After weeks of being sequestered from reporters, Republican VP nominee Gov. Sarah Palin was unleashed to ABC's Charlie Gibson and most recently CBS's Katie Couric. Both asked about U.S. relations with Russia, Iran and Israel, abortion and the Bush Administration's handling of the war in Iraq. Neither Gibson nor Couric let up.
Some political strategists argue that the McCain camp's strategy of keeping Palin away from reporters for so long suggested that they don't have much confidence in her abilities, thus affecting her performance during the Couric interview in particular. Others suggest that the media has and will continue to scrutinize and over analyze everything Sarah Palin says.
Is the media against Palin or just irritated because their requests for interviews have mostly been turned down? CNN's Campbell Brown recently lashed out at the McCain camp urging them to 'set Palin free', stop the 'sexism' in their campaign, and let her answer unscripted questions from reporters.
I don't think the McCain campaign's strict limits on interviews had much to do with her gender than I do on her knowledge on economic and foreign policy issues.
Still, I think that keeping Palin locked away for so long was a mistake on the part of the McCain campaign. Regular interviews with selected reporters and media outlets would have allowed Palin to become more and more comfortable unscripted. Moreover, Palin's first interviews probably should not have been with the sharpest and most recognizable people in the news industry. I guess the McCain camp figured that veteran journalists like Couric and Gibson wouldn't be as...aggressive and biased as other mainstream journalists. In any case, Palin's interview with Couric has received harsh criticism from both Democratic and Republican strategist and maybe more disturbing, from journalists.
Ok, the interviews were not by many accounts...stellar. Obviously foreign policy isn't Palin's strongest area and it's also clear that she isn't completely informed on all issues facing this country. Palin was probably just as surprised when McCain asked her to be his running mate as many Americans were. However, as journalists, we should allow Americans to decide how well or poorly she did.
At the same time, she is running for the Vice Presidency of the United States, and journalists do have an obligation to ask the tough questions and get answers for the American public.
I just hope that the media remembers to ask Palin questions not to quiz or test her, but to better understand her principles and stances on key issues.
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I think media is absolutely anti-Palin. They're not even trying to hide it anymore. There is no doubt that the media, and everyone else, should be scrutinizing the VP candidates, and there are plenty of things to question Palin on. But, you know, Biden isn't perfect, and I haven't heard them saying anything about him. It just seems that the media is going for the cheap thrills these days, rather than asking legitimate questions that pertain to real politics and abilities to be a leader in this country.
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