David Shuster and John Ziegler Spar Over Palin (VIDEO)

Those Sarah Palin clips from yesterday are all over the newshole this morning and the business of Sarah Palin is booming again. MSNBC cut themselves a slice of the pie, pitting David Shuster against conservative filmmaker and Palin interviewer John Ziegler, who presented his case that the media -- with MSNBC itself held out for specific scorn -- "assassinated" Sarah Palin. Naturally, Shuster objected, and chaos ensued, and it made for excellent television for MSNBC and excellent publicity for Ziegler, which is why he smiled through the entire segment.

Look, I sort of gagged when Shuster asked if Ziegler's use of the term "assassination" diminished "actual assassinations," because really, why turn this conversation into a high-stakes debate over semantics? Woo! Value!

But from there, the segment becomes yelly and incomprehensible, with Ziegler repeatedly calling Shuster "a joke" and objecting to the premise that Sarah Palin was unqualified to be vice-president. "Oh, is that your opinion, David? As a newsperson? That Sarah Palin was unqualified to be vice-president? That sounds very objective."

Shuster tried to get this back on track. "I'm asking if during your interviews, did Sarah Palin take any responsibility for her own shortcomings," he explained. After a reference to O.J. Simpson, Ziegler says that if Shuster had watched the YouTube clips, you'd know that she did. I watched the YouTube clips, and she doesn't, other than to say she was naive to believe that the media would provide her with a constant love-fest. Remember: she believes that things would have been different if she'd been Obama's running mate. And she's right! Things would be different: Obama would still be an Illinois Senator, no one would have ever heard of Roland Burris, and John McCain would have an eighth domicile.

It's BONKERS. But the thing no one seems to be able to counter Ziegler with is the fact that Sarah Palin's reversal of fortunes came not as a result of "liberal media" criticism. 'Twas conservatives -- Brooks, Krauthammer, Will, Buckley, Parker, and others -- that really ran Palin off the road. Why? Those aforementioned voices on the right thought Palin had shortcomings for which she wouldn't take responsibility.

[WATCH.]

Comments

[claylandg]

Msnbc was and still is in the tantkfor Obama, it's clear how much Sarah is hated i just hope obama serves the country well and if he doesn't than all the media will actually report the truth.Report not make news themselves which seems to be what has happening lately.

[entrenchedhoosier]

John Ziegler is not a statistician. He did not predict the outcome of the 2008 presidential election, with high accuracy, as did Nate Silver. He is attempting to steal some of the spotlight from the historical events of the recent past.
Sarah Palin is the top elected official in Alaska. The presidential election of 2008 was decided 2 months ago. Her party lost the election by a landslide margin.
She has been MIA from her elected position in Alaska. The people in Alaska are getting pissed off.
But don't take my opinion as fact. Go to an Alaskan blog and see for yourself.

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/01/09/palins-priorities-and-what-they-tell-us/

[southwindow]

during all of the criticism of Palin during the campaign, I kept having this nagging thought:
She never came off as less intelligent or more arrogant than are current president, and didn't get to where she is based on name recognition. She got there based on her looks and charm, which to me is far more respectable than W's road to the white hous. So why did she get such a hard time for being an idiot, when bush just got chuckles and a reelection?

[dlswriter]

After 8 years of that idiot, the country could just not take another idiot.

[RuffNReddy]

I digress. As stated by Spatso, those who supported and still support Bush are the same rejects that support Palin... to this day. What is that? 26%?

Yes, please let her come into the limelight in 2012. Let the limelight crush her with the further exposure of her skewed sense of reality, family, religion and politics. That her idealism is not what the majority percentage wants...or needs, for that matter. As clearly pronounced in the election of Obama. She is not a contender.

She has nothing to bring to the table. Her backwoods charm only stimulates a tiny percentage of the population. A tiny, crazy, morbidly unrealistic, religiously charged portion of America. The real America? The same America as in Jesus Camp?
Yeah that America.

Yeah, right.

[spatso]

I think this is a really important question upon which I make two assumptions. First, the electorate held an incredibly deep and unresolved reservoir of anger towards George Bush. Second, John McCain had his own issues with George Bush so the natural hostility to Bush did not easily stick to McCain. Even though many tried to make McCain into Bush light it did not really resonate. Even though McCain may have has some awkward moments clearly he was more sincere and thoughtful than Bush. When he tried to go nasty it appeared that his heart really wasn't in it.

Along comes Sarah Palin. Could you dream a better Bush light? The reservoir of anger was unleashed and Palin became the lightening rod for all this unexpressed fury. Those who still supported Bush came to her defense and McCain became the forgotten candidate.

Clearly the electorate deserves Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee in the next election.

[consideration]

Bush actually listened to his handlers. Palin decided to go rogue.

I think that Bush is more intelligent than Palin. I'm not saying he's bright, but he's smarter (a very low bar).

That said, it's an embarrassment that our country actually re-elected Bush in 2004. They did it because they thought that it was more important to deny homosexuals any rights as opposed to stop killing people in Iraq. Go back and look at the issues of that election.

However, Bush's incompetence was impossible to sweep under the rug in 2008 and the country is tired of it. Bush, although a terrible mangler of the English language, is not as incoherent as Palin and occasionally does answer a question. He also doesn't play the victim quite as much as Palin.

[bronceye]

I was laughing as I happened to catch that interview. It was like Shuster was interviewing PeeWee Herman. Hilarious idiocy is the common thread of neoconman thinking.

[marymansour]

Sarah Palin has the ego of 20 Hollywood superstars melded. She is not going to shut up and go away. We will have to live with her cr@ppy squawking as long as the main stream media finds her amusing and has a slow news day.

[dejavu1972]

I was watching and proud of Shuster who has earned his chops. He tore into Zeigler and left him no wiggle room. Shuster makes this show well worth the watching.

[ScapeGoat]

Palin is the gift that keeps on giving. She has no clue. She just opens her mouth and junk comes out. Garbage in, garbage out. She is a constant train wreck. It's like the twilight zone or ground hog day where the train keeps jumping the tracks over and over and over again, day after day, after day, after day, on an endless loop.

[gruyere6]

u might call her a perpetual douchbag

[RuffNReddy]

I just love the Monty Python imagery of 'junk' falling out of her unhinged mouth.
Wow. Wouldn't they have had a field day!

[SeagirlX]

If anyone is familiar with Star Wars, the movies and story/books, you'll understand what I mean by, "What ever happened to the old Republic? The GOOD Republic?" The Republicans that built this country are long gone. I don't know how it turned to the Dark Side to be ruled by a Sith Lord.

[missinginminnesota]

the defenders of Sara Palin are a joke and have no credibillity.

[elsa12]

Why?

[gruyere6]

you are a Colman supporter, no?

[misty1]

I saw this interview with David Shuster and I like how David tried to hold the guys feet to the fire
but he never gave an answer to the question all he did was try to trash MSNBC. This guy should
be interviewed on fox they would love him. David Shuster is doing a good job hosting
1600 Penn ave. I bet the numbers for 1600 have gone up since he took over I was never
a fan of David Gregory due to his Obama bashing. Good luck to you David Shuster and
keep asking the tough questions.

[Owlygirl]

Dear Lord!

This is what I've been waiting for! Finally a real voice; a sane and ballsy journalist not someone reading from talking points and volleying the ball like some useless patsy. MSNBC is the only place you can still find this kind of candidness and surprise (well, unless you're a Fox type). Everything else is predicatable garbage. But this...Yes, please!

Oh Schuster...You've got the whole package.

[HC4BO]

Ziegler is in love ...

He can't think straight ... ( as if he ever did ... )

[gruyere6]

with shuster, eh?

[Omaar101]

Palin getting ready for [2012] !!

She'd Fail the RNC Preliminaries
-------------

Can any of you Imagine Sarah Palin in a Debate with...

Bobby Jindal: "The RNC's Cheap Answer to Obama"

Newt Gingrich

Tim Pawlenty

Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Kay Bailey Hutcison

Both RNC Women mentioned are clearly more "Qualified" than Palin

Sarah Palin on a stage debating with these People..

She'd never make it out the RNC Gate !!!

Getting ready for [2012] My A!!
--------------

She better be Worried about whether or not she'll be voted back in [2010] as Governor of the state of Alaska.

She had better be worried about that Alaskan Pipeline Deal with that Canada Gas Company, that has not SEEN one Pipeline laid , though to hear Palin at the RNC Convention, you would think the Pipeline have already laid or being laid as we speak !!!

Truth be told, Big Oil is already at work, building a Gas Pipeline of their own.

This Woman Loves the Camera, no matter the COST & it is to her Detriment that she continues to Speak.

Isn't Fox News "The Mainstream Media" from a Republican Perspective.

Isn't Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dennis Praeger & Glenn Beck Highly Rated Radio Host...

Can you name any Independent-Liberal-Moderate Democrat Radio Host with High Radio Ratings, based on a Listening Audience and getting paid Multi-Million Dollar Contracts ?

It's Conservative "Mainstream Media" & they Worked their Asses Off for Palin, on Radio & Television and FAILED BADLY !!!

This woman

[pashn8npa]

The GOP will use Palin for fundraisers and to bring out the base then send her back to Alaska, may even ask her to just bring baby trigg, leave the rest of the props home this time. too expensive.

[Last-LiberalRepublicans]

LOL! So True!

[CaptainStormfield]

The Downs Syndrome baby was a better prop. No noise.. no distractions.

[JeremyO]

Imagine Palin's patato-head the Whitehouse. Holy smokes. She might confuse the blue states with Russia and call down an air-strike. Jumpin Jebus!

[krocklin]

If you look at the map of the U.S. you will see clearly that there are very unAmerican areas of it. Air strikes in those areas would in her view accomplish a lot.
After all if we fight the liberals where they live then we won't have to fight them later in the truly American areas where good Republicans live.

[golferman]

Oh we need more of your kind. What a country we would be living in. Anybody that would question an others patriotism and say they are the patriot are really the good Americans right. After yo u read this then you can pull yo ur head out of your a ss.

[elsa12]

I am a conservative and I officially denounce this king of rhetoric.