Monday, July 06, 2009

More “Circus” Talk from MSM

Not quite a week after the Politico’s Mike Allen called Sarah Palin a “circus act” – and later attempted to claim he had not done so – CNN’s Tom Forman takes to Anderson Cooper’s blog to celebrate “the final act of Cirque Du Sarah.” Forman even doles out advice to Democrats: “simply sit back and let the GOP burn.”

Irrespective of just how curious Gov. Palin’s decision is – and I do find it puzzling – it sure would be terrific if someone in the mainstream media, especially at the alleged “independent” cable network could cover her as clinically as they cover, say, Vice President Biden’s countless gaffes.

Since Gov. Palin made her decision to resign I have received a number of e-mails and phone calls from activists, bloggers and some members of the press asking what her motivations are. Perhaps because I worked on the McCain-Palin campaign and am known to be enthusiastic about Gov. Palin generally some of these folks may have thought I am in possession of inside knowledge of what is going on.  Sorry to disappoint, but I am as in the dark as everyone else.

I have one observation that I think is somewhat interesting, however. 

After the public finger-wagging directed at the McCain campaign for not being tech savvy enough, and the media’s awe at President Obama’s mastery of social media, it is interesting to note that Palin is leading the way in online communications among Republicans. By a lot. She is using Facebook and Twitter to communicate her agenda and message directly to her constituencies.  Her strength in this regard is obscured at the moment because that agenda and message is a mystery at present.

The Sarah Palin story demonstrates that for all the talk about the death of the MSM, they can still damage a politician when they want to. If ever a politician needed a workaround to bypass the mainstream press it is Sarah Palin.

Topics: palin, msm