Palin Coverage Not Sexist, Former McCain VP Hopeful Says

Just hours after aides to John McCain accused the media and Sen. Barack Obama of engaging in sexist and chauvinist treatment of Sarah Palin, another prominent member of McCain's team said the coverage has been neither sexist nor driven by Obama.

Former Rep. Rob Portman, an adviser to the Arizona Republican, argued in a brief interview with the Huffington Post that while the coverage of Palin's family travails has on occasion been out of bounds, there was no inherent gender bias to it. Moreover, Portman lauded the Obama campaign for condemning the personalized scrutiny of the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee.

"I don't know if [the coverage] would be any worse for her than it would be someone else... Over the line is over the line and both Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden have made statements this week saying that it is over the line, saying that children of candidates really ought to be outside the political fray," said Portman, a former Bush administration official and a one-time potential McCain VP himself. "I think it is absolutely fair to look at someone's record... And it is appropriate for the media to look at that because, in a sense, the media keeps us all honest about what our positions are and if we are consistent. Where it goes over the line is when it becomes about the private life of the family. And to the extent that that does not affect public policy decisions, which in the case of the discussion this week about Gov. Palin's family it does not, I do think it is over the line."

Following days of withering scrutiny of Palin's personal and political record, McCain's campaign has pushed back by accusing the fourth estate of orchestrating an "outrageous smear campaign" to derail her candidacy. Much of it, they have added, was driven by a gender bias. Some, they insinuated, came from the Obama campaign.

"The Republican Party will not stand by while Sarah Palin is subjected to sexist attacks," said aide Carly Fiorina.

Earlier, Fiorina claimed to be "appalled by the Obama campaign's attempts to belittle Governor Sarah Palin's experience." American women, she added, "are more highly tuned than ever to recognize and decry sexism in all its forms. They will not tolerate sexist treatment of Governor Palin."

Also on Wednesday, McCain's national campaign co-chair and former CEO of e-Bay, Meg Whitman told Fox News that the media vetting of Palin had been "completely fair," and refuted the idea that there had been "sexism" in the coverage.

"I actually think it's completely fair for the media to vet Sarah Palin," Whitman said. It is, she added, "the right thing to do" for the media to dig into the background of someone who is "running for the highest office in the land."

Asked if, in the wake of the countless stories and inquiries into Palin's position and life, he felt a sense of relief over not having been tapped as McCain's VP, Portman jokingly replied in the affirmative. The frenzy, he added, "is kind of what I expected."

Comments

[arthur2008]

John McCain is desperate to convince voters the controversy is about Gov. Palin -- it is not. It is about the senator's poor judgment and cynical lack of regard for the best interests of the nation.

[SailawayJane]

True, absolutely agree. But as long as she is added to the ticket, she has to be able to answer the tough questions on her own two feet w/o McSame by her side. I honestly believe McSame sold out the American people with this pick. Because if he is successful she will be the next VP.

[TheProverbialMan]

I think it is an example of Republican infighting and the eventual destruction of the GOP. We know who Rove wanted, we know who McCain wanted...i­nstead we got Steve's Schmidt's crazy from left field hail mary pass.

Either way, it reflect VERY poorly on McCain's judgement and under cuts his experience claim by a wide margin.

Epic Fail

[redsongia]

McSame sold out the American people after he hired his new campaign strategist and ran those meaningless Paris Hilton/ Britney Spears ads. Now he has become EVERYTHING that, in his heart, he hates. He has the tabloid queen running as his VP, and he's even the one who put her on the tabloids in the first place.

[Daly]

That is because he did not vet the clown (campaign strategist ) either.

[pattio66]

McCain has a heart?

[SailawayJane]

Again the issue is NOT her oversexed teen daughter, but rather Palin's background. We have every right to question a totally unknown woman who McSame saw fit to put on his ticket. She deserves to be vetted just like everyone else, regardless of whether she's got five kids or none. I want to know more about her, everything I can so I can make an informed choice. But in order to do that we have to see and hear her, have her answer her own questions and I'm not talking about having Katie Couric interview her either, but someone who can ask her about her experience or lack thereof.

[StillIRise]

The real issue is McCain's judgment and his regard, or lack thereof, for the integrity and security of our nation.

[theneelster]

It exactly is. The issue is that is the "conservative" a facade or is it the truth. Pregnant teenage daughter, budget inflation, abuse of power, etc. are not conservative. Just because the daughter "chose" to keep the baby (if she is indeed pregnant) does not dismiss the fact that she got pregnant out of wedlock and it doesn't dismiss the questionable story regarding the 5th child. These veneer conservatives use God as the justification for everything they preach but never practice. It is the media's job to detail and elaborate on this hypocrisy, to out these false conservatives (and politicians in general) and ruin their lives. Honestly, if you can't tell the truth about simple things, how are you to be expected to tell the truth about complex things.

Cover up or not there is a very clear question as to whether or not the 5th child is actually sarah palin's because the story as a whole doesn't add up; revealing her daughter is "now" pregnant only shows as a deflection from the rumors. If there weren't any grain of truth to the rumors it would not need to be addressed; since they are making "she's pro life" a big part of her candidacy it's important to find out if her new set piece is actually hers or her daughters; are people really going to take a politicians word on the subject?

[blueshield]

It is not sexist to say that HRC put 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, and S.arah P.alin is bringing the glue.

[SailawayJane]

And her gun, right?

[ldillworth]

Is it fair to go so far as talk about her teen daughter's pregnancy and impending (or so they say) shotgun wedding? Well when the candidate in question wants to lead you based on her faith (which the constitutionality of is dubious at best) I think yes.

If she can't lead her own daughter, if her own policies failed her own daughter, how can she lead or help lead an entire nation?

[Daly]

On the daughter; she has made one mistake; they want to compound it with the forced marriage to a high school drop out. That's not the brightest bub example.

[JubilationLeigh]

This is not the woman I want lecturing me on values. Going to work 3 days after having a baby (is taking maternity leave unamerican? I'm confused) ? Dragging your pregnant teen daughter into the spotlight for your own career? Acting like a forced teen marriage is a good idea? Having ties to a group who wants Alaska to seperate from the Union (creationism = yes, civil war = no?)?

[RadCenter]

As vice president, Sarah Palin would be on the president's team, negotiating with leaders of countries where it is considered standard punishment for a woman to be beheaded for wearing nail polish. If she cannot handle a few days of media manhandling, even if it is sexist (which it hasn't been), then surely she's unfit for such duties.

[DebM]

These questions would be asked of anyone regardless of gender. Every time the Republicans play this ridiculous sexism card where none exists, they further perpetuate that women are not able to play with the big boys.

[blackjack19]

So does this mean that Portman is sexist too since he's unable to see the sexism?

[speechteach]

Okay, I'm a middle aged woman who believes in equal pay for equal work, a woman's right to choose, and many other beliefs that a typical "feminist" would have. I don't call myself that, simply because I think labels (whether conservative, liberal, left, right, and so on) have been thrown around to scare people and have no place anymore. Don't just label someone and expect the public to fill in the blanks. In regards to Sarah Palin, I believe the media and the voting public have every right to "vet" her from now until election day. They have done the very thing to the other candidates, simply because they have been on the national scene longer than Palin. I, for one, believe we need to know about any shenanigans she has been involved in because John McCain and she have tried to sell her as a "reformer". If she has taken earmarks and abused her executive power, then we need to know those specifics. If she intends to push her "family values" ideas, then we have every right to question the effectiveness of "abstinence only" education when it doesn't even work in her own family. As a woman, it is not "sexism" to make sure that any candidate is fit to handle the Presidency. You can bet they would be much tougher on Hillary Clinton than the public is on Palin!

[BMS]

Another middle-aged woman here, and I agree with you 100%. McCain "sprung" Palin on the country without doing proper vetting of her, and now he has to accept the consequences. The public (that's ALL of us, of every party) have a right to know as much as possible about the public record of someone who might be a heartbeat away from the presidency. I happen to think being the leader of the free world requres different qualifications than being a leader in the PTA - maybe that's just me.

I couldn't care less if every one of Palin's daughters had three children of their own - wed or unwed - that's none of my business. How did she function in office in Alaska? All of the information we are hearing now about abuses of power and earmarks etc. completely refutes the very platform (ie, "reformer") that McCain is using to promote Palin.

The claim that asking questions is "sexist" just won't fly. We'd be asking the same questions about a male candidate if we knew that McCain had spent about 15 minutes "vetting" them too. We are not stupid, and we deserve the best leaders we can find. Let's put Palin out there, taking questions from the media and from the american people, without the protective bubble the McCain campaign has her wrapped up in. Let's see if she's qualified to go head-to-head with Putin and Ahmadinejad (sp?) if, God forbid, anything were to happen to McCain.

[SailawayJane]

You bet your a$$ we deserve to know everything about this woman. I want to know where she keeps her gun, how often she uses it, what she uses it for, and how often she cleans the thing. I want the MSM crawling all over her just like they did Hillary. I want to know how she got all those earmarks, how long she worked for Ted Stevens. I want to know everything about her. And I deserve to know!

[mgray34]

This will squash all this talk about her being the best qualified. The list below are the last 7 Vice Presidents. Where does Palin rank with this group? I thought so...

Cheney
Gore
Quayle
H. Bush
Mondale
Ford
Rockefeller

The republicans are too funny. They can't be serious, right?

[redsongia]

Well, these days, I'm remembering G.H.Bush pretty fondly.

[mrJJ]

The McSame New & Improved GOP Vetting Process

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-AiqGC0buo


ROFLMAO...­The voicemail

http://www.236.com/blog/w/lee_camp/mccains_voice_mail_to_palin_le_8644.php

[dnels14]

thank you for speaking up.. watch your back - your party has temperment and judgement problems

[PUMAMA]

McCain is insinuating that Obama is driving the inquiries by the the media into the politics and family of Palin. If that is true then Barack Obama is in executive control of the media in the entire country. That is HUGE. That is more executive control and EXPERIENCE than Rupert Murdoch.

[CindyM2008]

Uh oh. Mc Cane will probably now threaten to beat Portman up.

[EricHayes]

Looks like the 2X4 upside the MSM's collective head finally got its attention. Some of this stuff is actually started to get covered by the "legitimate" press.

[smag]

I suggest that Dems that feel that Sarah Palin is not qualified should not vote for John McCain. The Republicans that feel that she is not qualified should not approve her nomination. Gee whiz folks get a life. Vetting is done to prevent surprises; it is like checking job references for a potential job applicant. Ever know anyone who embellished the truth about someone they were recommending for a job. As far as vetting is concerned, it is not a law. It is simply a good idea. The third person in line for the Presidency is the speaker of the House, who, God forbid should anything happen to the Pres. and VP would assume office without being vetted. Heaven help us should Pelosi ever get to the White House. She can't even get along with her own party. She is too busy trying to prove that she is the best man. As she cried on Larry King, they never wanted me boo hoo hoo

[j0em0mma]

I love it how when the Repubs get caught with their pants around their ankles they start bashing on Dem leadership like Pelosi who has absolutely NOTHING to do with this story. Nice try.

[CindyM2008]

They always try to distract. It's comical watching them crawl out of the woodwork in an attempt to deflect and troll. lol

[Dynamohum]

SMAG just go away. run along to the right wing blogs.....

[SailawayJane]

At least Nancy Pelosi knows what the VP does. Sarah Palin admitted she does not. If that doesn't scare you then go back to the right wing blogs.