Palin Links Iraq to Sept. 11 In Talk to Troops in Alaska
By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 12, 2008; A01
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Sept. 11 — Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.”
The idea that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself.
And that is where the lede smears had originally ended. Of course, Sarah Palin was doing no such thing, but with selective interpretation, Ann Kornblut and the WaPo creates a false controversy just like Charlie Gibson tried to with his “task from God” misquote.
But Bill Kristol, and I am sure others, outed the Post’s smear late last night which led the WaPo, similar to Charlie Gibson’s “exact words” edit, alter their original smear to add:
But it is widely agreed that militants allied with al-Qaeda have taken root in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion.
Did the Post have second thoughts about their reporter’s mindreading tactics? Did the editor realize that Palin might actually have been praising the troops for fighting Al Qaeda? Nevertheless, the Post’s quick edit doesn’t really solve the problem. The inference — utterly unsupported –remains that Palin is spinning a discredited tale. (Moreover by leaving the rest of the piece as is, the article now is rather incomprehensible. Does the Post still mean to accuse Palin of telling tale tales?)
There is a tall tale being told alright – and it’s not coming from Sarah Palin.
The much awaited Sarah Palin MSM interview began airing today on ABC. And while Sarah Palin showed she is more than ready for the job:
From Politico.com: Sarah Palin confronted a major obstacle in her interview with Charlie Gibson - her first one-on-one as a vice presidential candidate - and appears to have held her own
Palin defended a previous statement in which she reportedly characterized the war in Iraq as “task from God”.
Gibson quoted her as saying: “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.”
But Palin said she was referencing a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln.
“I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words. But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.”
GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.”
PALIN: You know, I don’t know if that was my exact quote.
GIBSON: Exact words.
PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words.
Of course, the big problem is those WERE NOT her exact words. The important words immediately PRIOR to that statement (which changes its meaning entirely) were “Let us pray . . . that our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” She is very clearly hoping that in this greatest challenge of our generation that our actions are correct and in accordance for whatever His plan for all of us. Which is something all of us should hope for.
NOTE: I just watched the re-airing of the interview on the 11:35pm Nightline and they most definitely edited out Gibson’s wrong and baiting charge of “Exact words.”
The Washington Post front page screams what they hope will give readers cause for concern: “Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home.” Unfortunately for the Post, it only shows the Post’s ignorance of the law and what a per diem actually is. David Bernstein at the Volokh Conspiracy has the goods:
A glance at the expense report reproduced on the Post’s website makes it clear that she requested per diem for her daily expenses, but not for lodging, and that she apparently wrote “lodging–own home” only to explain why she wasn’t requesting hotel expenses. One almost wonders whether the author of the story understands what a “per diem” is; the story notes that Palin rarely charged the state for meals when in Wasilla and Anchorage, but of course she didn’t, because she instead just asked for the per diem!
And what is the gist of her actual action the Post wants to stir into a scandal?
You have to read the article carefully to figure this out, but what the story ultimately reveals is that Palin (a) billed the state for most expenses allowed by law, including per diem when she stayed in her own home (her “duty station” was the state capitol of Juneau) in Wasilla; (b) didn’t bill the state for other expenses, when she could have done so lawfully, such as per diems for her children; and (c) spent a lot less money on expenses than did her predecessor, especially on travel and by ridding herself of the state’s personal chef. [FWIW, she apparently maintained two residences, the governor's mansion in Juneau, which by state law is her official work "base" and where assumedly she didn't get a per diem (but where her predecessor had a personal chef whom she let go), and Wasilla, from where she commuted to Anchorage for work when the legislature wasn't in session. Saintly to take the per diem she was legally entitled to when in the second residence? No. Worthy of the lead headline on Washingtonpost.com? Please! Not illegal, not unethical, and not a scandal.]
Is this the same level of scrutiny and misrepresentation the Post of given to the Obama-Biden campaign? I didn’t think so.
I’m seeing more and more women who are not ideologocially aligned with Sarah Palin but will nonetheless vote for her. Former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women and lifelong registered Democrat, Tammy Bruce, appears to be one of them:
In the shadow of the blatant and truly stunning sexism launched against the Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, and as a pro-choice feminist, I wasn’t the only one thrilled to hear Republican John McCain announce Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. For the GOP, she bridges for conservatives and independents what I term “the enthusiasm gap” for the ticket. For Democrats, she offers something even more compelling - a chance to vote for a someone who is her own woman, and who represents a party that, while we don’t agree on all the issues, at least respects women enough to take them seriously.
* The Republican base is now energized and enthusiastic like never before
* Palin offers geographic appeal and help in key swing states
* Palin revived McCain’s maverick, outside the Beltway message
* Expect more attacks on Obama’s own history of accommodation with the Daley machine in Chicago
* The problem with Hillary Clinton’s disaffected voters is back
* Palin has engaged the community of families with special needs children
* Palin will keep the energy issue front and center and pound home the message that the GOP is in favor of an all-out, multi-front effort to develop domestic sources of energy including oil and natural gas
* She dealt a blow, a big blow, to the credibility of the MSM
* Palin has made Joe Biden a greater liability.
* Palin allows many voters to “make history”
These are just 10 of the increasingly numerous ways Sarah Palin has been that “game changer” Republicans sorely needed. Read the whole thing.
Barack Obama likes to campaign that John McCain is out of touch with average Americans. But it looks like his surrogates in the media need a lesson or two about life outside their “cosmopolitan” bubbles. The New York Times has a nice write-up on Sarah Palin revealing this little nugget on how unbelievably out of touch our media really is:
In the press galleries at the convention, journalists wrinkled their noses in disgust when Piper, Ms. Palin’s youngest daughter, was filmed kitty-licking her baby brother’s hair into place. But to many Americans — including some I talked to in the convention hall — that looked like family church on Sunday, evidence of good breeding and sibling regard.
Disgusted by the most adorable moment in either convention:
Coincidentally Clive Crook has an excellent Op-Ed today in The Financial Times titled “Democrats must learn some respect.” Here is just one of many exceptional passages:
Democrats regard their policies as self-evidently in the interests of the US working and middle classes. Yet those wide segments of US society keep helping to elect Republican presidents. How is one to account for this? Are those people idiots? Frankly, yes – or so many liberals are driven to conclude. Either that or bigots, clinging to guns, God and white supremacy; or else pathetic dupes, ever at the disposal of Republican strategists. If they only had the brains to vote in their interests, Democrats think, the party would never be out of power. But again and again, the Republicans tell their lies, and those stupid damned voters buy it.
It is an attitude that a good part of the US media share.
First: Thank you, Barack Obama. He lacked the confidence or the strength to ask Hillary Clinton to join him on the ticket … lacked the nerve to double down on the theme of change. Instead, he settled on an unimpressive vice presidential pick, a long-time, long-winded overrated senator from a safe state, who gave him no lift at all in the polls, and offers no prospect of doing so.
Second: Thank you, John McCain. He showed guts with his pick of Sarah Palin. He also demonstrated a shrewd strategic sense… He understood the implications of Obama’s passing over Hillary. [H]e had the sense that Palin’s anti-establishment conservatism, pro-family feminism, and tough-minded reformism would add something important to his campaign.
Third: A special thank you to our friends in the liberal media establishment… The ludicrous media feeding frenzy about the Palin family hyped interest in her speech, enabling her to win a huge audience for her smashing success Wednesday night at the convention. [I]t even renewed interest in McCain, who seems to have gotten still more viewers for his less smashing–but well-received–presentation the following evening.
The astounding smugness and mean-spiritedness of so many in the media engendered not just interest in but sympathy for Palin… It allowed the McCain-Palin ticket to become the populist standard-bearer against an Obama-Media ticket that has disdain for Middle America.
Hanna Rosin–who has covered religion and politics for the Washington Post, and has also written for the New Yorker, the New Republic, and the New York Times–lamented in a piece for Slate: “So cavalier are conservatives about Sarah Palin’s wreck of a home life that they make the rest of us look stuffy and slow-witted by comparison.”
In a year of political jiu-jitsu, the MCCain campaign’s ability to use the perceived strengths of Barack Obama (celebrity status, media complicity) against him has been nothing short of masterful.
Sarah Palin found some unlikely allies Wednesday as leading academics and even former top aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed the Republican charge that John McCain’s running mate has been subject to a sexist double standard by the news media and Democrats.
While that story of confirmation from Hillary’s campaign may be surprising, the media continues unabashedly in it’s contempt for the strong, accomplished and popular Governor continues to rear its ugly head.
If Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi had been decked out like soccer mom Sarah last night the G.O.P. would have called them tramps. Why, a hem two inches below the knee! So risque! I giver her her due: she is pretty like a cosmetics saleswoman at Macy’s.
Let’s face the truth: If Bristol were Joe Biden’s daughter or, worse yet, Barack Obama’s, the epithet “slut” would be on everyone’s tongue in St. Paul. But since she is Palin’s daughter she has been treated as if she were a saint, maybe Mother Theresa incarnate.
Now you have Time magazine writer referring to her as a “half term Governor.” Les Jones is on the case:
A Time writer refers to Palin as a “half-term” governor. I love it - the contempt just drips from the page. Has any Time writer referred to Obama as a “one-third term Senator”? I’m guessing not.
And these are just three off the top of my head! She has them rattled and the media will continue to slander her through election day. It’s becoming more and more clear that Katie Couric was right. The media is sexist:
I love how the biased TV honchos get some operative who once was a Republican (Joe Scarborough) or worked for the GOP (Mike Murphy) and parade them in front of the cameras as if these are “real” Republicans views on the day’s political events. In 1992, it was David Gergen, supposedly representing George H. W. Bush’s view, who subsequently went to work for the Clinton White House after his successful slamming of the GOP during the ‘92 election.
Chuck Todd exits by saying to McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt “Here’s free advice, let’s see if he takes it”
Later, when she thinks the mics are off, Peggy Noonan chimes in “It’s over.” And then responded to a question of whether Palin is the most qualified Republican woman McCain could have chosen.
“The most qualified? No. I think they went for this — excuse me — political bullsh** about narratives,” she said. “Every time Republicans do that — because that’s not where they live and it’s not what they’re good at — they blow it.”
Murphy chimed in:
“The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.”
Well, I am sorry Peggy Noonan is getting bitter as the new wave of Republican women take the stage while Mike Murphy can’t get a GOP job so he’s auditioning for the Democrats. And I think we all know what the chances are of Steve Schmidt listening to these outed hacks. Be sure not to let the door to the party hit either of you on the way out.
UPDATE: Peggy Noonan addresses this video with an exculpatory explanation. I apologize for my harsh reaction to what appeared to be her intent from the audio.
UPDATE, by Mark Noonan: This counts as “What Media Bias? Part 123″
“The McCain campaign will launch a television ad directly comparing Gov. Palin’s executive experience as a governor who oversees 24,000 state employees, 14 statewide cabinet agencies and a $ 10 billion budget to Barack Obama’s experience as a one-term junior senator from Illinois.”
The ad is what the campaign calls “a forward-leaning effort to counter the shameless smears that have prevailed during Gov. Palin’s introduction to the American voter.”
…
“Gov. Sarah Palin is an exceptional governor with a record of accomplishment that exceeds, by far, the governing accomplishments of Sen. Obama. Her selection came after a six-month long rigorous vetting process where her extraordinary credentials and exceptionalism became clear. This vetting controversy is a faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee for vice president of the United States who has never been a part of the old boys’ network that has come to dominate the news establishment in this country. Sen. McCain picked his governing partner after a long and thorough search. Gov. Palin looks forward to addressing the nation and laying out the fundamental choice this election represents for the American people.
Here is a new ad:
REPORTED FALSEHOODS AND SMEARS AGAINST GOV. PALIN’S FAMILY AND HISTORIC CANDIDACY:
* Liberal Bloggers Questioned Whether Gov. Palin’s Fifth Child Was Actually Bristol Palin’s Child.
* CNN’s John Roberts Questioned Whether Governor Palin Would Be Able To Care For A Child With Down Syndrome As Vice President.
* The Washington Post’s Sally Quinn Questioned Whether A Woman With Five Children And One Having Down Syndrome Would Be Able To Make Her Family A Priority If She Were Vice President.
* MSNBC, Headlines Beneath The Live Coverage Included “SOME WORKING MOTHERS WORRY THAT PALIN IS TAKING ON TOO MUCH” And “SOME VOTERS CONCERNED IF PALIN, A MOTHER OF FIVE, HAS TIME TO BE VP.”
* Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) Said That Gov. Palin Was A Supporter Of Pat Buchanan Who He Called A “Nazi Sympathizer.”
* The Obama Campaign Linked Gov. Palin As A Supporter Of Pat Buchanan Who They Called A “Nazi Sympathizer.”
* James Carville Claimed That Because Gov. Palin Was A Supporter Of Pat Buchanan She Would Not Be Attractive To Democrats.
* James Carville Said That Gov. Palin Would Appeal To “Pat Buchanan Kind Of Republicans.”
* In Toledo, Ohio, Sen. Joe Biden Said One Of The Differences Between Him And Gov. Palin Was “She’s Good-Looking.”
* CNN’s James Carville Said That Gov. Palin Is “Almost Absent Qualifications For The Job.”
* Liberal Radio Host Ed Schultz Said That Gov. Palin Was An “Empty Pantsuit” Who Had Started A “Bimbo Alert.”
* Sherrod Brown Criticized Gov. Palin For Being Mayor Of A Small Town.
* ABC’s Jake Tapper Reported That Gov. Palin Was Once A Member Of The Alaskan Independence Party, Which Wanted To Secede From The United States.
* The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen Said That Gov. Palin Was A “Sitcom” Candidate And Would Be A “Disaster Movie” If She Became President.
* Tom Daschle Attacked Palin As Having “Absolutely No Experience” And Being “Extreme Right Wing.”
I’ll add the video clip as soon as I can, but Newt Gingrich just demolished Ron Allen of MSNBC regarding the allegation that Sarah Palin lacks experience.
Here’s my quick transcript:
Allen: Her resume is not something we are familiar seeing with Vice Presidential candidates.
Newt (getting really animated): Well, it’s stronger than Barack Obama’s. I don’t know why you guys walk around saying this baloney. She has a stronger resume than Obama. She’s been a real Mayor. He hasn’t. She has been a real Governor. He hasn’t. She’s been in charge of the Alaska National Guard. He hasn’t. She was a whistle-blower who defeated an incumbent Mayor. He has never once shown that kind of courage. She’s a whistle-blower who turned in the chairman of her own party and got him fined $12,000. I’ve never seen Obama do one thing like that. She took on the incumbent Governor of her own party and beat him. And then she beat a former Democratic Governor in the general election. I don’t know of a single thing Obama has done except talk and write. And I’d like you to tell me one thing you think Senator Obama has done.
Allen: Thanks very much Mr. Speaker. I’m gonna leave it right there. I’m not going to argue the case.
Newt: Thank you.
OUCH!
Here is the MSNBC video. The key exchange begins at the 2:33 mark:
[M]others across the country … have voiced the kind of doubts that few male pundits have dared raise on television. With five children, including an infant with Down syndrome and, as the country learned Monday, a pregnant 17-year-old, Ms. Palin has set off a fierce argument among women about whether there are enough hours in the day for her to take on the vice presidency, and whether she is right to try.
Of course, neither the MSM carrying water for the Obama campaign, nor this false “concerned criticism” were hard to predict.
I talked with top Obama’s strategists who was like we’ve got to be very careful about this because they’re expecting the press to go make Sarah Palin famous in a bad way and they’d be very happy with that.
Oh, that looks like a meme. Sarah Palin must stay home with her special needs baby. Sarah Palin must stay home with her about-to-be-married, pregnant daughter. Ladies: Put your career on hold until everything in you’re family stops happening… Would a man forgo his career to be there for a family member who is experiencing an important life transition?
Remember when John Edwards decided to go on with his campaign after his wife got a diagnosis of inoperable cancer? Now, I think Elizabeth Edwards was probably excited about the campaign and wanted to go on with it. In that light, why are you assuming that Bristol Palin isn’t excited about her mother’s campaign? Unlike Elizabeth Edwards, Bristol is not facing her last days. She’s just starting out — all caught up in life. Presumably, she’s intense and positive about her pro-life beliefs, her love for the baby’s father, her impending wedding, and the new baby on the way.
The attacks will continue, while a knowing Obama comfortably takes the high road, fully confident the NetRoots, Kos Kids and cheering MSM Obamabots will relentlessly beat down any strong capable woman that threatens The One. So predictable. And so pathetic.
I talked with top Obama’s strategists who was like we’ve got to be very careful about this because they’re expecting the press to go make Sarah Palin famous in a bad way and they’d be very happy with that.
What a relief! The Obama campaign feels it can rest assured that the mainstream media will do its part to misrepresent Palin “in a bad way.” And to no ones surprise, this comment raised not one eye-brow among the panelists.
Here in Denver, there were audible cheers in the press pavilion from multiple directions when Barack Obama walked on stage. It’s outside the convention center and no regular delegates are here — only press.
But they won’t let their personal views color their reporting, right?
The fact that the rumors of Edwards’ infidelity have been around for a long time and the MSM only started covering it when Edwards confessed.
If this has been a GOPer, it would have been ’round the clock coverage until the miscreant was forced to admit it…
UPDATE: Advice Goddess points out that the LA Times, Tribune of The People, Defender of All That is Good and Scourge of The Powerful put an intern on the case.
The L.A. Times And Rielle Hunter: Way Too Little, Way Too Late
Finally, finally, after suffering nationwide media blog ridicule, the L.A. Times squeeezes out a story about how they didn’t tell the story, plus a “timeline,” bylined Kate Linthicum, of l’affaire Edwards and Hunter…
…I hadn’t seen the byline Kate Linthicum before, so I looked her up. Yes, while they’re throwing all the experienced reporters out of the place, we’ve now got the apparently undersupervised intern (Barnard Class of 2008) writing the paper…
But then reality broke in and the large anti-US protests failed to materialise, and large pro-US demonstrations happened. So, what did al-Reuters do? Keep lying as best you can, of course:
The headline should have read, “Bush arrives in Seoul to warm welcome”, but that would be to defy the MSM’s meme about President Bush - supposedly the whole world hates us, now, and only Obamessiah can retrieve our national honor from the Bush gutter. The facts, once again, appear to be in defiance of what the MSM wants to report - and my bet is that the entire meme of “Bush hated” is overblown. Sure, there are plenty of anti-Americans out there (and, heck, in America, too) and you’ll not lack for people who can be quoted at length being disgusted with America under Bush and gushing hopeful about how wonderful America will be under Obama…but does this mean the world hates us and that we need to rebuild our reputation?
Well, we certainly don’t need to in Afghanistan, Iraq, Djibouti, Georgia, Israel, India, Phillipines, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Eithiopia, Tanzania….heck, even our relations with China are pretty good (all things considered) and getting on good with Japan and China should be next to impossible. Who really hates us? Well, the Islamists do…and so do those global leftists who will hate us even if Obama is President because they don’t really hate President Bush so much as hate the United States, period…and not for what we do, but for what we are (free, Judeo-Christian, that sort of thing).
As I’ve said before, we live in the Age of Lies, and the main thing which has caused President Bush trouble has been his inability to join in with the lies…a few lies here and there stroking the egos of the left and President Bush would be in a lot better shape as far as elite opinion is concerned, but President Bush couldn’t do it…and God bless him for it; for being, that is, one of those rare people in politics who really doesn’t give a darn what people think of him and who is thus able to do the right thing no matter what.
