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I’ve made a point of limiting my Sarah Palin coverage lately, but some lines are hard to overlook.
Last night on Fox News, Greta Van Susteren asked the former half-term governor about political campaign coverage as if Palin were a credible expert on responsible media. Noting the rumors surrounding New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), the host said, “I guess the, sort of, the question is how should we cover these races and the speculation? How much is too much? And how do we know, you know, when we’re not pitting one against the other, and how to develop the issues?”
“The challenge is in this very quickly changing news cycle world that we are in, you know, there’s a lot of information out there. There’s a lot of white noise out there. And the viewers and readers then really have to be the filter themselves, trying to find out what’s the important information out there.
“I am a proponent, though, of the media providing as much coverage of candidates in order to vet these candidates as possible. We learned our lesson in electing Barack Obama, who was not vetted by the media. The media did not do its job, I believe, the last go-around. So learned a lesson. Now we’re embracing of as much information and vetting of every candidate as possible.
“But again, I do believe that there’s a lot of entertainment value and ratings value involved in this quasi-reality show that is being created through the GOP primary at this point.”
The notion that President Obama wasn’t “vetted” is deeply silly. His presidential campaign lasted a whopping 21 months — one of the longest, if not the longest, in American history. During that time, the media scrutinized every possible angle of his entire life. If there was anyone who sought national office in 2008 who had not been fully vetted, it would be Palin, who had spoken to John McCain for a grand total of about 20 minutes — spanning two conversations — before being invited onto the ticket.
But I especially enjoyed seeing Palin criticizing her party’s presidential nominating contest as a “quasi reality show.” Palin has starred in her own reality show.
The mind reels.
Postscript: By the way, Palin, in the same interview, referred to Herman Cain as “Herb Cain,” three times. Odd.
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DAY on September 28, 2011 3:33 PM:
-I notice you spelled her name right.
Mission Accomplished!
Mustang Bobby on September 28, 2011 3:35 PM:
Now we're embracing of as much information and vetting of every candidate as possible.
So she's suing Joe McGinniss for invasion of privacy. Gotcha.
Curmudgeon on September 28, 2011 3:35 PM:
Maybe she was confusing the candidate with Herb Caen, a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle who passed away in 1997.
You know, what with this thing she has about journalists and all. But being Sarah Palin she was probably just being an idiot. Again.
Danp on September 28, 2011 3:37 PM:
Assuming the question by Van Susteren was transcribed correctly, she sounds like she learned English from Palin herself. White noise would be a good way to describe their conversation.
AnotherStrayCat on September 28, 2011 3:38 PM:
"Not vetted" is, of course, code for "not digging up the real birth certificate."
gasb on September 28, 2011 3:38 PM:
"Maybe she was confusing the candidate with Herb Caen...'
I thought exactly the same thing. But then I realized, you have to read to have known Herb Caen...
Redshift on September 28, 2011 3:43 PM:
"Nobody knew anything about Obama before he was elected" is one of those wingnut tropes, like the idea that he's not very bright and is just good at reading speeches off a teleprompter. It massively conflicts with objective reality, but it lets them maintain the delusion that America was somehow fooled into electing a Democrat, so he's not really someone they should respect as president. There's a huge conservative majority in the country, so a non-conservative being legitimately elected is unpossible; there must be some other explanation.
gaardvark on September 28, 2011 3:45 PM:
Talk about slander, wow. Calling Herman Cain, Herb Cain is a bit too close to the great columnist from San Francisco, Herb Caen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Caen
I can imagine him coming back with some witty retort... but I'm not that witty.
square1 on September 28, 2011 3:45 PM:
Agreed. Palin is the last person who could complain about a politician "not being vetted."
Curious though that Benen remarks "as if Palin were a credible expert on responsible media."
Look, Palin is an idiot. She is a self-aggrandizing clown. She is incompetent and thoroughly unqualified for public office.
But, in fairness, the woman is a former governor and a former candidate for V.P. Her name has also been repeatedly floated for this race. You can't say that she wan't put under a media microscope. To say that she isn't an "expert" on the media strikes me as an odd criticism.
You Don't Say on September 28, 2011 3:46 PM:
'The mind reels,' is exactly right. It's getting that I can't read about these people anymore because it feels like even listening to them is to live for a moment in their alternate universe.
Mike on September 28, 2011 3:46 PM:
And then there's the line about "this quasi-reality show that is being created through the GOP primary."
The last time I looked, "the GOP primary" wasn't a reality show, IT IS REALITY.
Josef K on September 28, 2011 3:49 PM:
The mind reels.
Myself, I'd have just waiting until she was finished speaking (if that's what all that vocalization was supposed to be), then stood up and walked off the set, out of the studio, and to the nearest bar.
I don't care how good the pay is or the medical and dental plan is. Nothing can adequately compensate having to sit and listen to that woman mangle the english language. Hell, I'd sue Fox for creating a 'hostile working environment' by just inviting Palin into the studio, never mind onto my show.
I'm tempted to sue them anyway for 'mental pain and suffering'.
T2 on September 28, 2011 3:49 PM:
Sarah is a piece of work. I just don't know where she's gonna end up, but talk about "reality shows" - she's the best one going right now.
A tiny be off thread..I saw a full photo of Christie meeting Obama at an airport recently (flood damage). Gee, he is really fat. I realize now that he is always cropped in photos to not show below his neck. A real porker.
T2 on September 28, 2011 3:53 PM:
I just heard that Perry walked back his "heartless" comment and apologized to the Insane Wing of the GOP. Poor Rick, the only decent thing he's had to say in years...and they screw him for it.
Rochester on September 28, 2011 3:54 PM:
The mind reels... at how often Steve Benen uses that phrase.
Just saying. It's noticeable.
rusty chainsaw on September 28, 2011 4:09 PM:
The mind boggles.
Except when it seems rshedul.
Gramma Millie on September 28, 2011 4:15 PM:
I just spoke with a homeless guy and he is holding a press conference tomorrow to announce that he is considering filing a lawsuit against Sarah Palin for mental pain and suffering.
At that point he will have pulled even with Ms. You Betchya! in the "Seriously Important Legal Actions I Am Contemplating" Department.
Lance on September 28, 2011 4:24 PM:
"By the way, Palin, in the same interview, referred to Herman Cain as “Herb Cain,” three times. Odd."
Not when you consider she had to ask Joe Biden if she could call him 'Joe' (before their debate) because she constantly referred to him as 'O'Biden' in debate prep.
c u n d gulag on September 28, 2011 4:32 PM:
Sarah, you're the dyslexic poet of my fart.
max on September 28, 2011 4:36 PM:
Palin's reference to "vetting" was hilarious. Thanks again Senator Magoo.
xpostfactoid on September 28, 2011 4:39 PM:
Can we call "Herb" a cross between Herman and Newt?
g on September 28, 2011 4:40 PM:
FYI, this is one of her standard lines, this business about Obama not being "vetted." I've heard/read her say it so many times that I've actually had time to ponder what it really means.
Someone "not being vetted" typically means they have a scandal in their closet - a "nanny problem" perhaps, or a tax deliquency or personal scandal. That's the typical "not been vetted" thing. And has anything like that arisen with President Obama? Of course not.
Another meaning of "not being vetted" could be whether someone's ability or experience has come up shorter than he presented it - like a job candidate who overblows his resume. But even though there are plenty on the right who believe this about President Obama, that debate was already out there in the media during the campaign, so "not being vetted" doesn't apply. And I don't think Obama ever presented his experience as something other than it was.
So what does "not being vetted" mean to them? Unless you're going all birther/Kenyan Muslimosocialist, I think what the right wing is doing when they say Obama hasn't been "vetted" is that they mean they don't like what he has done once he was in office, and they are talking as though he had taken them by surprise in doing it.
Which is odd, because, in fact, much of what he has done in office is exactly what he campaigned on. So they are upset that he wasn't "vetted" now that they've found out that he has attempted to do exactly what he campaigned on. Health care, attempted repeal of the Bush tax cuts - they're SHOCKED, SHOCKED and dismayed that he is actually trying to do it.
"How could we have known that he'd institute 'Obamacare'?"
"Why didn't the media tell us he'd push for an economic stimulus package?"
It's very peculiar.
What else could they possibly mean by "not being vetted"?
In her case, she's performing the Rovian trick of accusing your opponent of your own flaws, since she had a serious problem with "not being vetted." But the line has traction on the right. Another example of this are the guys who say things like "we don't know anything about this president."
What do they think they need to know?
P.S. The unexpected stuff he's done or not done that liberals don't like - regarding civil liberties and the wars - those things don't seem to upset the right.
BoulderBo on September 28, 2011 4:49 PM:
Josef K. - Thanks, you just gave me the biggest laugh of my day:) Totally agree with your assessment, and I'm still having visions of the walk to the nearest bar with head shaking.
Rick on September 28, 2011 5:02 PM:
There is no way on this earth that she actually knows who Herb Caen was. A truly great writer from the SF Chronicle's heyday.
kevo on September 28, 2011 5:07 PM:
I would hope media personalities would have realized by now that putting a microphone to the mouth of our nation's #1 Village Idiot is not healthy for children and other living things!
Yes, I can confirm right here and now: Sarah Palin would make any generic community's village idiot look like a genius compared to her capacity for moronic flailing wherever she goes, and whenever a microphone is put forth for her bumbling utterances!
The most patriotic thing dear ol'Sarah can do for her country is to go away and STFU! -Kevo
MuddyLee on September 28, 2011 5:13 PM:
Sarah - Obama was vetted during the campaign and has been given more than enough scrutiny since he was elected. Now it's your turn, Ms. Rogue. You may not like the book, Sarah, but is it substantially true? If it's even half-true, you are the one who wasn't vetted enough.
Krowe on September 28, 2011 6:11 PM:
"Obama wasn't vetted" = dogwhistle code for "Obama is the OTHER. We don't understand him, so how can we trust him? And did we mention he's b-l-a-c-k?"
It's not meant to be informative, it's meant to inspire distrust.
jjm on September 28, 2011 6:12 PM:
I hope dear Herb Caen is not turning over in his grave.
Palin is ridiculous, as usual.
But it put me in mind of a realization that has been nagging at the back of my mind.
Since Obama has been elected, even those pundits (from Krugman to Dionne, Robinson, et al.) who are supposedly on his side have treated him with a patronizing tone ("What Obama has to do now...." How many times have you heard that one?)
This tone from those supposedly on his side actually lends undue credence to Palin's standard right wing meme: Obama was unready, untested, un...you name it.
Don't look to Christie, GOP, he's said over and over and over again in public and on tape that he 'isn't ready.'
SYSPROG on September 28, 2011 6:49 PM:
NO NO NO 'The notion that President Obama wasn’t “vetted” is deeply silly'...it is a LIE!!! Does ANYBODY honestly think that the CLINTON campaign didn't did for absolutely ANYTHING they could find? Does anybody actually think the MEDIA didn't totally vet the 'horserace' and try to affect the outcome??? Please. It's is NOT 'deeply silly'...it's a LIE!
-syzygy- on September 28, 2011 7:22 PM:
Sarah who?
idlemind on September 28, 2011 11:54 PM:
Well, of course. And any time that microscope was focused somewhere else, she reached up and moved it back to her.