AP Claims Liberals' "Belittling" Palin -- With No Evidence

Here's the lede from an "analysis" piece from the Associated Press:

Liberals sound like conservatives; the right sounds like the left. John McCain's surprise choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has upended conventional wisdom and brought about a seeming role reversal.

Many liberals are belittling the choice, suggesting that as a mother of five children -- including an infant with Down syndrome -- she has neither the time nor the experience to become vice president.

Naturally, with such a strident accusation -- that "liberals" are actively "belittling" Sarah Palin, specifically on the choices she's made as a mother -- one would expect the author, Tom Raum, to successfully identify one such belittler by name, or at least cite a single example of such belittlement. One would be incorrect! In fact, no examples of any such activity is cited. The first "liberal" quoted in the piece, in fact, is Barack Obama, who says:

"I think people's families are off limits and people's children are especially off limits."

Now over the weekend, I, like many people, read through a lengthy post on Daily Kos, which attempted to present a case that Palin's fifth child was actually the offspring of her eldest daughter. At the time, I felt that the allegations weren't very convincing, and even if true, weren't something that made sense to criticize. (Apparently, the powers-that-be over at DK agrees, as the post seems to have been taken down. Also, it's been well and thoroughly debunked, to my recollection.)

Nevertheless, I haven't encountered an abundance of "belittlement" on the matter. On our site, Lee Stranahan rightly called the post a "hot mess," noting that it was "uncited, breathless, and spins a story that's totally far-fetched." Just like this AP article's lede! Anecdotally, I'd say that most of what I've encountered on the liberal blogosphere on this matter runs in the same direction of Spencer Ackerman's post, here, which begins:

There are many, many, many reasons to be concerned about Sarah Palin's fitness for vice president. A scurrilous and unfounded rumor about her family is absolutely not one of them. Same goes for her appearance. As progressives, we have an absolute obligation to defend Palin when it comes to the same kind of private crap that the right put on Clinton or on John Edwards or any number of others. Some flimsy discussion about "hypocrisy" is a fig leaf for exploitative opportunism.

Comments

[fistbump]

Women make up the majority of the country. We vote more, raise the kids, run the family budgets, and go out to work the same tough hours as men.

To think that this woman is the best woman, the most qualified woman in the country is a joke, and an insult to all of us who have worked so hard for our rights. That this woman stands for taking rights away from me and from all women is a slap in the face. You think we're gonna sit by and let her, a pawn, a puppet of the right, take our rights away?

You're all gonna see how tough women can be, all right. We're gonna defeat this prom queen and stuff her pom poms right down her throat!!

[dubiouslyhopeful]

Wow, is all I really can say - WOW! I am so utterly exhausted. This double standard bullcrap has got to STOP.

On the one hand - we "liberals" are being "mean" by even questioning sarah's experience and are being sexist (BY THEY WAY - I'M FEMALE!), but on the other its quite okay to SLAM Obama WITH NOTHING BUT SLANDEROUS LIES.

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. That this convention would be nothing but a slime fest about Obama. And I was right. NOTHING NEW HERE - THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD. They can't even fill their small convention hall. unbelievable! Do you really want to compare the DNC to the RNC? Lets play them back to back - side to side, and lets also get the pictures from the outside of the center - both the DNC and RNC - and judge for yourselves. Smiles in Denver. SNARKINESS in the Twin Cities.

[LucieLee]

The AP is not really an honest arbitor of the facts. They have become the "Fox news" of print media. There is no "belittling" going on here...just media vetting and scrutiny. Remember the AP is the outfit that always supplies sprinkled donuts and coffee to John McCain.......The AP reporter responsible for being "chief donut and coffee handler" is Liz Sidoti for one. One can not take the AP seriously any longer....sad.

[Babysnake]

Yep. They all have the disease. Tim Reynolds, too.

[UnbiasView]

Troopergate is what the liberals are pushing . . .

"Mike Wooten is not the kind of state trooper you would like to meet on a snowy highway in Alaska. Among the allegations against him are: he used a Taser on his ten-year-old stepson; he shot a moose without a licence; he drank beer in his squad car. Not to forget the claim that he once made a death threat against a retired school teacher . . . who was Palin's father"

If the Dems want to complain about the cops in St. Paul, they should applaud Palin for dumping this scum from Alaska.

[Heavenhelpusall]

Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy, welcome to the World of Liberal Media. Make yourselves at home.

[castlerider]

Something really wrong with this country when a major news dispatch organization goes tooth and nail against a party it doesn't like or agree with.

Enough from these lying jerks already. How do we call them out and make them accountable for their lies?

[applebutter]

Eh... "Liberals" are voters. Conservatives have been acting rather fascist lately about the flow of information. What's to expect from a McCain/Palin ticket? Censorship of the press and the internet? We know Palin tried to get Harry Potter and other books banned from the library when she was a mayor. These people scare me more every day.

[vikingv]

Has anyone pointed out that Alaska is close to the North Pole? I think not. Sarah Palin is an expert on Santa Claus too. Jeepers, I cannot believe nobody has exploited this little known credential.

Think of the role that plays in the economy. What would we do in the case of a Nordic crisis and a very real economic threat of a year without Christmas?

[SurrealPumpkin]

Why does every one ignore Canada which shares a border with Alaska; and Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Just think of all those potential VP candidates with international experience.

[burndtdan]

But with Cuba going through such a transitional period, isn't it important to get someone in office with experience dealing with them? Florida is the place to look!

[demfriend]

The talk that the VP choice matters little because the VP doesn't do much is appalling as we all know how much damage was done at the hands of Cheney. We do not need anyone else with power hunger anywhere near the oval office. The potential of McCain having a negative health event grows with time. He has cancer and with the "torture" and damage done during his POW years has to be added to the fact his father has been long dead so what killed him? The stress off the oval is well known and to look at the presidents who have come out looking many years older than they should speaks volumes as to how much can happen to someone younger than McCain is. So these things in mind Plin could finish off what Bush and McCain if he won would have started. Not far to go to destroy so many things McCain has no value for. Palin is rove in a dress from what is coming from Alaska. That Palin hubby and wife have worked with the group to seceed from the US is a frightening thing. We should be scared because McCain is willing to do such damage to us without a thought to win.

[doodlefarbe]

A few examples do come to mind, but hardly signal a "role reversal".

Eleanor Clift (Newsweek): "the media reaction [to palin's nomination] has been literally laughter in many, many newsrooms." Obviously not a serious veep candidate but rather an object to be ridiculed.

WaPo characterizes the Sen.Biden pick as an "infusion of experience and aggressiveness," and says Sen. Biden is a "sharp-witted and energetic foreign policy expert." Nice praise, no need to mention he's "liberal". But Palin? Gotta bring out those "WARNING" labels: "strong blue-collar conservatism"; "the pro-gun, conservative governor of Alaska." The front-page picture caption labels her "a conservative with strong antiabortion views." Get it? DANGER! CONSERVATIVE!

CNN's John Roberts wonders aloud how she can possibly handle being both a good mother and Veep candidate. GMA's Weir pestered after the same question. On these last two, I would have expected to have every local NOW president on all the morning shows demanding the men be fired for such presumptions. Instead? Crickets.

[caterpol]

Whoa. A little perspective is in order.

The media's coverage of Senator Hillary Clinton, for instance, was certainly mixed, often sexist, but she WAS and IS taken seriously politically. And she's TAKEN seriously because she paid her dues. We KNOW where she stands because her decades-long record in public office speaks for itself----it's er, long and public. Love her or hate her she's FOR women.

Palin, not so much.

So like most rational Americans, I'm wondering why on earth this is the best candidate McCain could come up with. And so far, all I'm hearing from the right is that she's a woman, so you liberals better defend her based on gender alone. Seems to me the "sexism" began with McCain's obliviousness to reality.

[doodlefarbe]

"her decades-long record in public office "

Speaking of a need for a bit of perspective, how exactly do you define "decades"?

One commonly useful description is a period of at least 20 years.

Wasn't Sen. Clinton first elected to public office in 2000, about 8 years ago?

In any event, I do also quibble with you because I believe the sexism thrown at Sen. Clinton did have a deleterious effect on her credibility. Not amongst those who really take the time to research the candidates, but seriously, what percentage of the population do you think that people like you represent?

The other 90% don't take the time or make the effort. While your impressions of a candidate may not be affected by unfair sexist attacks, I think many people do allow these things to cloud their judgment.

As for your final comments, you're right that surely he could have picked someone with more than 2 years executive experience (I'm not giving her anything for the Mayor job).

[mnash]

If anyonr is to blame, it is McCain and his campaign. Had they vetted her probably, this would not have happened. They had to have known that people out in the world are smart. They know the internet. So I think they should take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming other people

[doodlefarbe]

I"f anyone is to blame, it is McCain.... Had they vetted her properly... had to have known that people out in the world are smart. They know the internet. "


Yep. Them there internets is a series of tooobs. TOOOOBS, I say.

;-)

[fignozzle]

did rupert murdoch buy the AP too???

[caterpol]

Reality check please.

McCain and Sarah Palin herself are using her status as small-town America mother of 5 as a qualification to be President of the United States. (Yes, President. McCain's old with a history of cancer).

So I guess I must have missed the "feminist-liberal" memo where we all agree that every woman with children is immediately qualified for the highest office of the land. Where we all agree that she's ready and capable despite knowing almost NOTHING else about her.

How insulting to women everywhere.

[fignozzle]

thank you!

[venice6]

GOV. PALIN- YOU CALLED SEN. CLINTON A WHINER AND THAT IS EXCACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW. IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN. AND DON'T LET THE BACK DOOR HIT YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE. WE WON'T MISS ANOTHER 8 YEARS OF BUSH AND YOU BS.

[NeverRepublican]

There is nothing "funny" about this joke...

And anyone with a slight vision of "responsibility" can see that this VP choice is a JOKE.