Palin Helped By the Beserk Media

[metta 0]

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree When Barack's berserkers lost the plot

• Nick Cohen
• The Observer,
• Sunday September 7 2008

In an age when politics is choreographed, voters watch out for the moments when the public-relations facade breaks down and venom pours through the cracks. Their judgment is rarely favourable when it does.

My colleagues in the American liberal press had little to fear at the start of the week. Their charismatic candidate was ahead in virtually every poll. George W Bush was so unpopular that conservatives were scrambling around for reasons not to invite the Republican President to the Republican convention. Democrats had only to maintain their composure and the White House would be theirs. During the 1997 British general election, the late Lord Jenkins said that Tony Blair was like a man walking down a shiny corridor carrying a precious vase. He was the favourite and held his fate in his hands. If he could just reach the end of the hall without a slip, a Labour victory was assured. The same could have been said of the American Democrats last week. But instead of protecting their precious advantage, they succumbed to a spasm of hatred and threw the vase, the crockery, the cutlery and the kitchen sink at an obscure politician from Alaska.

For once, the postmodern theories so many of them were taught at university are a help to the rest of us. As a Christian, conservative anti-abortionist who proved her support for the Iraq War by sending her son to fight in it, Sarah Palin was 'the other' - the threatening alien presence they defined themselves against. They might have soberly examined her reputation as an opponent of political corruption to see if she was truly the reformer she claimed to be. They might have gently mocked her idiotic creationism, while carefully avoiding all discussion of the racist conspiracy theories of Barack Obama's church.

But instead of following a measured strategy, they went berserk. On the one hand, the media treated her as a sex object. The New York Times led the way in painting Palin as a glamour-puss in go-go boots you were more likely to find in an Anchorage lap-dancing club than the Alaska governor's office.

On the other, liberal journalists turned her family into an object of sexual disgust: inbred rednecks who had stumbled out of Deliverance. Palin was meant to be pretending that a handicapped baby girl was her child when really it was her wanton teenage daughter's. When that turned out to be a lie, the media replaced it with prurient coverage of her teenage daughter, who was, after all, pregnant, even though her mother was not going to do a quick handover at the maternity ward and act as if the child was hers.

Hatred is the most powerful emotion in politics. At present, American liberals are not fighting for an Obama presidency. I suspect that most have only the haziest idea of what it would mean for their country. The slogans that move their hearts and stir their souls are directed against their enemies: Bush, the neo-cons, the religious right.

In this, American liberals are no different from the politically committed the world over. David Cameron knew that he would never be Prime Minister until he had killed the urgent hatred of the Conservative party in liberal England. A measure of his success is that hardly anyone now is caught up by the once ubiquitous feeling that no compromise is too great if it stops the Tories regaining power. Hate can sell better than hope.

When a hate campaign goes wrong, however, disaster follows. And everything that could go wrong with the campaign against Palin did. American liberals forgot that the public did not know her. By the time she spoke at the Republican convention, journalists had so lowered expectations that a run-of-the-mill speech would have been enough to win the evening.

As it was, her family appeared on stage without a goitre or a club foot between them, and Palin made a fighting speech that appealed over the heads of reporters to the public we claim to represent. 'I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion,' she said as she deftly detached journalists from their readers and viewers. 'I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country.'

English leftists made the same mistake of allowing their hatred to override their judgment after the Iraq war. If they had confined themselves to charging Tony Blair with failing to find the weapons of mass destruction he promised were in Iraq, and sending British troops into a quagmire, they might have forced him out. They were so consumed by loathing, however, they insisted that he had lied, which he clearly had not. They set the bar too low and Blair jumped it with ease. 'When a man believes that any stick will do, he at once picks up a boomerang,' said GK Chesterton, and when the politically committed go on a berserker you should listen for the sound of their own principles smacking them in the face.

Journalists who believe in women's equality should not spread sexual smears about a candidate, or snigger at her teenage daughter's pregnancy, or declare that a mother with a young family cannot hold down a responsible job for the pragmatic reason that they will look like gross hypocrites if they do. Before Palin, we saw hypocrisy of the right when shock jocks who had spent years denouncing feminism came over all politically correct when Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky.

In Britain, the most snobbish attacks on Margaret Thatcher did not come from aristocrats but from the communist historian Eric Hobsbawm, who opined that Thatcherism was the 'anarchism of the lower middle classes' and the liberal Jonathan Miller, who deplored her 'odious suburban gentility'. More recently, George Osborne, of the supposedly compassionate Conservative party, revealed himself to be a playground bully when he derided Gordon Brown for being 'faintly autistic'.

In an age when politics is choreographed, voters watch out for the moments when the public-relations facade breaks down and venom pours through the cracks. Their judgment is rarely favourable when it does. Barack Obama knows it. All last week, he was warning American liberals to stay away from the Palin family. He understands better than his supporters that it is not a politician's enemies who lose elections, but his friends.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I have to say that, once again, these write to order op-ed pieces are getting a tad repetitive. When I read this and saw that bit about Margaret Thatcher - I thought this was just a repeat of the piece Gary posted last week. It isn't - but its not much different.

Nothing Sarah Palin has received in the media is much different to the cack that was floating around when Barack Obama announced his candidacy. The US media makes its bread and butter going to town on people in the public eye, its as old as the hills. The whining over it isn't surprising either.

[rebeccajo 14]

Thank God We Have metta To Save Us From The Free Press.

[HAL 9000 96]

Thank God We Have metta To Save Us From The Free Press.

Nevertheless, the repetition does seem quite clear: McCain's campaign is advanced by such frivolity. If we use Occam's Razor for a moment... then we can deduce where some of the inspiration for some attacts may be suggested in the first place.

[metta 0]

I have to say that, once again, these write to order op-ed pieces are getting a tad repetitive. When I read this and saw that bit about Margaret Thatcher - I thought this was just a repeat of the piece Gary posted last week. It isn't - but its not much different.

Nothing Sarah Palin has received in the media is much different to the cack that was floating around when Barack Obama announced his candidacy. The US media makes its bread and butter going to town on people in the public eye, its as old as the hills. The whining over it isn't surprising either.

Hey six, do a nexus/lexus search and see what the favorable/unfavorable ratio is for media articles on the One at the time of his announcement .

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I have to say that, once again, these write to order op-ed pieces are getting a tad repetitive. When I read this and saw that bit about Margaret Thatcher - I thought this was just a repeat of the piece Gary posted last week. It isn't - but its not much different.

Nothing Sarah Palin has received in the media is much different to the cack that was floating around when Barack Obama announced his candidacy. The US media makes its bread and butter going to town on people in the public eye, its as old as the hills. The whining over it isn't surprising either.

Hey six, do a nexus/lexus search and see what the favorable/unfavorable ratio is for media articles on the One at the time of his announcement .

I think you could probably save us both a bit of time

I certainly don't think Obama is "The One", so I'm not sure what you think you're getting at with that. As far as your opinion on Obama goes - it seems that the hatred is palpable.

Perhaps I should do the VJ search on favorable to unfavorable op-ed pieces you've posted on Obama?

What would I find I wonder...

[metta 0]

Thank God We Have metta To Save Us From The Free Press.

Nevertheless, the repetition does seem quite clear: McCain's campaign is advanced by such frivolity. If we use Occam's Razor for a moment... then we can deduce where some of the inspiration for some attacts may be suggested in the first place.

Yes, using Occam's razor, the American people in their collective wisdom, have cut the balls off of the elite media ....

[HAL 9000 96]

Thank God We Have metta To Save Us From The Free Press.

Nevertheless, the repetition does seem quite clear: McCain's campaign is advanced by such frivolity. If we use Occam's Razor for a moment... then we can deduce where some of the inspiration for some attacts may be suggested in the first place.

Yes, using Occam's razor, the American people in their collective wisdom, have cut the balls off of the elite media ....

Don't you wish. That would mean you'd run out of other's opinions to post here though.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I did find it interesting that the author of that article seemed to get some areas of UK politics dead wrong. Blair could have won the 97 election had he been an alcoholic skirt-chaser - the election was as much about the rejection of Tory rule as it was an endorsement of Blair and the Labour party.

Similarly David Cameron, from what I've seen hasn't succeeded in doing a great deal - except drag his party down to the level of pure farce (an achievement given the antics of messrs Hague and Duncan-Smith), trying to turn the party of Margaret Thatcher into a middle of the road version of the Green Party (complete with eco-logo).

[Peikko 1,575]

The comparisons with UK politics are quite simply wrong, not even slightly, but completely.

I really find these kind of journalistic pieces almost as odious as the jingoistic attack pieces. At least with the jinogists you don't have to contend with all this psuedo intellectualism. Baa, humbug!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The comparisons with UK politics are quite simply wrong, not even slightly, but completely.

I really find these kind of journalistic pieces almost as odious as the jingoistic attack pieces. At least with the jinogists you don't have to contend with all this psuedo intellectualism. Baa, humbug!

Its opinion written to order - and posted by volume rather than quality.

Perhaps another article is called for - about Berserk forum posters...

Edited September 9, 2008 by Paul Daniels

[Peikko 1,575]

It's not even that I think the idea behind the article is wrong - or at least there is certainly a faction of news or bloggs or whatever it is that is pushing all this hate mongering nonsense and Ms Palin certainly was at the wrong end of some pretty stupid accusations. However, that is not an excuse to write something equally junky.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It's not even that I think the idea behind the article is wrong - or at least there is certainly a faction of news or bloggs or whatever it is that is pushing all this hate mongering nonsense and Ms Palin certainly was at the wrong end of some pretty stupid accusations. However, that is not an excuse to write something equally junky.

From what I've seen in this election and last this seems par for the course - the media trivialises serious issues by fixating on digging up ####### out of people's backgrounds. Why else are unsubstantiated smears circulated in the press?

It would be different if there was outright criminal activity of unethical behaviour but at the least - these are things that should researched before opinions are cast on them. Still this is a business that moves quickly and it seems that the thinking behind publishing it is not "is this accurate" but rather "can we get away with it".

Then before you know it you've got legions of bloggers and columnists recycling this tosh and playing their own game of Chinese whispers with the public. Its just ridiculous.

[metta 0]

The comparisons with UK politics are quite simply wrong, not even slightly, but completely.

In your opinion, that is..

I really find these kind of journalistic pieces almost as odious as the jingoistic attack pieces. At least with the jinogists you don't have to contend with all this psuedo intellectualism. Baa, humbug!

Its opinion written to order - and posted by volume rather than quality.

Well, you have made a declarative statement without any supporting evidence.

Perhaps another article is called for - about Berserk forum posters...

So, you insinuated that I am a beserk forum poster by virtue of the fact, that the opinion article I posted did not comport with yours..

How blessed we are on this board to have such an enlightened opinionator like yourself.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The comparisons with UK politics are quite simply wrong, not even slightly, but completely.

In your opinion, that is..

I really find these kind of journalistic pieces almost as odious as the jingoistic attack pieces. At least with the jinogists you don't have to contend with all this psuedo intellectualism. Baa, humbug!

Its opinion written to order - and posted by volume rather than quality.

Well, you have made a declarative statement without any supporting evidence.

Perhaps another article is called for - about Berserk forum posters...

So, you insinuated that I am a beserk forum poster by virtue of the fact, that the opinion article I posted did not comport with yours..

How blessed we are on this board to have such an enlightened opinionator like yourself.

Calm down - the Dev&Metta song and dance of condescension and outrage doesn't wash with me. If nothing else it shows that you (like her) are incapable of controlling your temper.

And to clarify its not that it didn't "comport" with my view but rather that the article appears to have been written to order (which of course it was) and contains some curious factual inaccuracies about the UK political landscape and the comparisons it makes between UK and US politics.