Saturday, September 06, 2008

Oprah, Palin, Drudge and Agnew

In her convention speech, Sarah Palin bashed the media with "a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion." Her defiance harked back to another GOP VP, Spiro Agnew, who assailed the "nattering nabobs of negativism" before being forced to resign for taking bundles of cash when he was a governor.

Palin is, among other things, the Agnew of a McCain campaign as eager to blame the media for its problems as the Nixon Administration was back then, and now good old reliable Matt Drudge has started the ball rolling with an assault on Oprah for not inviting Palin to appear on her show.

"Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin," the Drudge Report quotes its usual anonymous sources as confiding. "One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a dramatic backlash!"

Never mind that Oprah denies any such discussions, confirms that she will not interview any of the candidates and expresses interest in having Palin on after the elections. That hasn't deterred her competition such as ABC from picking up and running with the story by asking, "Is Oprah Biased?"

In stirring this first little media tempest in a teapot, McCain backers get a twofer--discrediting Oprah for backing Obama and painting Palin as a victim of gender bias. If they had picked Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge, would anybody be badgering Oprah?

The next stage, which has already started, will be a sustained attack on journalists for investigating Palin's background and beliefs and questioning her claims such as selling the state jet on eBay or rejecting federal funds for the Bridge to Nowhere.

Somewhere in political rogue purgatory, Spiro Agnew must be smiling.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do all of you Oprah-apologists actually believe that she and Obama didn't work it out for him to appear on her show just BEFORE he announced his candidacy? They planned it so that they could use the very excuse that they are using today:

"Obama appeared on my show BEFORE he announced his presidential candidacy."

Yes, Oprah, we know. You plan well, but you're not fooling anyone!

butchrebel said...

Even if the rumor is true...

Why is it so shocking that Oprah wouldn't want Gov. Palin on her show -- she has openly and ardently declared her unwavering belief in him, his politics, his ability to bring change to U.S. American politics and society -- and she has campaigned for Obama since he entered the campaign.

Why do McCain supporters have such a difficult time wrapping their brain around that.

She's a talk show host -- she has never declared herself to be neutral and objective. She doesn't have to be. (And I don't mean to imply that I believe non-talk show journalists are objective -- they're not).

2nd) Why do conservatives leave comments on liberal and Leftists blogs anonymously. Seems cowardly to me -- cowards who yell so loudly from every corner of the room, even rooms where they have not been invited, nor are their views embraced.

Anonymous. Please.

Anonymous said...

Oprah, I am more interested in having Gov. Palin as a guest on your show than Obama. Palin is a real woman politician and she has a great story to tell...a successful working mother, raising a child with Down's Syndrome, her support of her pregnant teenage daughter are of great interest to me. You are doing your viewers a disservice. I thought you of all people would want her as a guest on your show. Not to have her as a guest appears to me as a snub at best. I thought of all people you would not play such games with your audience. Frankly, I am thinking about your position on all things and maybe I should not be concerned with what you think and switch the channel

Anonymous said...

Oprah, I am so deeply disapointed in your attitude about Sarah Palin. How could you deny your viewers access to an interview with such an inspiring, successful woman? I have been a loyal fan of yours for so many years and now I must step back and reconsider your motives and values.

Unknown said...

Right wing comment spam strikes again. Obama's appearance on Oprah was two years ago, an eternity in American media. If she sticks to what she's said about not having any of the candidates on the show before the election that's her right. It's her show and we aren't discussing the evening news here. No real fans of her show are going to be abandoning her because of this if she sticks to her guns on not having any of them on the show.

Anonymous said...

Oprah has all the money she needs, however her sponsors don’t, for some reason corporations do not like to align themselves with one political party like Oprah does. Bad for their bottom line and shareholders!! Email them and express yourself. Here is the list;
Ge café,
http://www.geappliances.com/service_and_support/contact/form_other.htm
lowes,
https://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=custSvcOrderIssue&topic=customerService
chase,
http://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/shared/assets/page/email
visa,
https://corporate.visa.com/ut/contactus.jsp
Wachovia,
https://www.wachovia.com/contact/form
frontline,
http://frontline.us.merial.com/home/contact.asp
shutterfly,
http://www.shutterfly.com/about/contact_info.jsp
murad,
http://www.murad.com/customercare/form_testimonials.html
Playtex,
http://www.playtexproductsinc.com/corppages/Corp_contactUs.asp
dove,
http://content.dove.us/utilities/contactus/contact_email.asp
bali,
http://www.jms.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/ExecMacro/info.d2w/report?info=CustServEmail
target,
http://www.target.com/b/ref=in_br_display-ladders/601-3568400-2586554?ie=UTF8&node=3370571
elearners
http://www.elearners.com/help/feedback.asp

Anonymous said...

More important than just the election...

http://www.boycott-oprah.com

Anonymous said...

But Palin DIDN'T claim the jet sold on e-bay. She claims she PUT it on e-bay.

Her point would be that when she inherited the use of the jet, she rejected that perq.

What part of that obvious truth do you think is countered by nitpicking the fact that the jet she put on e-bay didn't end up selling on e-bay, but by other means?

ng2000 said...

Valuable resource of oprah news summaries: http://www.ng2000.com/fw.php?tp=oprah

bamidwood said...

another silly weak little voice joining in the merry assault on a decent common-sense patriot