Sarah Palin 'scape-goating:' Shame

Campbell Brown is on CNN -- not MSNBC. Pretty basic information and is even mentioned in the ensuing post.

Country first??????

You see, this is why the Dem's won. It is plain and simple, President (Elect) Obama, united the country from the day he started running.

His group did not run a Negative ad until his opponent did first, case and piont with Hilllary Clinton as well as Senator McCain. He was smarter and much more organized and to be honest, Just Cared about his Country.

While I did not vote for the Republicans and was aghast at their selection for VP, (Not becuase she was a Woman, I thought Barrack should have chosen Hillary) but because to do the job as VP you have to be educated in the world today. You could tell why this selection was made, and it was not made by McCain, buit by the KARL ROVE Republicans.

I hope the Party that I used to be a part of gets its act togethor and learns that Lemonade is much better with Sugar then with Salt!

D/C

Well at least most of the American people had the intelligence to see she was totally unqualified for the position.

I'm sure there will be a few Alaskan's who will now revisit Palins qualifications to be the Governor of Alaska.

She's now a " Pig in a Poke" but with lipstick.

Everyone is complicit here: the McCain campaign for their horrible pick, Sarah Palin, for stoking the class warfare and the diva behavior once she got the scent of power, and most of all the media, who despite being criticized for being too hard on Palin, didn't go far enough in warning the electorate of the dangers in electing her.

If anyone had any doubt that Fox News was a propaganda arm of the Republican party, Cameron's behavior proves it. He personally withheld relevant information, which he now claims was "off the record", when what he really means is that it was only for public consumption if McCain lost and they needed to scapegoat someone.

Excellent commentary by Campbell Brown. Indeed, all the cynical decisions by the GOP are what brought them down. Not to mention that the party is completely fragmented. And not to mention that Barack Obama is the right man for the time anyway.

Congratulations Campbell Brown ! That needed saying - what a bunch of low-lifes these 'aides' reveal themselves to be - no wonder McCain lost.
And so far, anyway, Sarah Palin appears to have reacted
to these peevish smears with considerable dignity. By the way, I'm delighted Obama won.

Wow! Perfectly said!

I for one was not in favor of Sarah Palin. I do stand with you Campbell as far as the Sarah Palin bashing goes, however she does need to have some of the blame put on her shoulders as well. After all it was her that went out and bought all of those clothes, shoes and hair stylists. Personally, I thought she looked just fine from the get go. Another reason she needs some of the blame when asked to be VP she said she didn't even waste one blink of an eye before accepting. For one to jump into that type of position without even seriously thinking about it tells me she really didn't know what this was all about. My biggest fault with her was when she paraded her family around then complaining if someone wanted to ask a question about the Family. I am glad that we are not saddled with her.

Yea, S. Palin is so much dumber than Joe Biden, who got a complete pass from the media, and apparently thinks Roosevelt was President when the depression started and that we had tv then. Oh no wait, he didn't think that, thats just Joe. He made a mistake. There's no story there. But Palin didn't make a mistake, she really thought that. Double Standard.

Did anyone stop to think that the aides "leaking" the info about Sarah may well have advised against her? BTW, when she shopped in Minneapolis she did not have to go to such expensive stores. Macy's and Target are literally right across the street.

This is simply sour-grapes by some on the McCain team. Some of their allegations are patently false. For instance, Palin was not given liberty to spend all that she wanted. Rather, McCain handlers sent their own handlers to Palin and actually pre-purchased an entire wardrobe, most of which she asked to be returned. Also, the NAFTA allegation is clearly false as Palin, while governor, participated in NAFTA related sessions involving Canada, in particular. I have no idea whether the Africa claim is true of false, but it sounds pretty dubious. Fact of the matter is that it is Palin who has acted with considerable class during the latter stages of the campaign and wrap-up. Moreover, it is Palin who has a bright future ahead of her, and not McCain. That is the root of this vitriol from he McCain aides.

From what was reported early on, they *didn't* vet Palin. They vetted some other guys, McCain went all Mavericky and picked her himself, sans vetting. If the aides towed the line, telling us how great she was then that's certainly their problem, but it is McCain who bears the responsibility for picking her.

The true winner is the American People. they knew a bill of tainted goods was being shoved at them and promptly told the extremists of Republican Party to take a long walk off a short bridge.

They lost the election becuse of this foolishness. And Governor Palin can go back to where she belongs..for the time being. I hope the people of Alaska take note and send her packing when it's time for re-election. What an ignorant woman.

I'm a Black female Republican and crossed over to vote for President Elect Obama. Palin was too scary a prospect to have that close to the Presidency.

The GOP indeed brought this upon themselves. Sarah Palin was the wrong choice to pair with John McCain. How utterly amusing that they now will feed her to the dogs in retribution for the debacle created by her presence at the helm of the Republican ticket.
Stories will be told, lies will be fueled, but the truth is clear: She was, and will not be by 2012, even close to capable of running for any national position.
While I wish no ill, I do hope that her global political star has been put out, once and for all of us.

The only Republican in the ticket this year was Sarah Palin. Bobbi P is not a Republican, and is probably just part of Obama's "Civilian Internet Blog Army"

Sara Palin is who we thought she was! That's why we chose her! You want to mock her, then mock her! But she is who we thought she was, and we let them off the hook!"

Don't let McCain off the hook either. If he was truly a... ugh... I can't even type the word again... he wouldn't have let himself be talked into picking Palin in order to appeal to all the right-wing religious nut-jobs.

Clearly the leadership (wherever that may have lain) of the McCain campaign contributed a great deal to the loss of the election. Many important decisions were visiby bungled. This was not the usual well oiled Republican campaign machine of Karl Rove that we have been accustomed to seeing. I'm still trying to figure out for myself what exactly happened to the Republicans. The party did not appear to be fully "on-board" with the McCain campaign. I felt from almost the beginning that McCain had been abandoned by the usual party leadership and apparatus. Perhaps more importantly this let us see McCain's own organization more clearly at work and that may have been a critical factor. The voters just saw how haphazardly so many things were handled. I've long admired John McCain. He truely IS a great American Patriot. And I generally support his views. But I have long mistrusted his judgement when he's challenged by unanticipated developments. The Republican Party has got to find new high ground on which to reorganize themselves. I believe they will do so and that should be a good thing for them and the American public as well. We need a healthy 2 party system.

But let's not forget for a moment that almost certainly the biggest reason McCain lost this election is that the country is sick of the direction the Republican Bush Administration has taken us and Barack Obama has stepped into the political limelight at the right time with a softspoken but firm, intelligent, noble and humble posture to give voice to the discontented feelings of a broad base of American citizens.

@Arklow:

I beg to disagree that Obama ran his campaign with "humility". "Humility" is not exemplified by holding mass rallies of the size and duration that only Fidel Castro could appreciated, nor is it marked by breaking all the records (and maybe a few rules?) for campaign fund-raising and spending. Also, it is not quite "humble" to repeatedly try to compare oneself to Abraham Lincoln. If the Obama campaign was as highly scrutinized as McCain's, and Sarah Palin in particular, then I'm prerty confident that all evidence would show that it's primary goal was to generate a cult of personality around The One, veiled by a public perception of "humility".

Probably a lot of what's being said right now isn't true, but it does show just how fragmented the Republican party has become - and the extent that each person is willing to lie and hurt others to make him/her self look good. A certain amount of that is just politics in general and comes with the territory, but it's getting out of hand now, and it shows...I would have voted for McCain 8 years ago, but the party is so selfish now, it's hopeless.

First of all, let me state that I think knowledge of basic world geography is something I'd like to have in a national leader. That being said, 20% of young Americans think Sudan is in Asia.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/findings.html
So if we are going to criticize her lets throw 80% of everyone you meet today under the bus as well. On another note, who cares?!?! The US has over 4 times the GDP of the ENTIRE CONTINENT. When they get to 2 times send me a memo.......

I do wish the press was making less of this weird piling-on against the obviously unqualified Palin, and more of the fact that serious death threats against Barack Obama shot up disturbingly when the Alaska Maverick hit the campaign trail and began pumping up her right-wing crowds with populist rage and wild accusations. Her real impact was more ugly than mere ignorance or greed, and should be exposed.

When will Celebrity-Elect make change? Oh yeah, he's hiring all his Chicago cronies to help him out. I'm going to leave when he kicks US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald out of town. Chicago will be worse than it already is. And currently, more Americans have died in Chicago than Iraq. Change, that will be the only thing left in your pockets.

Sarah Palin has had her 15 minutes of fame; she will be back in 2012 looking for more. Let's give it a rest until the barracuda raises her empty head again.

I never thought I would defend Sarah Palin! I don't like her and I think she is a source of embarrassment, but this is John McCain's and the Republican Party’s problem. Their pick and actions during the campaign were actually dumber than Palin. That's saying allot. I am not interested in making fun of Sarah Palin anymore; I just want her in the past.

Sean, Joe Biden has a larger body of excellent work over decades in which to view his occasional gaffes. That makes his gaffes mere lint. We learned about Palin in short bursts, and what we learned looked like huge dust bunnies under the couch.

I have learned much more about Alaska in the last few weeks than I would like to. The state that elected her to the governorship has put a felon in the Senate and a slime ball back to the House. The former Governor was a dirt bag so what does that make Ms Palin?

I'm with Tim. For crying out loud, let's stop with the 'Picking On Sarah' game!

She wasn't my choice, but she did pretty good considering the steep learning curve they threw at her.

The GOP'ers blaming her REALLY need to evaluate their attitudes.

"I find it so stunning that the very people who introduced us to Sarah Palin ... who told us she would make a great vice president... have now turned on her with a vengeance,'' Brown said.

This, in the end, was why I voted for Barack Obama.

The same people who encouraged us to vote for and who even now continue to support President Bush were telling us to vote for Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin.

If their judgment was so faulty and continued to be faulty now, why should I trust their judgment now?

It is clear now that they did not believe what they were telling us. To them, our nation's future is a sales job.

That, in the end, maybe why Colin Powell decided to jump ship.

For some, the country's future is about selling a candidate. For others it is about actual policies.

@Alex:
Feel free to disagree on the humility point but I don't recall Obama ever comparing himself with Lincoln or any other person. I believe he may have made reference to the ideals of many famous people, including Linclon. Certainly there was an intention to embrace the spirit of Lincoln. But that does not mean he compared himself to those people. He simply claimed to believe in those values. And why not! Those are some pretty well recognized and respected values. Perhaps what you felt was yourself comparing him to those people after hearing Obama express his beliefs in their values. That would have been a fairly natural reaction. But don't blame Obama for what goes on in your own mind, if that's what happened.

"then I'm prerty confident that all evidence would show that it's primary goal was to generate a cult of personality around The One, veiled by a public perception of "humility".

Posted by: Alex | November 7, 2008 10:23 AM"

Other than your "confidence," what evidence do you have that backs up your statement? If McCain's audiences had been sizeable, would he then have been lacking in humility? If people had believed in him enough to send money, would he then also lack humility? I don't see what either of those things -- both of which come from the outside -- have to do with humility, which comes from the inside. What amount or type of scrutiny would show that the primary goal of Obama's campaign was anything other than to get him elected to the office of President of the United States? You can't "prove" your feelings -- how can you expect anyone else to "prove" theirs?
*
I have "confidence" that McCain would have been EXACTLY like Bush in every way except the name and the body. Prove that's not true.

Joe Biden, who got a complete pass from the media, and apparently thinks Roosevelt was President when the depression started and that we had tv then. Double Standard.
Posted by: Sean
-
There was a double standard alright, but not the way you claim, Sean. Joe Biden's gaffe was reported in all the media outlets for all the world to see, while Sarah's gaffes were held from the public until AFTER the election. Once again, the lie that the media is liberal is shown to be the big lie that it is.

Anyone who would blame Sarah Palin for McCain's loss, just answer this question:
Look at the election results and tell me which candidate he could have nominated that would have changed a significant state or collection states from blue to red. If you can answer that question, I will listen to your arguments. Otherwise, you're just whining and seeking a scapegoat to explain away the fact that 2008 was Obama's year.

Now that the election is over it'll be interesting to see where things go and how the country recovers. I wonder how much attention will go to Sarah Palin. How much longer do you think she'll be in the spotlight prepping for a run in 2012? People are still doing videos on her. Good or bad, she's become somewhat of a pop icon.

For instance, I found this video on dressing like Palin:

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/668-how-to-dress-like-sarah-palin

Anyone who would blame Sarah Palin for McCain's loss, just answer this question:
Look at the election results and tell me which candidate he could have nominated that would have changed a significant state or collection states from blue to red. If you can answer that question, I will listen to your arguments. Otherwise, you're just whining and seeking a scapegoat to explain away the fact that 2008 was Obama's year.

Posted by: JB | November 7, 2008 12:08 PM

First, I don't really blame Palin for McCain's loss. I do blame Palin for not having enough self understanding to realize how woefully unprepared she was and for being too greedy and ambitious not to say, "Talk to me again in four years". But I blame McCain himself for picking her, propping her up, encouraging her to go negative, etc. I also blame McCain for the overall negative tone of his campaign, which I believe cost him the election. Had he spoken during the campaign like he spoke Tuesday night, he would not have had to make that speech Tuesday night.

But back to the VP pick, I do think that Palin did have an effect in costing him the election. Had he chosen Lieberman or some of the other choices floated, he would have shown himself to be a true "maverick", one willing to buck the party's far right extremist wing to pull to the center. Independents and moderates of both parties would have appreciated such a move. But by picking Palin he catered to the crowd that never would have voted against him anyway. Sure, they might not have voted for him, but the God 'n' guns crowd would never have voted for Obama either.

He had the choice to pick proven competence and a centrist position to show that he truly had the interests of the country at heart, or he could have chosen to pander to the lowest elements of the party. He made his choice and, yes, it cost him. Maybe he still wouldn't have won even with Lieberman or someone similar, but the margin would have been a lot closer.

BTW, I am not and never was a McCain fan, so personally I'm quite happy he picked Palin - it just made Obama's job so much easier.

For some, the country's future is about selling a candidate. For others it is about actual policies.

Posted by: Jorge the Cardiologist (not really)

I couldn't say it plainer. most of these paid "handlers" are only in it for the job. They truly don't care which way the wind is blowing so long as they are paid. This became very clear to me when I saw a report on who some of these people worked for during the last elections. It has nothing to do with party or platforms.

Count me in the camp feeling that Sarah Palin is a scapegoat of the incompetent Republican campaign management and that the people running the McCain campaign are using her to both save their own sorry fannies and not look like the Karl Rove wannabees they are. Now, what Fox News is doing, as far as I can tell, is just making a lame attempt to look like they are not, after all, a spokespawn for the Republican Party. (Too late, we are already aware of it. And those of us who do not already grasp the facts are the same few who voted for McCain, not knowing any better.)
We knew what Sarah was when she was nominated, but so what? The election was lost not because Palin is geographically illiterate, or any other permutation of the “Palin is so dumb…” jokes, but because of a second rate, flip-flopping candidate for President and a groundswell of desire for a leader who could run the nation in such as way as to enable us to be proud. After 8 years of arguably the WORST president in history, the last thing we wanted was more of the same - which would have been guaranteed by McCain, who never met an idea he couldn't believe in one day and repudiate the next. Palin was, in a word, used as a pit bull, used in the worst sense of the word, used like a Karl Rove dirty trick, only to be tossed into the scrap heap of politics at the earliest opportunity. She was as much a victim of the process put together by Republicans, hereafter known as the party of bad faith, as a temporary benefactress of it.

I agree Palin is probably being scapegoated. MyAuntFanny mentions that she could've "just said no," which I guess is true, but I'd like to throw out that it's not always as easy as just to respectfully decline a job like that. Certainly if she wants to advance within the party, saying no could mean an end to her political career (yes, as Democrats we don't find that unpleasant, but we don't get to make her choices).
*
I'd say that, now that the whole thing's over with, it's time to quit kicking her. For whatever it was worth, she had her time, she did the best she could, and her side lost. Enough's enough.

Prepare yourself. Within a few months she will be Senator Palin, bringing her searing intellect to the national stage. With Joe the Plumber as her primary economic advisor she will step into Ted Stevens convicted shoes and become the shrill new voice of McCarthyism in the United States, rooting ourt "Socialists" wherever they hide (except within the Republican Party, including John McCain, George W Bush and Hank Paulson ).

Don't get me wrong - Palin was a disaster in waiting. And obviously Palin was used by the campaign.

What Sarah Palin IS guilty of is that she allowed herself to be used. She didn't have the understanding that moving to the Big Leagues was different than running for Mayor or even for Governor of an insulated, small population state.

There are many people out there getting by with flash over substance - sizzle over steak. (Paris Hilton anyone?) Unfortunately, a run for President will examine, magnify and distort every possible flaw a person has and even those they don't have ... and Sarah either didn't consider that or actually believed that she was qualified (I would bet on the latter). She had stars in her eyes. It's sad to see what is now happening, but it is also so very predictable given how our society falls for the cult of "celebrity".

I once had a boss who told me that "perception is reality" as he "reworked" (ie: lied about) the unpopular profit projections to send to head office. Unfortunately, people like him believe that a good lie is better than the difficult truth.

Who is ultimately responsible? WE ARE. We are a society that encourages hubris and overreaching. We egg them on to reach the top and then we gather with stones in our hands to knock them down when they get there.

Sarah will be fine ... she believes in her own PR. That's the really frightening thing.

Why are so many Barack Obama voters here even reading this? Morbid curiousity?

You are dead wrong. Sarah Palin energized the Republican party and brought in $10 million dollars the first two days over and above the rate of donations they had been receiving.

No one is perfect. Romney and /or anyone else would have allienated *some* voters.

Palin represented a lot of things many people don't like.
Anti-abortion and being a hunter to name two. Not me but the liberal left.

I used to be a Democrat but you drove me away a long time ago.

But make no mistake, McCain would have been dead in the water without Palin.

http://www.sarah-palin-2008.blogspot.com

Alex: Barack KNEW it was going to take A LOT OF MONEY to fight the Republicans with their swift boating, etc. And ANYONE, including him, has the right to change their mind!!!!!

I don't want to ruin the emotional high that 54% of American are feeling about Obama, but had any White skinned candidate attend a racist White natioanlist curch for 20 years, he couldn't be elected dog catcher. Does anyone else see this obvious hypocracy? I feel like Winston in 1984. I must be insane.

Palin is just as much to blame.
Do we really want yet another
in the big house lacking self
accountability?

When a presidential candidate
comes to you out of the blue, whom
you've met for but a moment, a
dose of reality is in order.

Sure, I'll be the Vice President,
what the heck.

If she can't handle the press and
public during a campaign, what
on earth makes her think she'll
fare better under a microscope
in the White House?

Palin, go home. You have too
much on your plate and not enough
under your belt.

Sarah Palin definately helped the McCain election. I think she is being used as a scape goat. She attracted a lot of voters and was just as qualified as a one-term senator. It was the economy that hurt McCain. Obama won the election by a bias media and a lot of questionable money.

Alex:

Your comments are extremely unAmerican. "Mass rallies" of people who showed up to support their candidate - this reminds you of Fidel Castro? Well, here's the difference, pal. Fidel would never allow any rallies for an opposition candidate, only for himself. Sorry but your logic is kinda twisted, and proves that the GOP wingnuts are not only the religious ones. It's truly sad that a candidate who is supported by everyone from welfare mothers to Warren Buffet is something you find frightening.

"McCain would have been dead in the water without Palin." wrote Crain.
Egads! You're saying the GOP nominated someone for president who needed Palin for a BOOST?!? The GOP is in worse shape than I thought!