Journalism's new savior

Swear to God, my "gregg doyel" google alert just went off. Must be the thread title. Misleading.

 

Is she stupid? I dont know. But I do know she contradicts the shit out of herself. Take this from the AP story on her new book.

Palin's potential presidential ambitions have been the subject of increasing chatter recently, with her every remark parsed for clues as to her 2012 plans. The former Alaska governor doesn't detail her plans, but speaks of a need for new leaders.

"We're worried that our leaders don't believe what we believe, that America is an exceptional nation, the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan believed it is," she writes. "We want leaders who share this fundamental belief. We deserve such leaders."

Palin makes it clear she believes Obama is not such a leader. She accuses him of dismissing American "exceptionalism" as "a kind of irrational prejudice in favor of our way of life."

Yet later we get...

On a pop culture note, the author takes aim at "American Idol," even though her daughter, Bristol Palin, is in the thick of a much-scrutinized run on "Dancing with the Stars." Palin refers to Idol's "talent-deprived" contestants who suffer from "the cult of self-esteem" to the extent that they grew up convinced they could be stars like Michael Jackson.

But Simon Cowell, the acerbic judge who left the show at the end of last season? He is "almost alone in his willingness to tell hard truths," Palin writes.

I guess the thought never occurred to her that some of these people dismissing the country's "exceptionalism" might be just willing to tell hard truths about the U.S. Do I think this country's THE BEST place to live? I don't know because I haven't lived anywhere else. Do I think its ONE OF the best? Yes. Do I think we have flaws that need to be addressed? Absolutely, and I find anyone who wants to dismiss anyone who points out the flaws as "unpatriotic" to be willingly blind.

Its that attitude that got General Motors and US Steel in trouble 30 years ago. Three decades ago these companies said, "We dont need to change how we do business. They'll NEVER buy from our foreign competitors." Now we're playing catch-up. if we dont watch our asses this country will be doing the same thing.

 

Quayle was fodder for Letterman and Carson for the entire four years Bush Sr. was in office. And Quayle never brought any of the attention on himself. He didn't write two books. He didn't host "Dan Quayle's Indiana." You can't ask for the spotlight to be turned on you then bitch you're getting sunburned. She had every opportunity to vanish after the election. She didn't.

 

"Dan Quayle's Indiana."

I really hope one of SNL's writers reads this board...

 

So, so awesome.

 

She also didn't do any of that until after the election. If McCain had won, I think it's safe to say she would not have a reality show and her daughter wouldn't be on DWTS.

 

I don't disagree, but I think bloggers and TMZ think of themselves as journalists. Where's the line? I have no idea. How is TMZ any different than Page Six? How is Perez Hilton different than Cindy Adams? Are ESPN's bloggers journalists? I think so.

That's a big part of why the opinion of journalists has gone down so much in the last 5-10 years. People lump us with people who play by a completely different set of rules. I understand when people don't understand the difference.

 

But Palin refers to them as the mainstream media.

Mainstream media, to most people, means the New York Times, WSJ, NBC, ABC, Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, etc., etc., not Perez Hilton and TMZ. Even in 2010, I don't think most Americans think of Perez Hilton, TMZ, and the Daily Koz as mainstream media.

 

Still, both sides, and I mean BOTH SIDES, of the political spectrum in America tell people they're unpatriotic..

 

Mainstream in 2010 is a lot different than it was 10 years ago.

I read the Huffington Post more frequently than I read Time or Newsweek. I read TMZ and Perez Hilton more than I read Page Six. It's not like blog sites are underground.

 

The Huffington Post is not a mainstream media outlet. It just isn't, whether you read it more than Time or not.

 

That was very, very well done.