Saturday, September 6, 2008

When you're deep in a hole, stop digging

Some Hollywood star supposedly said, "I don't care what you write about me as long as you spell my name right." Guess the mainstream media and the leftwing nuts (same, same) never heard that pearl of wisdom. They've seen what five days of pit-bull attacks on VP pick Sarah Palin got them, a wave of interest in Palin that has turned her into the biggest political sensation since ... Obama. So what do they do? Get smart and call off the attack dogs? Oh no, they keep on slinging, digging their hole ever deeper, as they seek "dirt" on Palin.

It ain't working, so why do they keep it up? Two reasons are obvious. First, she threatens Obama's coronation, which the press has already reported is "inevitable," sorta like Hillary winning the nomination. And second, the press was totally blindsided when McCain kept his cards close to his vest and surprised the media as well as the rest of the nation with his Palin pick. Unlike Obama, who passes his daily talking points on every topic to the media (and they faithfully report them ver batim) McCain kept them in the dark on his VP selection process. And that is the cardinal crime in the media's eyes, getting scooped.

Jonah Goldberg explains this media insanity in Palin-Bashing Press Keeps Swinging and Missing.

One partial explanation for the feeding frenzy is the bowel-stewing fear among an Obamaphilic press corps that Palin might actually help McCain win.

But another part of the answer is that the press was simply surprised. Cockroaches scatter when shocked by a flipped light switch. Grizzly bears attack when startled. And when caught napping by big news, the press corps floods the zone. Editors scream at underlings who missed the story. Networks fret they'll be scooped. And all of a sudden, the norms and standards become a blur in the race to be first. In the case of Palin, the press vaulted over every principle and standard they'd established about what is and isn't fair game, like O.J. Simpson leaping over luggage in the old Hertz commercials. It required the Jaws of Life to pry news of John Edwards' affair out the mainstream press. But when it came to the personal drama of Palin's 17-year old daughter, the press clawed for morsels like they were golden tickets from Wonka Bars.

I spent 30-odd years as a newspaper writer, photographer and editor (and some of them were very odd) and was always the odd man out, the conservative Christian amongst the heathens. But it's gotten even worse since I left the print media behind and I've never seen anything like this new low the Obama PR press corps has sunk to. But as despicable as it all is, they're accomplishing the exact opposite of what they're attempting to do, kill Palin's candidacy.

They keep on bashing and she keeps on smiling and blowing them away like a dead moose. If they'll just keep this up until November, Sarah and John will waltz into the White House together. Bash on, I say, bash on. Or as they say up in Alaska, "Mush!"

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