Sarah Palin: Readers Respond
Based on the reader comments from the online Wall Street Journal concerning Sarah Palin it appears the readership demographic is not confined to any specific segment of the population including the 1000 dollar suit crowd. There are comments like you would expect from a varied audience that provide yeas and nays, thumbs up and thumbs down. And a few of them touch on a topic that has been raised here regarding the ‘experience’ meter debated at length in political coverage this election season. To that discussion this comment is added again.
The same standard of measurement on experience is not being equally applied to both Obama and Palin. A bit of a puzzle since Obama is running for President and Palin, Vice-President. If you are concerned about a VP candidate’s experience qualifications for President why are you not also displaying that same concern about one who seeks the Office of President of the United States directly.
The point is that Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were all former governors, became President and had what for experience for the office on day one? And yet Sarah Palin is subjected to the experience question and evaluations of her and her family’s personal lives ad nauseum. But where is this standard of measurement for Barack Obama or even Joe Biden?
Another current 24/7 flashing beacon in the MSM’s airspace is John McCain’s vetting process for Sarah Palin. Perhaps all those items the MSM is now focusing on were completely known to John McCain and his only mistake in the process was thinking the MSM was adult enough not to go all mob mentality on people. After all, wasn’t it the Democratic party brand named Clinton that proclaimed children were off limits and the media complied?
The reason this blog has been raggin’ on the media lately is simple. They have largely been doing a crap job applying critical review to all parties concerned. Sure, there are those in the news business who could be defined as journalists and doing a respectable job. But their voices are being muffled or muted by the tabloid practices of the majority of ‘news’ outlets. The same folks who have abandoned any sort of best practices to present a continuous stream of sensationalism about the usual topics of death, dismemberment, sex, scandal and anything else that will appeal to the least common denominator and raise the ratings and ad revenue.
Gotta keep those stockholders happy, otherwise, no predated stock options, no golden parachute, no multimillion dollar mostly hidden annual income. The boardroom is alive and kicking and firmly entrenched in this political season. This underscores that technology and a changing culture are not the only reasons traditional media outlets are losing the battle to stay relevant.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com