Miscellaneous

Say What You Want About the GOP. But They Are Savvy.

The big news in the all Sarah all-the-time political world is that the she has finally agreed to an interview with the press, even though her handlers are saying that they won't let the media have her until they agree to treat her "with some level of respect and deference" (read: Don't mention facts; facts are not her friend.") But the sit-down interview is with ABC's Charlie Gibson and while, at first, I was excited at the prospect of a decent newsman getting the gig (and not someone over on FOX News), it became apparent that even this interview is a sham.

Why?

Because the interview will take place in Alaska, over multiple days. Why not agree to one, lengthy sit-down chat? Because, silly you, by setting it up as mini-interviews over a course of a few days (in Palin's home territory, the week her son is getting shipped off to Iraq, when she can extract the most sympathy), the GOP basically has Gibson in their back pocket. Why? Because it's a ratings-monster for Gibson, perhaps the biggest coup since he took over the nightly news. And he wouldn't want to ruin that. So, by setting it up over the course of several days, if Charlie Gibson doesn't treat her with "deference and respect," i.e., ask her about the scores of instances where her convention speech didn't match her record, then the Republicans can pull subsequent interviews and screw over Charlie Gibson.

Charlie Gibson wants ratings. So, to prevent Palin from walking out, Charlie Gibson will ask boneheaded, softball questions. Undoubtedly.

They should've just given it to People Magazine. At least it would've been more transparent.

Full post as published by Quiz Law on September 08, 2008 (boomark / email).