Palin's Pit Bull Problem

Hoo. OK. Before I get out the mud boots and shovel my way through the steaming pile of speech that Sarah Palin deposited on the stage of the Republican Convention last night, let me mention one thing that might be lost to most Americans -- a telling little footnote.

Believe it or not, despite the unbelievable political news that's been happening in Alaska lately (indictment of Senator Ted Stevens, investigation of Rep. Don Young, and all of the Palin antics) there's really not that much else going on here. If you went through the Anchorage Daily News wtih a pair of scissors, and removed the stories about politics, you'd end up with a quirky assortment of news that most people in the Lower 48 would consider not very newsworthy. The local news covers the high school basketball games.

Just so you get the idea, here are a few headlines, front page news stories from the past few weeks:

Electronic scarecrows haze ravens from utility equipment

Orphaned Bear Cub Eludes Fish & Game Agents

Missing Hikers Found in Denali

In a small community, these are the kinds of things that really ARE news.

So last night, as I watched Palin's debut on the national stage, something struck me. First, of course, she was polished and poised and handling her new found celebrity with confidence. She even pulled off an ad lib that was her greatest laugh line of the night. In response to the homemade "Hockey Moms for Palin" signs that were being held aloft, she said, "I love those hockey moms. You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick!" (thunderous laughter and applause from the crowd)

Now let me share with you another of those headline stories from three weeks ago:

Child Taken Off Life Support After Pit Bull Attack.

This was the big news story in Alaska for several days that week. A child and her babysitter were viciously attacked by the family pet pit bull. The owners surrendered the dog, and watched as their six-year-old daughter was taken off life support after she went into an irreversibly vegetative state.

I don't know how other Alaska residents felt about the pit bull joke, and obviously her audience loved it, but most of us here in "small town America" probably didn't find it particularly funny.

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Comments

[JodyMcg]

02:06 PM on 09/20/2008

Palin's image as a pitbull and a baracuda may become a liability soon. Last night I saw on Rachel a picture of Palin with a killed moose, cut open from end to end, blood all over the snow, and her young child bundled up standing there in the snow watching. This brutal hunting image may be accepted by some but probably not Moms in Ohio where Palin is polling well with that demographi­c. If this brutality is taught to her child ..imagine what she will teach yours and if this is how she treats animals imagine how she treats her enemies. Hopefully, Defenders will come out with another ad. It will be too late to sofen her image. Beauty queen out... killa from Wasila in.

[necie]

11:03 PM on 09/14/2008

Thanks for sharing this blog.

I have been looking for articles that address the reaction of the residents in Ketchikan, Alaska, to Sara Palin's comment on the Bridge...a­ny ideas where I might look for that?

[MrTessier]

11:32 AM on 09/05/2008

I was talking to a friend who was planning on voting McCain and she said the pit bull comment totally turned her off enough to not vote for McCain. I was very shocked because I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but she loves dogs and was really upset. I've heard that since a couple of times, and I still can't believe that someone would decide their vote on one comment, but who knows, maybe! I think this was before they were even aware of the pit bull attack, now they're going to be really upset.

I think Palin has helped coalesce all the animal lovers around the Obama campaign, maybe we can get a poll on them!

[adey]

08:11 PM on 09/04/2008

Soooo..... comments like that are only sexist if MEN say them?

[transparent]

07:38 PM on 09/04/2008

I'm sorry for the loss that many of you must feel. I hope Alaskans will come forward and help us defeat this phony.

[dunno139]

06:42 PM on 09/04/2008

The difference between Sarah and a pitbull is that I have more respect for pitbulls. We all jump up in rage when Mike Vick is caught fighting pitbulls, but when Mrs Palin compares herself to one every hypocite in that convention laughs. Well I didn't find it funny.

[BethStuart]

05:21 PM on 09/04/2008

The last time I heard that joke, it was John Hagee (McCain's spiritual advisor earlier this year) comparing a woman with pms to a pit bull. It appears the McCain campaign dusted off the joke, changed it slightly and tried to get a laugh. Basically, it's still the same joke.

[IcyAlaskan]

05:09 PM on 09/04/2008

Thank God you found that article and posted it. Sarah ABSOLUTELY knew about that pit bull attack, and STILL she let that zinger fly. She has no conscience­, no empathy and no compassion­. The father of that little girl was NOT ALLOWED to leave Iraq to come home for her funeral. Keep digging and keep posting. America needs to see just who Sarah REALLY is.

[necie]

10:57 PM on 09/14/2008

There's a story for the media! Total lack of "conscienc­e, empathy and compassion­" on Ms Palin's part.

I'm so sick of hearing "I like her"....th­ey don't know a thing about her. You'd think no one has internet access these days.....

[mosh]

05:01 PM on 09/04/2008

How apt - John McCain's self-descr­ibed soulmate sees herself as a pitbull in lipstick.

The McPs should be kept on a very short leash.

[Seaglass]

05:33 PM on 09/04/2008

Yup, yup, that was a very thinly-vei­led reference to herself...­just the sort of stable, sane candidate America--a­nd the world--nee­ds.

[HattieB]

04:18 PM on 09/04/2008

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE PAMPERS...

THE REPUBLICAN­S HAVE ALMOST DESTROYED THIS COUNTRY .. MCPALIN NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABL­E FOR WHAT THEIR PARTY HAS DONE AND MADE ANSWER SOME REALLY TOUGH QUESTIONS EXPLAINING WHY THEY TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE !!!

[CJGibson]

04:08 PM on 09/04/2008

Tasteless jokes from the McCain campaign? Who'd'a thunk?

[falcao]

04:03 PM on 09/04/2008

She should have said ... Way too much lipstick. And I Dream of Jeannie up-dos.

[Charmed]

03:32 PM on 09/04/2008

Palin wasn't hit with everybody.

[Ritaw012]

03:30 PM on 09/04/2008

It's not just a Pit Bull with Lipstick, it's Bush in Heels!

[lorisc]

04:09 PM on 09/04/2008

Bush in a dress.

[Terriac]

03:23 PM on 09/04/2008

So, apparently­, Sarah Palin doesn't even know what's going in her own state. Interestin­g. And a tasteless joke if she does know this story. Either way, it makes her look bad. And this is our next potential VP -- maybe even President -- ladies and gentlmen. No wonder I wake up nights worrying about how this election is going to turn out.