Attacks On Palin Are Over The Top
Wednesday - July 15, 2009
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s announcement that she is resigning her office and not running for re-election to the state’s highest office sent ripples through the political firmament.
Ripples? No. Tsunami is more like it.
Palin has been targeted since the first days of her ascension to the international political stage. In the eyes of her critics, she is a buffoon, uneducated, inexperienced and hypocritical in her family values. She has been the butt of disgusting and malevolent “jokes” from late-night comedians to national television shows.
It was nauseating to witness Saturday Night Live mock the governor and her family by insinuating that incest was the cause of her daughter’s pregnancy. The pathetic display by David Letterman on his increasingly shrill and non-funny late show was the culmination of months of searing evisceration of Gov. Palin. His “humor” in describing her appearance as “slutty” and insinuating that her 14-year-old daughter was engaged in a quickie with a New York Yankee baseball player was outrageous, even for a shock host like Letterman.
Who finds comedy in what is tantamount to statutory rape? I suppose CBS Television, Letterman fans and women’s advocacy groups, since none of them decried his verbal flogging of a mother and sitting U.S. governor. All of you who describe yourselves as supporters of women’s rights, feminists or as being decent should be ashamed of yourselves for each chuckle, nudge or knowing glance to fellow Palin-haters. I guess you have to be of the right - I mean left - mind to deserve your support.
Palin may not be your ideal gubernatorial or presidential candidate. Fine. I can appreciate that. Yes, she is in the public eye, and I am the first one to say that commentary about a public figure’s actions and service is open to analysis and criticism.
But how weak must your intellect be to attack family members of a public figure? It is the cheapest shot you can take. That villainy is further compounded when one of those in the crosshairs is a child of special needs. Not only is it gutless to spew invectives about this child, it’s heartless, too.
I am not certain if Palin is the best person for the job of governor or president. I’ll decide in due time. But I am certain that liberal America’s assault on her and her family is more a reflection on the perpetrators rather than on their prey. The lack of class, character and decorum is stunning. Then again, I suppose you can never demonstrate these qualities if you’ve never had them.
We really don’t know the specific reasons for her departure. Until she tells us, we can only gossip and guess. But, as a parent, my first duty is to protect my children. The volume and the content of the criticisms levied at her family were inexcusable. There is no justification for the profane treatment.
I support Sarah Palin for what she did. By sacrificing her political situation, she strengthened her family and helped to insulate them from the inevitable prurient and scandalous attacks by partisan predators.
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |
Most Recent Comment(s):
