Yurt
09-08-2008, 01:47 AM
The Unexamined Life
The biggest story to emerge from the Republican National Convention was the media's effort to destroy Gov. Sarah Palin. Members of the Fourth Estate behaved more like a Democratic fifth column this week than they did like honest reporters. Palin's stunningly effective speech Wednesday night showed they will not easily take her down — but their malicious attacks on Gov. Palin's family prove that they will stop at nothing to achieve their aim. Since when is the private life of a 17-year-old fair game in a political campaign? Apparently only when that 17-year-old's mom is a Republican candidate.
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These lies weren't only spread by left-wing fanatics but by journalists like Andrew Sullivan, whose blog appears on Atlantic.com, the online version of what was once one of the most respected magazines in the country.
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If you don't think this reflects media bias, contrast this insatiable prying into Bristol Palin's life with the press's lack of curiosity about the behavior of another 17-year-old — one whose story would seem to have more relevance to this year's presidential election.
In his memoir "Dreams from My Father," Barack Obama describes his troubled teenaged years. "Pot had helped, and booze, maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack though," he recalls, though he admits he came close to trying heroin at the urging of a friend who shot up in front of him. He was deterred by the image "of an air bubble, shiny and round like a pearl, rolling quietly through my vein and stopping my heart," he says. "Junkie. Pothead. That's where I'd been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man."
Obama's drug use went on for at least a few years, though he is noticeably vague in describing exactly when it began, how extensive it was, or when it ended. At least one of his friends was arrested for drug possession; another had a mental breakdown after one too many acid trips. But Obama has been reticent to reveal the extent of his illegal activities — and the media haven't cared enough to pursue the question.
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Why is it reporters who were willing to pursue Bristol Palin, who isn't on the ballot, somehow think it is unseemly to ask Sen. Obama tough questions about his drug use? Oh, that was a long time ago, they'll argue. But a 1986 arrest for driving while impaired by Gov. Palin's husband — not the candidate — is somehow worthy of extensive front-page coverage?
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The double standard is shocking — but perhaps not to Sen. Obama. In his memoir, he gives the most telling explanation .............People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20080905/cm_uc_crlchx/op_207301;_ylt=ApxfsUmr7zj5WvxmmqpkmewEtbAF
The biggest story to emerge from the Republican National Convention was the media's effort to destroy Gov. Sarah Palin. Members of the Fourth Estate behaved more like a Democratic fifth column this week than they did like honest reporters. Palin's stunningly effective speech Wednesday night showed they will not easily take her down — but their malicious attacks on Gov. Palin's family prove that they will stop at nothing to achieve their aim. Since when is the private life of a 17-year-old fair game in a political campaign? Apparently only when that 17-year-old's mom is a Republican candidate.
...
These lies weren't only spread by left-wing fanatics but by journalists like Andrew Sullivan, whose blog appears on Atlantic.com, the online version of what was once one of the most respected magazines in the country.
...
If you don't think this reflects media bias, contrast this insatiable prying into Bristol Palin's life with the press's lack of curiosity about the behavior of another 17-year-old — one whose story would seem to have more relevance to this year's presidential election.
In his memoir "Dreams from My Father," Barack Obama describes his troubled teenaged years. "Pot had helped, and booze, maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack though," he recalls, though he admits he came close to trying heroin at the urging of a friend who shot up in front of him. He was deterred by the image "of an air bubble, shiny and round like a pearl, rolling quietly through my vein and stopping my heart," he says. "Junkie. Pothead. That's where I'd been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man."
Obama's drug use went on for at least a few years, though he is noticeably vague in describing exactly when it began, how extensive it was, or when it ended. At least one of his friends was arrested for drug possession; another had a mental breakdown after one too many acid trips. But Obama has been reticent to reveal the extent of his illegal activities — and the media haven't cared enough to pursue the question.
...
Why is it reporters who were willing to pursue Bristol Palin, who isn't on the ballot, somehow think it is unseemly to ask Sen. Obama tough questions about his drug use? Oh, that was a long time ago, they'll argue. But a 1986 arrest for driving while impaired by Gov. Palin's husband — not the candidate — is somehow worthy of extensive front-page coverage?
...
The double standard is shocking — but perhaps not to Sen. Obama. In his memoir, he gives the most telling explanation .............People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20080905/cm_uc_crlchx/op_207301;_ylt=ApxfsUmr7zj5WvxmmqpkmewEtbAF