothers me a little bit to hear her bring that attention to herself on that level.

Flower Power| 7.7.09 @ 8:08PM

Siegfried--you've never provided proof of your stupid claim that Palin threatened violence against Letterman.

Not only are you a blatant liar, you're nuts, too. Moron

Ignant_dude| 7.7.09 @ 8:34PM

One thought for Liberal Reader:
Your opinion is that Palin is trying to "milk the whole victim thing". I disagree (let me pause and wait to see if you're still listening). On the contrary, I don't think she has let herself be victimized. She has chosen not to sit there and take it -as Siegfried X thinks she should. She responds to her detractors as Bush never did. She resigned because doing so removed the false arguments her detractors used to hide their motives. It was never about investigating abuses or determining her character, it was about destroying her image to eliminate a political threat. She also resigned because she recognized that the attacks had minimized her effectiveness as a governor and, having already accomplished her agenda, she felt it best to move aside and give Alaska a governor without that handicap (pause as I wait for the trolls to jump on "handicap", demonstrating they don't understand what I just said).
Accusing her of "milking the whole victim thing" is projection. On the left, identity politics and victimization are the main political tools, thus it assumed that is all anyone uses.

Bill Pearce| 7.7.09 @ 8:49PM

Be nice to the liberals Flower Power.
Remember liberalism is a psychological disorder not a logical position.
It is usually cured by seeing the federal and state deductions in your first paycheck.

If you are mean to them, They will not come out to play.
But Yes it is fun to set them off by showing them a bit of reality.
But also remember showing them too much reality causes their heads to explode.

Flower Power| 7.7.09 @ 8:51PM

I can only hope so, Bill. :)

Alan Brooks| 7.7.09 @ 9:17PM

Angel,
maybe I am a sexist pig, but whatever the case may be I'm mostly a rightwing pig; sexism (and I'm no more sexist than most men are in their BEHAVIOR) may be part of the equation.
Funny, some people say I'm too tolerant of women's mobility. When I say I disagree that a woman shall not usurp a man's authority then I'm a scriptural revisionist.
So what sort of woman would a 'sexist' imperialist neoFalangist racist Menckenite pig such as myself prefer?
Kirkpatrick and Thatcher, even if they were never pretty.

Alan Brooks| 7.7.09 @ 9:40PM

sexist? geez, some people think I'm still a lib, even though I'm far too cynical.
too lib for confederates
too rightwing for libs.

to gentile for Jews
too Jewish for the national socialists.

Alan Brooks| 7.7.09 @ 9:43PM

that is, too gentile for Jews,
too Jewish for nazis.

to sexist for Angel
too feminist for the male chauvinist pigs

CANT WIN FOR LOSING.

Angel| 7.7.09 @ 10:00PM

Alan, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but don't hold Palin's looks against her, okay? I know Sarah's pretty--but I see so much more: I see her intelligence, honor and integrity; her love and loyalty for God, family and country--and her strength. She believes freedom is God's sacred gift to us, and so do I.

No offense to women in politics, but we don't have to look or act like you guys in order to be elected anymore.

Don't you think that's a good thing? I do.

Bill Pearce| 7.7.09 @ 10:04PM

To Alan Brooks

You must not know very many Confederates.
From the”Fire Eaters” to Jefferson Davis, the original Confederates were to a man Democrat Party members.

Tootsie| 7.7.09 @ 11:19PM

So were the KKK.

Michael Dooley| 7.8.09 @ 7:06AM

I don't get it. Some of you never liked Palin in the first place. Others told us she was uniquely unqualified for national office. Others tell us she's the reason McCain lost. Any combination of the above swear the Republican party will cease to exist if she happens to run in 2012 because she is so unpopular the entire Republican ticket (both national and local) will sink with her.

I would have thought the Palin resignation was only a one or two day story. You know, give the pundit talk shows sometimes to discuss over the weekend. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! We on the right are still chewing on this piece of gristle and trading the same insults. Everything that can be said has been said. Give it a rest.

I guess we have to have something to distract us from the MJ dog and pony show. The irony is Palin is alive but her political career is dead (according to many). MJ is dead but if we put him on the ballot in 2012 he’d win in a landslide.

Charles K. Hamster| 7.8.09 @ 9:37AM

Polls, schmolls. She is not to be taken "seriously," until I say otherwise. Carry on, bloggers.

Thomas| 7.8.09 @ 9:40AM

Let's see here.
Palin quits.

Her enemies in the media don't like it.
Her enemies in the Democrat Party don't like it.
The liberals don't like it.
The Moderate Republicans, who have been trying to marginalize her since the convention, don't like it.

It seems that every group that has aligned themselves against her does not like her quitting her job. Usually when your enemies are unanimous in their disapproval of your action, that indicates that your action may be the right one.

Just a thought. We'll just have to see how it all turns out, won't we?

Liberal Reader| 7.8.09 @ 11:17AM

Thomas --

What do you mean "her enemies... don't like it"?

You take anything other than abject praise as a sign of hatred.

Your world view is adolescent. Grow up, man. Just because someone criticizes Palin -- who is, after all, a politician -- does not mean he hates her or considers himself her "enemy."

Reading the posts on the site is really demoralizing. The debasement of political discourse on the right is chilling.

Roscoe| 7.8.09 @ 12:53PM

Alan Brooks: "glamor wont make her POTUS." You certain about that? It worked for Dope and Chains.

Thomas| 7.8.09 @ 12:56PM

LR,

Read my post again please. I never said that her enemies hate her. Some undoubtedly do. But others probably don't. Would you consider Democrats as Palin's political allies or enemies? How about liberals in general? How many of them support her? How many would actively work against her candidacy? How many moderate Republicans have supported her activities in the party? How many have worked to marginalize her? Those that attempt to obstruct your activities and stifle your advancements are, by definition, your enemies, not your friends.

The point here is that all of those who have actively sought to limit or destroy Palin's chances at national office are now complaining, in chorus, about her resignation. They have complained about her character, her ability to govern, even her family. So, when she steps down, do they say good riddance? No. They complain that she is a quitter for doing what they have long wished for. Possibly this is a manifestation of some kind of mass hysteria. More likely, it is because Palin may just have made a politically advantageous decision.