On Dec 29, 1:53 pm, "bvall...@aol.com" <bvall...@aol.com> wrote:
> A Media Morality Tale [Victor Davis Hanson]
>
> The putativeCarolineKennedycandidacy for senator has had the odd
> effect of reopening the media can of worms treatment of Gov. Palin.
> Compared to Sarah Palin's almost immediate immersion into crowds and
> public speaking,Kennedyseems like a deer in the headlights before
> the media that is either ignored or asked to submit written questions.
> Palin was a natural;Kennedycan't finish a single sentence without
> "You know" or "I mean." Palin's family saga and daily grind were
> populist to the core;Kennedyis a creature of a few blocks' radius in
> Manhattan and Martha's Vineyard.
>
> Outsider and lower-middle-class Palin toughed it out in Wasilla for
> years of politicking on a 16-year slog through Alaskan old-boy
> politics;CarolineKennedyin regal fashion apparently skipped voting
> in about half of New York elections, and has never run for anything.
>
> Reporters swarmed over Palin's pregnancies, and her wardrobe, but
> apparently took on face value thatCaroline'sfluff books were really
> a sign of either erudition or scholarship.
>
> Conservative Palin endured liberal Charlie Gibson's glasses on-the
> nose pretentiousness, and Katie Couric's attack-dog questions; insiderKennedyI doubt will meet with either, much less sit down with a
> hostile questioner like a Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly. Her friendly
> New York Times "interview" proved an embarrassment—rarely have so many
> words been spoken with so little content.
>
> But, no, the real embarrassment proves to be the media itself that
> apparently can't see this weird unfolding self-incriminating morality
> tale: It is not just that Palin is conservative,Kennedypolitically-
> correct (e.g., pro-abortion, gun control, gay marriage, etc), or Palin
> a newcomer to public attention,Kennedya celebrity since childhood.
> Rather it is the aristocratic value system of most NY-DC journalists
> themselves who apparently still assume that old money, status, and an
> Ivy-League pedigree are reliable barometers of talent and sobriety,
> suggesting that the upper-East SideKennedy'spublic ineptness is an
> aberration, a bad day, a minor distraction, while Palin's charisma and
> ease are superficial and a natural reflection of her Idaho sports
> journalism degree.
>
> A few generations ago, Democrats would have opposed Palin but
> appreciated her blue-collar story, and applauded a working mom who out-
> politicked entrenched and richer male elites. But now the new
> aristocratic liberalism has adopted the values of the old silk-
> stocking Republicans of the 1950s—and so zombie-like worship rather
> than question entitlement.
This country started going downhill when women first got the vote.
Mike.
==============