Is This It? Really? (Sunday's NYT Palin Hit Piece Demolished)

Commentary ^ | 9/13/2008 | Jennifer Rubin

[mojito]

The New York Times does the all-so predictable Sarah Palin bill of indictment for its Sunday front page. It certainly sounds compelling in the paragraph called the “nut graf”:

"Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.?"

But what is so remarkable is how little there is in the page after page of minutiae thrown against the wall by the Times. And indeed there’s plenty of favorable material there. Up front we learn:

"Ms. Palin has many supporters. As a two-term mayor she paved roads and built an ice rink, and as governor she has pushed through higher taxes on the oil companies that dominate one-third of the state’s economy. She stirs deep emotions. In Wasilla, many residents display unflagging affection, cheering “our Sarah” and hissing at her critics."

In just the first few paragraphs you have testimony that she was “effective and accessible.” So where are we going here? Well, despite the testimony that she was ”accessible,” others find her “secretive” and inclined to put a premium on “loyalty.” The evidence? The Governor’s office declined a request for emails that would have cost over $400,000. Proof positive. Oh, and the records sought (about Polar Bears and such) were in fact obtained.

Then there is the ” she blurs personal and public behavior” charge. The evidence? A phone call from Todd Palin to a state legislator about the latter’s chief of staff, which Palin denies was mentioned. Pretty thin gruel.

Next we have her tenure as mayor, where again all heck breaks loose because — are ya sitting down? — she brought in her own team. No! Unheard of. Jeeez. Next she’ll be firing the town museum director. Oh no– it’s true! Palin says (”Oh yeah, she says,” you can hear the Times reporters hrrumphing) she was cutting the budget.

This is pathetic, really. Is there something illegal here? Is there something nefarious? What is the point?

The next offense: while she was mayor city employees were told not to talk to the press. The horror! Might there have been a procedure, a public affairs or press person for that? We don’t know and the Times doesn’t tell us.

Then we get to the book banning. But if you read carefully there is no banning, no censorship, no list and no nothing other than someone became “scared” of Palin:

“People would bring books back censored,” recalled former Mayor John Stein, Ms. Palin’s predecessor. “Pages would get marked up or torn out.”

"Witnesses and contemporary news accounts say Ms. Palin asked the librarian about removing books from the shelves. The McCain-Palin presidential campaign says Ms. Palin never advocated censorship."

"But in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it."

“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”

“I’m still proud of Sarah,” she added, “but she scares the bejeebers out of me.”

So Palin talked “about” removing books — but the piece doesn’t tell us what was said. And we hear about Palin’s distaste for a book about homosexual parenting. Again, is there some story in here? We’re up to page three and it hasn’t popped out yet.

We then learn that she did take on her own Republican Party and won the election for Governor by, goodness gracious, preparing for debates with notecards. Color-coded no less.

Then on page four of this eye-popping account, we learn as Governor she had the temerity to have ”surrounded herself with people she has known since grade school and members of her church.” No! She hired people she knew? And people she trusted because she had just run against a hostile machine of her own party? The Lieutenant Governor offers up that they were “competent, qualified, top-notch people,” but are you going to believe him? And then the kicker: it seemed to, well, work out pretty well. We learn:

"To her supporters — and with an 80 percent approval rating, she has plenty — Ms. Palin has lifted Alaska out of a mire of corruption. She gained the passage of a bill that tightens the rules covering lobbyists. And she rewrote the tax code to capture a greater share of oil and gas sale proceeds."

“Does anybody doubt that she’s a tough negotiator?” said State Representative Carl Gatto, Republican of Palmer."

The nerve — hiring trusted people and running a competent, popular administration. So we veer back to “secrecy” –dastardly tales of using a private email account and reliance on a circle of close advisors. Once again, the sheer banality of it all is both numbing and humorous. Surely the Old Grey Lady hasn’t devoted all this space for nothing? But that’s the conclusion one reaches as we stumble into page five. And that seems to have more of the same — people who didn’t get emails returned or thought she was too adversarial, harboring a “siege-like” mentality against her foes.

Wow, are you shocked and appalled yet? Me neither, and I can’t for the life of me figure out the point of the story. Ah, yes: the reporters were told to “get the goods” and this is all they found. But being the New York Times they made it really long, put it on the front page, and hoped people wouldn’t read it all that closely and say, “I guess she has a pretty good record if that’s all they had.”

And if you are looking for any detailed description of any of her accomplishments — presumably the reason for her 80 percent popularity — forget it. No room for that.

[Dahoser]

Are you saying don’t look for a stock split in the near future?

Quite the contrary. At the rate the NY Slimes' stock is going south, a reverse split might soon be all the news that's fit to print.

[NavVet]

“and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance...”

Says the NY Times as an Obama Loyalist in the Alaska Legislature conducts a so-called investigation of Sarah.

[Mancolicani]

If Sarah were a Catholic, the stuff the NYT dug up wouldn’t add more than 5 minutes to her canonization process. Buchanan said it right: “it’s not what she’s done, but what she is” that ticks them off.

[woofer]

Pinch Sulzberger (the failure as Chairman) is the sewermaster

In sewage plant lexicon, Pinch would the HTHIC.

Head Turd Herder In Charge

[Waco]

And klinton fired all U.S. Attorneys with nary a peep from the NYT. Hilary stole 900 FBI files with nary a peep from the NYT.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

“And klinton fired all U.S. Attorneys with nary a peep from the NYT. Hilary stole 900 FBI files with nary a peep from the NYT.”

Exactly. I have a friend who thinks the NYT is the most credible newspaper in the country. Frustrating.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

while she was mayor city employees were told not to talk to the press.

My company has a policy that explicitly prohibits employees from discussing company matters with the press, even when not at work. The rationale is obvious, you can also find someone inside a big company who will say anything, whether fact, fantasy or opinion. You have right to free speech, you don't have a right to a job. Sometimes you gotta choose.

They did fire a vice president who critized the Navy (not the company) in a public forum. The guy now works for one of those "public interest" think tanks and occassionaly appears on Sunday morning talking heads forums, when they need someone who will reliably needle the defense industry and the military.

[DGHoodini]

And why not? He’s a sewer rat, and all his actions, motivations, and directives prove it.

[Lockbar]

"The MSM remind me of some of those chase scenes on shows like “COPS”, "

I enoyed your comparison very much.

[Erik Latranyi]

Liberals are still attacking Palin and ignoring McCain.

If liberals ever went hunting, they would shoot the doe standing next to a B&C record buck.

[varon]

"Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance,

Good for her. She's my kind of reformer, the "take no prisoners" kind.

Go for the jugular, Sarah, and eliminate anyone that gets in the way of your mission!

Finally, someone who will not be intimidated or bought.

[M-cubed]

Maybe a 1 for 10 to keep it from getting de-listed or out of the pink sheets...

[Northern Yankee]

Yeah... MSM and the Times never looked at Travel Gate. The Clinton Administration not only fired these people but brought up charges against them. (Way to go Hillary....)

How many lives did they destroy in that little escapade so that they could bring in the Thompsons.(?) The MSM certainly never went to Billy Dale to ask his side of the story.

[Northern Yankee]

If liberals ever went hunting,... they couldn't load the damned gun. Hell they wouldn't even touch it.

They'd run.

[Grampa Dave]

Pictured below are the NY Slimes Sara Haters posing as oped writers. All of them are clones of Jayson Blair, the drugged out homosexual, who never wrote anything that was the truth.

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Here is something, we can all do this week to start eliminating the NY Slimes as a threat to our nation.

We can do it at our computers and do it in less than 1 hour. Besides sending a severe warning to the NY Slimes and the mutual fund companies which buy and own NY Slimes stock. We will improve our precious investment capital being wasted on NY Slimes stock.

If a few thousand freepers did this simple action this week and a few thousand new freepers, friends and relatives each following week, we will have a terminal impact on the vile NY Slimes acts like their trashing of Sarah Palin.

Please send this simple "how to" to your blogs, friends, relatives and email lists. This action will serve as a cannon shot across the bows fo the other Dinosaur Liberal Fish Wraps re sedition will not be tolerated any more.

INSTRUCTIONS FROM Grampa Dave:

 

Want to smash the NY Slimes?
Check your mutual funds to see if they own NYT, the NY Slimes Stock

 

 

How many of us own mutual funds which own NY Slimes stock and even worse have increased their NYT holdings this year.

NYT investment by a mutual fund company is a terrible investment re the dollar loss in Stock value the last 2 years. Those investments are an attempt to keep the NY Slimes afloat with our mutual fund $'s.

Now it is very evident that the NY Slimes is an agent and abettor of the al Qaeda Serial Killers. The Slimes is endangering the lives of our families, friends, innocent Americans and every warrior of ours.

Go to this link to see if your mutual fund owns NYT.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Symbol=NYT http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/ownership/ownership.asp

When the MS Money stock home page comes up, enter NYT into the search area and hit enter and the following screen will show up re ownership of the NY Slimes stock:

The New York Times Company: Ownership Information

• Shares Outstanding 145.00 Mil
  
  
• Institutional Ownership (%) 83.40
  
  
• Top 10 Institutions (%) 58.60
  
  
• Mutual Fund Ownership (%) 42.64
  
  
• 5%/Insider Ownership (%) 7.77
  
  
• Float (%)
  
  

Highlight the Mutual Fund Ownership and hit enter.

If thousands of Freepers, whose mutual funds own shares of NY Slimes did the following:

1. Sell those mutual funds or trade them for funds not owning NYT.
   
   
2. Send a letter to the fund managers and the CEO's of the mutual fund company telling them why you sold/transferred their mutual fund owning NY Slimes stock. Then demand to know why they are wasting your precious $'s on a lie based fishwrap company which is a terrible investment.
   
   
3. Contact the SEC to investigate why this mutual fund and mutual fund company invested your $'s in one of the worse investments of the past 2 years. Was the investment of yours and others a political bailout of the NY Slimes.
   
   
4. Send this how to re Mutual Funds with NYT stock to everyone on your email list for a wakeup call.
   
   

We might have a lot more impact than trying to boycott companies which sell to the elite liberals of NYC and advertise in the NY Slimes.

In closing: There are no free lunches, and we must support Free Republic on a regular basis! (Link to Donate/Become a monthly donor to Free Republic)

INSTRUCTIONS FROM Grampa Dave:

 

Want to smash the NY Slimes?
Check your mutual funds to see if they own NYT, the NY Slimes Stock

 

 

How many of us own mutual funds which own NY Slimes stock and even worse have increased their NYT holdings this year.

NYT investment by a mutual fund company is a terrible investment re the dollar loss in Stock value the last 2 years. Those investments are an attempt to keep the NY Slimes afloat with our mutual fund $'s.

Now it is very evident that the NY Slimes is an agent and abettor of the al Qaeda Serial Killers. The Slimes is endangering the lives of our families, friends, innocent Americans and every warrior of ours.

Go to this link to see if your mutual fund owns NYT.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Symbol=NYT http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/ownership/ownership.asp

When the MS Money stock home page comes up, enter NYT into the search area and hit enter and the following screen will show up re ownership of the NY Slimes stock:

The New York Times Company: Ownership Information

• Shares Outstanding 145.00 Mil
  
  
• Institutional Ownership (%) 83.40
  
  
• Top 10 Institutions (%) 58.60
  
  
• Mutual Fund Ownership (%) 42.64
  
  
• 5%/Insider Ownership (%) 7.77
  
  
• Float (%)
  
  

Highlight the Mutual Fund Ownership and hit enter.

If thousands of Freepers, whose mutual funds own shares of NY Slimes did the following:

1. Sell those mutual funds or trade them for funds not owning NYT.
   
   
2. Send a letter to the fund managers and the CEO's of the mutual fund company telling them why you sold/transferred their mutual fund owning NY Slimes stock. Then demand to know why they are wasting your precious $'s on a lie based fishwrap company which is a terrible investment.
   
   
3. Contact the SEC to investigate why this mutual fund and mutual fund company invested your $'s in one of the worse investments of the past 2 years. Was the investment of yours and others a political bailout of the NY Slimes.
   
   
4. Send this how to re Mutual Funds with NYT stock to everyone on your email list for a wakeup call.
   
   

We might have a lot more impact than trying to boycott companies which sell to the elite liberals of NYC and advertise in the NY Slimes.

[Taliesan]

So Sarah Palin plays hardball. Wow. Sounds like she passes the FIRST test for being POTUS.

So, America, after reading that, who do you want across the table from Putin: Palin or Obama?

The unstated divide in this election is that 40% of the country want a President who is therapist-in-chief, 40% want a President who will kick the asses of the bad guys. And the rest will decide the race based on what they dreamed the night before the election.

[Rum Tum Tugger]

pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance

Sounds like a description of the Chicago politcal scene when the crooks who run Chicago and Illinois are trying to be nice.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I have a buddy who says that eventually the media will come around, but I don’t think they will.

Actually, they can't. Their business model requires that the public buy assumption that journalism is objective - but it also requires that journalism function as a special interest which needs, and actually manufactures, bad news. And the public is beginning to notice . . .

[mojito]

Thanks for posting those links.

If the MSM had any sense of fairness, or even a modicum of commonsense, the “banned book” discussion would be over, and maybe even apologies issued.

However, the media has whipped themselves into a demented frenzy; they really can't help themselves.

Their collective dementia is now so severe that they don't even realize that this kind of coverage is so lopsided, so grotesque that it's hurting, not helping, Obama.

[mojito]

Where’s Tom Friedman in your rogue’s gallery?

I missed his self-satisfied smirk.