The former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin launched her first political action committee (PAC), SarahPAC, yesterday.
Here is an exerpt from the Politico article.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has launched a political action committee designed to raise funds for local and national candidates.
It is interesting to note that with a majority of the news articles I have read about Sarah Palin and John McCain, journalists refer to the lack of a strong and "negative" relationship between the two former partners. In this article, they point out that Sarah Palin only briefly mentioned her failed bid for the vice-presidency in 2008. Why do you think the media is specifically targeting Palin and McCain's relationship?
3 comments:
Wow, it seems like Palin just want to continue to stay in the limelight. I find it very interesting that Palin put up that website with only two links: one to donate, and another very brief description of Palin (I mean very brief). It seems as if Palin is getting ready to attempt to clinch to the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
I too have come across many news articles about the rough relationship between Palin and McCain. McCain even said that he would not necessarily back Palin if she was to run for president. With such political drama going on, I don't see why the media would not target McCain and Palin's relationship.
From my perspective, I think the media focuses on the McCain Palin relationship because it is a business looking for something to sell its audience. Palin was a dream candidate from an entertainment standpoint. She was the first woman Republican VP candidate, was unknown and used a bold “suspense/shock” style. For example, she casts herself as an ordinary hockey mom and then reveals her other side in a sound bite by asking, “Do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? “Lipstick.”
Using the framework of presenting an analysis that McCain and Palin lost the election, the McCain/Palin campaign disagreement stories being told feed the public’s desire to hear about flaws in public figures. Stories that offer surprises, clues to a mystery, hidden secrets, a speculative glimpse into the future sell. Republican Presidential candidate John McCain “shook up the presidential race” with his unexpected choice of Sarah Palin. It caused more moderate Republicans to wonder why a person from the far right was selected over more experienced candidates. During the campaign differences led to disagreements in how to present Sarah Palin, at first, to reduce risk, interviews were rare and scripted. Critics asked why can't we see how she responds to pressure unscripted. Her unscripted interviews led to a feeding frenzy in the media, who ultimately found numerous gaps in her knowledge about national issues.
“The media” collectively are not unified in presenting negatives about McCain. On January 27, 2009, an evangelical magazine, Christianity Today trumpeted the formation of http://www.SarahPac.com. Even though she lost the 2008 election, there is mystery and anticipation over what she will do politically since she is now recognized nationally.
I think that the media wants to focus on the McCain Palin relationship in order to speculate on how they may or may not be able to overcome past disagreements and how the party will deal with a lack of unity. Most recently, the vote on the rescue package showed that there was going to be unity in resisting Democratic legislation for a while.
Although McCain says, "I think the world of Sarah Palin," he never comes out and says he would pick her if he could re-live the election, nor does he say he will endorse her. They come from different wings of the Republican party. Palin's power base is the conservative religious right, McCain's is more of a moderate. The media has revealed differences on issues as well as their difference in political tactics. As a moderate, McCain tried to reach out and draw consevative democrats to cross party lines while as a more right wing conservative, Palin positioned herself as a "pitbull with lipstick." She was full of contradiction. She boldly championed the values of the religious right, even though her daughter found herself pregnant out of wedlock. She boldly faced debates and liberal media interviews, knowing that her power base did not expect much from her technically, it was more a matter of style that she was promoting. Her handlers told her not to worry because people were voting largely based on her personality and likability.
When I first saw this article online, the only thought that was going through my mind was that Palin was more interested in staying in the public's eye rather than actually wanting to help this country politically. If she truly cared about this country, she wouldn't continue her run as one of the most ridiculed candidates in American politics. Even though the public refers to her as the reason why John McCain lost his bid for presidency, which could be the reason why the media is targeting Palin and McCain's relationship, she can't help but go out of her way to make news headlines for all the wrong reasons. This whole situation is just asking for more SNL skits and comedy central parodies.
Post a Comment