It Wasn’t Loss of Nerve
by paradox
Pickled political observers are universally becoming surprised at the longevity of Sarah Palin’s media meteor arc after her VP loss in the election, losing VP’s always instantly fade away into oblivion (who was Bob Dole’s VP choice, again?), they’re no longer a story with the winners taking over and naturally are accorded the dignity of being left alone after losing.
But Sarah Palin is still actively seeking media events every day in a reeking regression of personal and American politics, she just won’t shut up, amazingly, ‘n well, it’s a free country, she can do what she likes, more power to her. Not.
We can be amused as elements of the Republican Party shackle themselves to the inevitable failure that will always be Sarah Palin’s future, but as I was reading at the very good Anonymous Liberal last week1 the mere existence of Palin is no laughing matter at all, she is in fact a grave, throbbing self-inflicted wound on our wobbly body of Democracy that never should have happened, what the hell?
Andrew Sullivan said at Al’s place it was a loss of nerve of the media’s part to plainly state in the most simplest of stark terms that Palin was and is illegitimate as any candidate, she’s lucky she’s granted a driving license in our society with the brain she’s got. He’s wrong and the gravity of the issue forces further examination.2
This is the same Monica journalism corps that yanked out the Monica penis of a sitting President for Monica 15 months in a ruthless Ken Star witch-hunt about how Monica thonged out that presidential pecker, endlessly, for years. Lack of nerve, come on.
American journalism is still a free market capitalism creature, they’re not bailed out yet and to declare Palin the joke she is and have the election essentially shut down would have deprived all segments of the industry vast sums (for them) of revenue. Instinctively they were going to preserve their money and enable Palin, they had to.
Which weaves into the second factor our chattering corporate media darlings, of course they are creatures of GE, Viacom and Disney and for decades have enabled the American political party that protects and owns them, the Republicans. Half the blogosphere is frantically composed of voices slamming home this truth day after day, our media has never been liberal, the reality is precisely the opposite.
We can list the liberals on TV tomorrow for Sunday talk (none), the existence of Fox News and talk radio, the cheerleading of the Iraq war into a horrifying regression of propaganda, yadda yadda yadda on how horribly stifling to Democracy our corporate Republican media is, but by far the greatest example of their culpability to corporatism and the third reason they legitimized Palin is sitting in the White House right now, George Doofus Bush.
American journalism legitimized Bush after he stole an election and constantly enabled classic Palinish verbal gaffes, plus many episodes like the grossly disgusting groping the Prime Minister of Germany. But the great similarity to Bush is more advanced a point than just history, as well know Bush has turned into a nuclear disaster of a President, the American media are greatly responsible for his existence, it’s far better he just be ignored for the political health of all mighty Republicans.
The saintly Jamison Foser of Media Matters made this point weeks ago, and since ignoring Bush is paramount in the American Corporate Journalism Way there was never a chance our yapping talking TV heads were going to state the plain truth of who Palin is, the parallels to who is sitting in the White House would have been far too plain and uncomfortable.
That’s why Sarah Palin was legitimized, to the sorry and tragic reality of us all. Yes on one level it’s funny this pathetic nobody from nowhere who cannot speak a sentence does a political face plant day after day since losing, Jesus, even Fox News went after her, but her mere existence and adroit mirroring of the utter disaster America has for a President now is no laughing matter. Don’t we know it, take a look around, what an incredible fucking mess of hellish pain.
At least life moves on, soon we can build a country again with real principles of Democracy for the little people again, minds can rest easy that the disaster of Bush didn’t get a repeat with Palin, yes. But Palin I is still with us, we’re all greatly sorry to still know, and the memory of it and what’s been done to our country will never be allowed to fade, no matter how hard Disney and Viacom try.
[1] I read Anonymous Liberal every day the entire election and vividly remember three of his ideas precisely being implemented in the Obama campaign almost instantly, leaving him to plaintively ask if they were reading the blog.
If they weren’t, Al, somebody was and told them in one of those small degree of separation things, I know with all the atoms of my little grey cells you directly contributed to the Obama win. Al, you have done so good this year, oy, I wish I could have been a tenth as good, slot some savor time for it, you have to, man.
[2] Nothing personal, Mr. Sullivan, in total sincerity. I am not a reader of yours, but I often see your work from Atrios, Al and Glenzilla, so I know you are a sincere good person who tries hard. It’s simply a point worthy of discussion, and if perhaps it still stings in a personal fashion at least know the countrymen of my homeland (gag) will always wear the horrid distinction of coddling Bush and Palin, which at least the United Kingdom would never degrade itself to in a million years. Be well and peace be with you, Mr. Andrew Sullivan.