Media Attacks Sarah Palin Out of Fear She'll Become President

Based on the available evidence, it is fair to conclude that the media’s treatment of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has had but one purpose: to discredit her.

The elites—and not just the liberal ones—fear her. Where she a Democrat, she would be a national hero, but because she is a Republican, and a conservative one at that, there has been a concerted effort to turn her into a national joke.

Admittedly, she has at times been less precise in her description of events and, as such, has opened herself up to criticism. But she is no less gaffe prone than the current president, who at various times has, among other errors, talked about the 57 states of the union, omitted the word “Creator” when quoting from the Declaration of Independence, refused to take questions from the press at a White House event on transparency, signed the guestbook at Buckingham Palace with the wrong date, and isn’t able to speak coherently for any length of time without the aid of a teleprompter.[See photos from Palin's bus tour.] 

Palin—like George W. Bush before her—is repeatedly flailed on the altar of the 24-hour news cycle whenever she makes a similar mistake.

The intention is to show, and there’s no nice way to put it, that she’s too stupid to live, let alone be president.

Ann Coulter, the conservative columnist and author of a number of best-selling books, once put it sort of like this: When you’re a Republican president, you are, according to the national media, either dumb (Reagan) or evil (Nixon)—unless you’re George W. Bush, who was both. [See photos of Palin and her family.]

The media elites who craft the narrative for America’s political contests are deathly afraid that Palin, who maintains a considerable following among the electorate, might actually become president. The media culture is doing all it can to keep her out of the 2012 presidential race when, if she really were as dumb as they suggest—“I can see Russia from my house”—you would think they would be doing all they could to get her in the race, so much the better for Barack Obama’s hope for a second term. [See a slide show of GOP 2012 contenders.]

Their strategy seems to be working. According to the latest survey from pollster Scott Rasmussen, 45 percent of Republican primary voters think it would be bad for the GOP if Palin got in the race.

Palin’s base—the Tea Party movement—is warmer to the idea than Republicans generally. “Among Tea Party members who are likely primary voters,” Rasmussen said, “49 percent say it would be good for the GOP if Palin enters the race while 33 percent think it would be bad for the party.” Among regular Republicans, however, the idea of her running for president nosedives, as “57 percent see a Palin candidacy as bad for the GOP.” [Check out political cartoons about the 2012 GOP field.]

The groupthink message, that Palin is just unacceptable as a potential president, is penetrating nicely among the voters that Obama seduced into voting for him last time. Chalk up another one for the media mob.

• See a slide show of who's running and who's not in the Republican primaries.
• Enjoy political cartoons about the 2012 Republican field.
• Vote now: Who won Monday night's GOP debate?

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