The Palin Fixation

Thousands of emails from Palin's term as Governor are about to be released, and the media is swooning. The Washington Post and the New York Times are going so far as to enlist their readers' help so they can root out the good stuff faster. Rest assured, they will find quotes that will make her look bad, particularly if taken out of context. Think about it, how would you like your entire email history scrutinized by people who hate you and have a platform from which to project that hatred? None of us would hold up very well. Trust me, this will be the "big story" that knocks Weiner out of the headlines.

All this is quite fascinating. Sarah Palin has not announced she is running for office, nor will she. And yet the media feels they must traipse around the country following her every move. It's beyond a fixation, more of an obsession. Call it Palin-oira.

When Palin was selected as McCain's running mate, the mainstream media sent 40 full-time reporters up to Wasilla, Alaska to turn over every possible rock. How many reporters do you suppose were sent to Indonesia, Hawaii, or Chicago to vet the presidential candidate from the other party?

To my knowledge, none. Barack Obama was accepted as a matter of faith, and thus we elected a man with virtually no resume about whom less was known than any president in our country's history.

Frankly, this misappropriation of media assets is a gross dereliction of duty. The Fourth Estate is meant to play a vital roll in our democracy, one of skeptic and fact checker. That the mainstream media now only sees this roll as one meant to be applied in only one direction is as sadly obvious as ever.

With Palin, they desperately hope she will run, and they are getting played. That part, at least, I find amusing.