Friday 17 December 2010

Sarah Palin fights with devastating poll numbers and hooks up with the lamestream


"Sarah Palin’s Approval Rating Crashes to a New Low" was one of the typical headlines of 2010, and the situation for Alaska's most famous citizen is not improving: NBC/The Wall Street Journal published a new poll, and Palin looks "palin' by comparison":

NBC NEWS - WSJ Poll - December 2010

Ouch! It does appear that US citizens really do not appreciate the efforts of Sarah Palin. How ungrateful of them...

HuffPost reports:

Public opinion on Palin leaves little room for her to improve only by swaying those who are undecided about her — she must actively change peoples' minds if she wishes to compete against Obama. According to the NBC/WSJ survey, 50 percent of respondents said they have a negative view of Palin while only 28 percent have a positive view. In the HuffPost Pollster trend estimate, Palin has only a 37-percent favorable rating, while 52 percent disapprove. This is an ominous sign for Palin not just because she is unpopular among those who express an opinion of her but because the vast majority of people do express an opinion - 78 percent of people in the NBC / Wall Street Journal poll and 89 percent in the HuffPost Pollster Trend estimate.

Romney, on the other hand, not only starts from a stronger position than Palin but may have more room to grow simply by becoming better known. In the new survey, respondents had a more positive view of Romney by a 28-percent to 20-percent margin (his HuffPost Pollster favorable rating is also positive, by a 34-percent to 31-percent margin). In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, more than half (52 percent) said they had no opinion of Romney.

The trend doesn't look too good for the ice queen either:

Pollster Sarah Palin trend December 2010


But who appears to be unimpressed by these terrible poll numbers?

Sarah Palin...as well as parts of the media from the group which Sarah loves to call the "lamestream."

So why not hook up with each other...?

Politico published a remarkably detailed, three-page-article, examining Sarah Palin's new media strategy. It is noteworthy that the journalists of Politico seem to keep a much closer eye on Palin these days after the controversy regarding Jonathan Martin's "Hurricane Sarah" article which famously resulted in Sarah Palin calling Jonathan Martin a "punk."

The former Alaska governor has started cautiously cooperating with some of the same media outlets she and her supporters have accused of unfair and inaccurate coverage they feel has caricatured her as a flaky lightweight — a narrative her team seems determined to rewrite as Palin openly weighs a bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

“This is just about getting the press to characterize the governor accurately,” said Tim Crawford, a top Palin aide. “And, if that can be accomplished through Gov. Palin and some of the people around her talking to the press, we’ll try that.” (See: Palin has run in with press.)

Palin’s effectiveness as Republican John McCain’s 2008 vice presidential pick was undercut by the bad press she generated, particularly from her stumbling television interviews. After that experience — and particularly since her resignation as governor last year, which she says was prompted partly by unrelenting media scrutiny — Palin has mastered a high-impact, if unconventional, communication style that almost completely circumvents most traditional media.

Instead, she’s relied on conservative media outlets from which she is unlikely to face tough questioning (most notably Fox News, for which she is a paid contributor). She also taps social media such as Facebook and Twitter, combined with her own star power, to deliver cutting attacks on her opponents and the media that sometimes drive the political debate for days.

So what does Palin have to offer to the "lamestream?"

The latest example: ABC spared no expense and sent GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts to Alaska. The full episode was due to be aired today - some of the excerpts:









Well, to be perfectly honest, and with all due respect, ABC: If you do conduct an interview with Sarah Palin and produce nothing which really differs significantly from an interview on Fox News, then it probably wasn't worth it.

The constant attacks by Sarah Palin and her Palinbot attack brigade which were directed at the "lamestream" media DID deliver results: Despite the fact that Sarah is one of the most vicious politicians around and developed insults and "mean-girl-manners" to an art-form, tells lies on a regular basis and hides numerous private scandals and secrets, she doesn't need to be afraid to be asked in a very critical manner. It appears that no journalist is keen to have Palin's fanatical supporters at his or her throat, which would be the inevitable result of highly critical reporting, as proven countless times in the past.

No change of this sad state of affairs is to be expected to happen soon, and this is bad news, despite of the atrocious poll numbers. The "lamestream" continues to give Sarah Palin a pass.

Even the important conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer is being attacked in a pretty disgusting way by Palin's fans due to his opposition to Sarah Palin. The rabid right-wing "American Spectator" asked today:

"Does Krauthammer Have a Man Crush on Obama?"

Krauthammer likes Obama, he has a "man crush" on him? Well, the "American Spectator" seems to be convinced and explains the underlying reason for Krauthammer's alleged adoration:

My guess is that it has something to do with Sarah Palin. While Krauthammer has not called Palin "a cancer" or "a joke" as Brooks has done, his distaste for Palin is palatable. This was certainly the case in August 2009 when Krauthammer suggested that we ought to ask "Sarah Palin leave the room" after she coined the term "death panels."(...)

It seems to me that Krauthammer cannot get past Palin's accent. The prospect of a Palin presidency has Krauthammer so troubled that he is now prepared to cast Obama as another Bill Clinton and have four more years of Obama in the White House. How else does one explain Krauthammer concluding his article by comparing Obama to Ronald Reagan?

So there we have some revenge for Krauthammers open criticism on Palin, which he reiterated in a recent interview with Bill O'Reilly. It's really about Palin, who ought not to be picked on, and not about Obama.

The fact that Krauthammer criticized Sarah Palin on his show prompted Bill O'Reilly to give poor little Sarah the chance to defend herself. That's at least my impression - and to be perfectly honest again, the following clip with Bill O'Reilly is just as "enlightening" as a typical "lamestream" interview with Sarah Palin:



Palin: "I am sorry I am not so hotty-totty."


Well, Bill O'Reilly clearly is not Sarah Palin's biggest fan, as became already apparent in the past, for example when Bill O'Reilly famously interviewed an ill-prepared Sarah Palin on immigration. I guess that's what Charles Krauthammer had in mind about when he called Palin "weak on policies."

+++

On a different topic, we recently received information from different people regarding the fact that the Palin family apparently bought a new home in or around Phoenix, AZ. Apparently Bristol now lives there with Tripp. This could also be Sarah Palin's base for the upcoming presidential campaign. While this is all still at a "rumor stage", due to the lack of hard evidence, I would like to point out that the rumors are "strong."

Speaking of Tripp - we received this picture a while ago. Tripp in the rain, bare-foot (of course...). The photo was taken at the back of Palin's house in Wasilla:

Tripp Palin in the rain

This picture appears to have been taken in July, so it was most likely a warm, rainy day. Sarah Palin's history of "bare footed neglect" doesn't seem to apply here. But it's a fun picture. What would be a good caption?

By the way, Levi certainly knows how to pick cool shirts for his son:

Levi with Tripp - Levi 4 Mayor

Levi, Bristol and Tripp - the soap opera will probably continue for the next decades.

.

No comments: