Thoughts on the Sarah Palin Article in Vanity Fair

I have just read Todd S. Purdum's article on Sarah Palin in Vanity Fair.

Methinks that Purdum went to a recycling bin before writing this article as it is mostly a rehash of what was already in the public domain (i.e. Bristol Palin's pregnancy, Troopergate, money spent on her wardrobe, etc.) Throw in a couple of unflattering photos, an elitist bias against Alaskans plus accusations of mental illness (both post-partum depression and narcissistic personality disorder are discussed) and, voila, you have a major magazine article.

I was struck by three statements Purdum makes in the article.

1. What does her prominence say about the importance of having (or lacking) a record of achievement in public life?

If Purdum wasn't talking about a woman I would have thought he was referring to Barack Obama.

2. During the presidential campaign, Palin's deep ignorance about most aspects about foreign and domestic policy provided her with a powerful reason not to submit to interviews.

Yes, it was really unfortunate how she told Katie Couric that FDR went on TV in 1929 after the stock market crash in 1929. Not to mention when she said in the Vice-Presidential debate that Hezbollah was no longer in Lebanon.

Oh wait!!! That wasn't Sarah Palin. It was Joe Biden.

Purdum's assessment that Palin would not submit to interviews is odd considering the MSM themselves acknowledged that Palin was far more accessible to them than was Biden by mid-October.

3. Because Palin had taken particular umbrage in the fall campaign at any effort to criticize her children or invade their privacy, her willingness to mix it up in public with an 18-year-old, who is after all the father of her only grandchild, struck many in Alaska as odd.

So how does Purdum think Palin should have reacted when Levi Johnston went on The Tyra Banks Show? If Palin hadn't responded to Johnston, Purdum and the MSM would have wanted to know what she had to hide.

It is also interesting that Purdum takes Palin for "her willingness to mix it up in public with an 18-year-old." Yet Purdum himself is more than willing to mix it up with an 18-year-old, if her name is Bristol Palin. Purdum took Governor Palin's daughter to task for her campaign in support of abstinence.

Sarah Palin truly is the Israel of American politics. As I wrote back in November:

If Sarah Palin were a member state of the UN she would be condemned daily by the General Assembly for transgressions both real and imagined. This, in part, makes Sarah Palin the Israel of American politics.

Those who hate Israel are prepared to believe any unkind word said about it. If Israel-haters are told that Israelis use the blood of Palestinian children to make Purim pastries they accept it as the gospel truth. Those who hate Sarah Palin are prepared to believe any unkind word said about her.

Let me conclude with this thought. Todd Purdum and all those who write about Sarah Palin with such disdain about her intellect and other personal qualities would not do so unless they believed she was a credible political threat. Why else write such vitriol unless Purdum and his ilk think Sarah Palin can beat Barack Obama in 2012? This is the what they are afraid of and they know it but don't know how else to react.