Sarah Palin has to be twice as good as any man to overcome media bias
Charles Gibson continuously interrupted Ms Palin, and has been thoroughly criticised in the US for his bullying tactics and his deliberate distortion of her previous statements.
In fact, Ms Palin’s grace and fortitude under a sustained hostile line of questioning is what stands out from this interview.
I see no reason why the Democrats’ emphasis on Ms Palin’s “inexperience” should be included in your report. They would say that, wouldn’t they?
Ms Oberman refers to Ms Palin as a “44-year-old mother of five”. If she was a man, would she be referred to in a news report as a 44-year-old father of five?
She is the governor of Alaska, a highly successful politician in her own right, but one would never get this impression from this ‘report’.
Other candidates are briefed. But according to Oberman, Ms Palin attends “cramming sessions” by John McCain’s advisers on foreign policy. An interesting choice of words indeed.
Recently, Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for the vice-presidency, suggested that Barack Obama made a mistake in selecting him for the vice-presidential role, stating, rightly, that Hillary Clinton “might have been a better pick”.
This was in the same week he called on a state official in a wheelchair to “stand up” to be recognised. But comparing the levels of scrutiny their remarks attract, one is reminded of the old phrase that a woman has to be twice as good as a man to succeed.
Fortunately for Ms Palin, she is just that.
James McGrath
Birchgrove
Hollyford
Co Tipperary
