AP's Glaring Double Standard: Palin vs. Obama

A sentence in an Associated Press item I blogged last night really brought home to me the double standard the AP and others have employed in covering Sarah Palin, versus their long running coverage of Obama going back to even before he was elected.

Palin's health care history, even when she was a child, is of interest because of her criticism of Obama and other Democrats working on U.S. health care.

Palin is a former governor, now a private citizen with, admittedly, significant political cache. But Obama ran for and now occupies the office of the so-called leader of the Free World. Shouldn't his college thesis that, for all we know, doesn't even exist, have been of at least some interest before November 2008? What about the Law Review articles it seems he's never written, unlike most every review editor in the past?

That and basically all of his college history remains locked away, evidently of no concern at all to the AP. And I have seen a recent item suggesting his record as a lawyer back in Chicago is far from complete in official records these days, though I can't find a current link.

As I recall, Obama traveled to Pakistan as a young man in 1981. Back during the campaign, there never was any serious interest in why, or what he did during the trip. But that Sarah Palin! My God, she crossed the border for a check up a time, or two - we'd better dig into her child health care records, it's now fair game, after all, because, well, who knows what we might turn up??

And they wonder why more and more people see the AP and other established media outlets as less and less relevant every day. The contrast couldn't be any more glaring in this case. Their lack of objectivity and professionalism is simply shameful. But don't expect them to ever get around to reporting that fact.

That and more and more truth and reality behind our political figures today will just have to remain the province of the blogs.

Comments

[montee]

This is one of the reasons why I like Andrew Breitbart. He clearly see the fact that today's news corporations are just not it. Constant criticisms and bashing will never ever really change their constant leftward slant. You have try to challenge them. Competition is the best way to break any monopoly.

[Live Free Or Die]

Opposition Research is easy when the Industrial Media Complex does it for you.

[unseen]

And yet even with the double standard Palin is one of the leading contenders for the nomination. Can you imagine if there was no double standard what the poll numbers would show?

One good thing that comes from this double standard. Gov Palin will be the most vetted President candidate we have every had. If the GOP leadership were smart they would call out the media on this and use it to attack the MSM. They could get the emotion of compassion and sympathy on their side. everyone likes the underdog. the GOP should be riding to Palin's rescue, defending her from these attacks but instead the GOP piles on.

I guess the GOP never learned what Niemöller did:
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me."

after the MSM is done trashing Palin they will set their sights on the next conservative/GOP "star" and they will bring him/her down. Then the next. the Rino's think they can placate these monsters but they can not. If we as citizens allow this double standard to continue our freedom will be gone within a generation.

[Brian in MA]

Obama's health care history is, of course, irrelevant. Which is why the MSM have never even questioned it.

[unseen]

Obama's health care history is, of course, irrelevant. Which is why the MSM have never even questioned it.

Posted by: Brian in MA

I would like to know what the scare on Obama's head is from. Did he have a head injury? did he have an brain surgury? why does the news media intentionally not post pictures of that side of him?

It's like the MSM not posting pictures of FDR in a wheelchair

Now that is a double standard.
check out these pictures:

http://obambi.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/head-scar/

[Huey]

This is one of the reasons I like Palin.

She, unlike any other "conservative" politician had the guts to stand up, repeatedly, and call out the "lame stream media" on its attacks on her and her family. For too long, the conventional wisdom of the right has been to "not get into fights with those who use ink by the barrel" (or somesuch) She is the first to understand that her megaphone is as large or larger than theirs -- even though she is just typing on her keyboard from her home.

The hypocrisy of the lame stream media must be aggressively hightlighted. Names must be named. Fingers must be pointed. Laughs must be laughed.

[buckjohnson]

I see Dan you must not have ever gone to college or written for a newspaper. I have degrees and I have had to write papers to get those degrees. Only once have I allowed any of my papers to go beyond the reach and scope of the intended/interested parties. You write papers many times that do not necessary express your beliefs, often times you write papers in the style/manner proscribe in a syllabus, and sometimes you might even consider the professes personality/ beliefs in formatting a paper. One year I wrote a paper about a constitutional issue that I framed contrary to my personal beliefs, because that was the requirement of the assignment. If someone got a hold of that paper, took what I wrote out of context, or perhaps more precisely actually in context, my personal views would have been skewed and misrepresented. That is why I have only once allowed any paper I have written to be viewed outside the purvey of school administrators. What someone writes in college is no reflection of what that person is, unless they are writing specifically about their personal reflections, and even then Dan...time and place, time and place, time and place has to be taken into consideration

As far as AP decision to write about Palin, your analogy is disingenuous. I won't have to comment on why. Anyone other than a teabagger could see that. But how is it that we know so much about Pres. Obama now, like what church he belonged to, him going to Pakistan as a child, etc... unless someone reported it, probably in a newspaper?

[Huey]

buck: Like you, I have written many papers over the course of my college career, including (unlike Obama) two law review articles. While I agree that (depending on the course and the purpose of the lesson) there are times where a student will be tasked with writing a paper which does not reflect his views, that is unusual and generally reserved for the types of classes where the purpose of the lesson is to learn to articulate and advocate a view regardless whether one agrees with it (i.e., writing classes or debate or some such.)

But, that is not the norm for most classes (history and, most importantly, LAW). In most classes you are asked for YOUR TAKE on a given assignment because in such classes the POINT is, not to determine your ability to PERSUADE (regardless of the position's alignment with your own views) but to determine your understanding of the SUBJECT MATTER.

"Scholarly" writings reflect the knowledge (and frequently the political leanings) of the SCHOLAR. Writing exercises reflect only one's ability to follow direction.

[buckjohnson]

Good point Huey, and I stand corrected. Except in some Legal classes I would have to offer persuasive positions contrary to my own, but I agree it was rare.

My main point is what we write in college is often times not representative of our personal views and beliefs, and often times are victims of youth and outside influences. A good example: I wrote a paper about Roe that stated one belief, as I experienced more real life experiences changed my mind about the opinion, (esp. the privacy issues), and now have come full circle and my beliefs are more aligned with what I believed in college, not the same, but pretty close. My views have evolved and matured, and I surely would not want to be judged by what I wrote as a student, what music I listened too as a student, and what books/periodicals I read as a student.

[Mo]

Give the AP credit for clearly explaining their double standard: Palin's "health care history is of interest because of her CRITICISM of Obama and the Democrats", thus leaving absolutely no doubt what they're up to over there at the AP, which now stands for Advocacy Politics.

[Huey]

buck: I agree that what one writes in one's youth may not be indicative of what one believes later in life. However, what one believes at any given point in time can be viewed in the larger arc of one's life. If positions taken at one point are consistent with positions (or actions) taken at earlier or later in that life, then such can be instructive of one's larger view of the world.

If, on the other hand, one takes positions at one point in his life which, later, are repudiated or altered (by action or word) then, it can reveal a mind capable of self-examination and change, i.e., a "mature" or maturing mind (or, perhaps, one which alters/changes for other reasons -- power, influence -- or even a weak mind capable of being swayed by proximity to others of powerful persuasive ability).

That's kind of why it's important to see what is there to be seen so that we CAN evaluate the mind of the man -- from some other view than his own self-serving hand through his later writings.

[Teresa in Fort Worth, TX]

Methinks the lady is "reeling them in" - crazy like a fox, Ms. Palin is. Now she has the AP talking about what HER PARENTS did over 35 years ago (and if you read the entire AP article, her parents paid for the care out of their own pockets), and in the process are examining her childhood.

At some point, more and more people are going to start to see the hypocrisy. Ms. Palin will have been thoroughly vetted by the press come election time, and Obama's past will STILL be an unknown entity. The MSM will by that point have been revealed to be the water-carriers that they were during the 2008 elections, and they will be completely discredited.

Two birds with one stone - that's our Sarah.....

[buckjohnson]

Huey, I just can't see what arc of life you are talking about. I said things at 11 that has nothing to do with my arc of life, it is just representative of being an 11 year old. My point is it is pretty wasteful to spend time looking at college documents. My best friend in college was a knucklehead. His GF probably wrote the majority of his papers. But now he is a very spiritual and successful owner of a warehouse. I just do not see his papers being involved in his arc or his journey. It should, like everything else, represent what he was then and have almost no bearing on whom he is now. We party all the time in college, still got good grades, and spent as little time as possible caring about what we wrote about. Once I wrote a 16-page essay about a novel written about Joyce Carol Oates. My wife found the essay a couple of months ago and read portions of it to me, laughing while she was doing it. The paper was so pretentious and full of crap that no way was it or could be representative of me. It was, guess what, just a paper. That I got an A on.

[Huey]

When we examine a person, how he was raised, who influenced him, what he thought at different points of his life, what he's done, etc... these are the elements which make up the "arc" of one's life.

In Obama's case, he was heavily influenced at an early age by a Marxist (Franklin Davis). We know (because he told us) that he intentionally surrounded himself with radicals and Marxists while an undergraduate. We know that he began his political life in the home of a radical. We know that he chose to sit in a church which preached the Marxist inspired "Black Liberation" Theology led by a racist, America hating "preacher." We know (because he was taped telling us) that he shared the aims of ACORN and was with them "every step of the way" throughout his political career. We know that, once he was elected President, he surrounded himself with radicals, including some self-professed Communists.

This is ... the "arc of one's life." His college writings may reveal nothing which is inconsistent with his steady march with Marxist associates and teachers, but it might show something else.

However, his life, when viewed as a whole, leads me to believe that, IF he wrote anything of any substance during those years (and there's absolutely nothing to indicate that he did) those writings would simply adhere to the teachings of his earlier associates and teachers as well as his later associates.

People, after all, rarely do fundamentally change. Sometimes.

But, it's rare.

[buckjohnson]

I hate to make Internet postings personal, but in this case I will. I went to school and "associated" with drug dealers, homosexuals, people who like The Knack music, people who claim to know Jesus, people who claim to know Satan, the criminal minded, the sociopath (one who is a semi-famous comedian who is often on TV, and other less than desirable people, yet I am not a dope smoking, lousy music listening, Jesus freak, Satan-worshiper, anti-social person. (and I love woman) I was greatly influenced as a child by Malcolm X and MLK, went to church with a preacher who hated Muslims, (but stayed there for almost 20 years because of loyalty and lack of options, plus my wife loved the church, my children went to private school there, etc.. But you know who had the greatest influence in my life? My father, my brothers, my drill sergeant in boot camp.

And Huey, you were doing fine until you mentioned Marx and being a Marxist. Have you read Karl Marx? If you have, you know comparing anyone to him is silly and just a plain a lie. As I said before, live in a Marxist country sometime, compare it to America, where you can make silly posts without worrying about getting shot, where you can say what you want, be who you want, walk the streets when you want, listen and read what you want, eat what you want, sleep when you want, have lousy HC, live in a police state, demonized political opponents, kill innocent people without remorse or recourse, have a death penalty that kills innocent people...oh yeah, that is America and that is Marxist...

[Huey]

Gee buck: You miss the point. This is not unusual.

You describe YOUR "arc of life." I was describing Obama's.

Many, in their youth do things which are insane. Many youths with minds of mush believe in things that, upon mature reflection and accumulated knowledge, later in life, they reject or modify. This is not unusual.

But, by the same token, it is not unusual for people to live an arc of life which follows a fairly straight path. That path can be a criminal one. It can be a life of sport begun at an early age and followed until death. It can be a life of the mind. Music. Poetry. Writing.

Or, it can be a political life. Such as Obama's. HIS "arc of life" is a pretty straight line -- like many.

Just not yours. Or, are you under the impression that all will follow your pattern?

And, yes. I've read Marx. (I must admit that Das Kaptial was rather dry....) I keep a copy of his (and Engel's) slim tome snugly between Mein Kamph and a single-bound copy of The Prince and The Discourses. One must keep up, don't you know.

If you have any difficulty detaching what Marx and Engels wrote from that which has been put into effect and, by consensus, called "Marxism," I really can't do anything about that, can I?

[buckjohnson]

Good point Huey. I am just concern about calling Pres. Obama marxist. I will say. Marx and Engels are difficult.

[Raymond]

Sarah Palin, a fine woman from Alaska, smart as an arctic fox. Sarah Palin has made history when she became the youngest and first female governor of Alaska. She made history when she has made a budget surplus for Alaska, the first time ever in Alaska history. She made history when she finally closed a deal for Alaska gas pipe line. "SHE WILL AGAIN MADE HISTORY IN 2012 WHEN SHE WILL BE ELECTED FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE FIRST FEMALE TO BEAT THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT" TWO HISTORIES IN ONE SINGLE MOMENT. This woman Sarah palin can be listed on Guinness book of world's records.

[Elaine]

Even the ghost spirits of Albert Einstein and Ronald Reagan believe that Sarah Palin is, indeed, a political genius. Majority of Americans must elect her as POTUS on 2012. She is a real asset to the best interest of this nation. Sarah Palin is very presidentiable as she has the capacity to spin the heads of Hugo Chavez, Putin, Kim of North Korea and all the religious leaders of Iran. With her foxy appeal, Sarah Palin can even convert Osama Bin Laden into Christianity!!!