October 7, 2008 - 10:25 a.m. or so
Both today and yesterday, MSNBC has been airing what appears to be full stump speeches from Sarah Palin.
As I write this, they have been playing her speech in Jacksonville, Fla for ten full minutes, and it's still going on. No comments -- just the uninterrupted speech.
To my knowledge, they have not been running Obama stump speeches in this manner; or Joe Biden's or John McCain's.
Ah, now they're all chanting "drill, baby, drill" on the TV in the other room. (Yeah, it'll bring down the price of gas 2 or 3 cents in 10 years... good, broad plan, I'm real excited.)
Really, once the networks got changed from public service -- where they were not expected to make a profit -- to our toxic brand of capitalism that seems willing to poison our markets, our environment and our political discourse as long as it makes money, the news is under different constraints, and they're looking -- I don't know -- to stir up the controversy so the McCain-Palin lies can make the race closer and make it better for their business covering them. If Obama stays ahead, it'll be less profitable for them, probably.
MSNBC, stop it! This is extremely unfair.
Plus you are playing to Sarah Palin's one clear talent- - she is a good stand-up with insult comedy. That is her gift. In a different life choice, she could make a good actress in a sitcom. For the future of our country, I hope someone writes her a sitcom and she decides to star.
But in the Couric interviews, obviously she was exposed as someone who can't think on her feet. In the debate, she was snazzy and television-ready, but she didn't answer the questions, and just said sound bytes and phrases she had memorized, merely announcing she wouldn't necessarily answer the questions.
If, MSNBC, you want to run all four candidates' stump speeches throughout the day, fine.
If you're only running Palin as it appears you are, knock it off.
It is extremely unfair to give the Palin-McCain ticket (no, it's not a typo I made) this free publicity for them to knock down Obama with their lies and manipulations.
I hope anyone with access to people at any networks giving this free and unfair airing of campaign propaganda will contact these television producers people and tell them to stop it. If they have any shame. But then maybe people don't have shame anymore.