Sarah Palin - scared of the press for good reason

One of the first things an authoritarian government does after taking power is impose its will on the press, either through direct state control (most often) or through influentially-place appointments.

So pardon me for being nervous at Gov. Sarah Palin's recent remarks, during the vice presidential candidate debate with Sen. Joe Biden, that she was happier to speak to the American people "without the filter" of the modern American press. She also remarked that she may not answer the questions like the moderator or the audience wished, but - you betcha - she was going to speak her own mind from time to time.

We've seen this movie before. Presidents and their running mates have had some legendary run-ins with the media. Think about Whig newspapers going after Thomas Jefferson for his affair with a slave, or Nixon's battle with the California media during his failed governor's race, or the current Bush's avoidance of the press corp. Even Bill Clinton had secrecy issues with the media - the same "liberal" media that hung him out to dry during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

The "filter" of the media is there on purpose. It takes the usual bullshit politicians puke out, research the facts, and present their findings as news stories and editorials. Watchdogs, the fourth branch of government - call the media what you will, they do their job decently well more often than not. After all, if it weren't for some dig-down-deep New York Times reporting, we found out the Bush administration spies on the American people without warrants. That's illegal. And the press let us know about it.

Politicians are famous for never answering the question they're asked during interviews and press conferences. They'll ask something, and the politician will give some meandering answer, and it's the reporter's job to say, "You didn't answer the question, so let's try that again." That may seem like badgering to some people, but the reporter is doing what they're paid to do: get the facts, find out what the politician really means, and offer up their findings.

This is a serious responsibility. Acting as a "filter" carries some heavy ethical questions, because journalists are writing history as it's being made. Any slip-ups, and the whole thing is fucked up.

It's no wonder, then, that politicians like speaking "directly" to the American people: the filter is gone. The bullshit detector is switched off. They can say anything they want and not have to answer, at least directly, to anyone. Isn't that nice?

Katie Couric asking, simply, what newspapers a politician reads seems like an easy way for a politician to explain a bit more about themselves. Instead, to the big babies on the right, it played like an attack. This hyper-sensativity to softball questions must come from some inner lack of self-confidence, some inferiority complex that says, "My candidate is a dumb shit, and you can't ask that." Think about Bush. Every time the man opens his mouth, he displays a catastrophic lack of intelligence, curiosity, or deep thinking. And to the person to responds positively to that, Palin is the perfect candidate. She's "real." She's "simple." You'd like to go hunting with her. You don't like the media beating up on her.

And yet, if she were to visit the British Isles for a weekend, the BBC would whip her into jelly. Now that's a press corp doing their job.

The "deference" the media, or Americans in general, is supposed to show candidates is downright un-American. Here, we demand the truth from our candidates, and we expect them to give it to us straight. We left that aloof, secretive crap back in the UK when we set sail for the Promised Land. And we like our candidates to be tough and not cower at a simple question like, "When did your running mate stand up to both parties?" or "What Supreme Court decision to you identify with?" If you don't know either of those on the spot, it's because (a) you haven't really ever thought about them or cared, or (b) you're dumb.

You see, Americans can't sit in front of a presidential candidate and grill them in their own personal interview. It's simple logistics: there are too many of us. So the press takes it upon themselves to find out for us. Most of them get paid very little to do so, suffer through a thankless job, and have a heavy rate of alcoholism and suicide to shoulder.

Jefferson said he's rather read a newspaper than be chained to a government of any kind. First, it's a lot more fun to read. Second, there are more pictures. Third, it's virtually bullshit-free. Head to the opinion page if you want an opinion or some analysis or an argument. But the news section gives it to us straight, filter fully engaged, and attempts to keep politicians honest.

If you can't stand up to the press, then step down and go home. Or don't open your fat, lying mouth. But don't blame them for your troubles: blame your own know-nothing outlook on life. The press didn't make you stupid - you have only yourself to blame for that.

by Rope Hoover Palin