Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who backed Christine O’Donnell’s campaign for the GOP Senate nomination in Delaware, yesterday advised O’Donnell on how to campaign for the Senate against Chris Coons!
On Fox News Channel, Palin stated that O’Donnell should only be willing to be interviewed by Fox, and refuse to answer questions or be interviewed by the mainstream media! Palin made it clear that she had come to that conclusion based on how she perceives herself treated by the mainstream media during the Presidential campaign of 2008!
This is a very interesting development in many ways!
First, Palin blames the mainstream media for making her a victim, when it is her own fault, being poorly prepared to run for Vice President, being evidently poorly informed and lacking in knowledge on very basic information and issues! Is it the fault of the media that she could not name a Supreme Court case or some of the sources of media that she claims to read? Is her inability to articulate anything clearly the fault of others, or her own fault? The answer is obvious! π
Secondly, telling O’Donnell to refuse to answer questions and only agree to be interviewed by “friendly” media is an example, becoming more common among Republicans, conservatives and Tea Party Movement people! It is a level of arrogance that should NOT be rewarded! If someone wishes to be competing to be elected by the people, they have a a responsibility to answer challenging questions, show their level of knowledge and expertise, and agree to public debates! Just because they are made to feel uncomfortable or insecure does not give them the right to refuse to communicate with news media and the American public! π
And thirdly if Sarah Palin, as rumored, intends to run for President, is she going to be able to refuse to debate her rivals, and later President Obama? Is she going to be able to refuse to answer questions from CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and numerous other media sources that she may not particularly admire? π
The answer is NO, as if she wants to be our President, she CANNOT boycott questions and challenges! She NEEDS TO PROVE her competence, talents, and abilities to be our Commander in Chief!
So if she does not wish to do so, then stay at Fox News Channel, and be praised and glorified by Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck! Do more television series, deliver more speeches before admiring audiences, and publish more books, and make loads of money! But don’t expect us to elect you President without a full vetting of you, by friends AND by enemies! π