Any error will do for a smear campaign

Via Instapundit, I see that Mark Steyn is saying that the fact that it took 11 Associated Press reporters to find six extremely trivial errors — quibbles, really — in former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s forthcoming autobiography, Going Rogue, which will be released on Monday, Nov. 16, shows why newspapers rapidly are becoming obsolete.

I don’t know why I’m the one explaining this to the likes of Mark Steyn, but what the AP was really hunting for was the tiniest wisp of a shred of a rationale to print the headlines damning Gov. Palin — “Errors found in Palin’s biography!” — that they had already written because they know their headlines will drive the narrative they want to push.

The AP’s behavior reminds me of Aesop’s fable, “The Lamb and The Wolf,” from which we have the expression, “Any excuse will serve a tyrant.”

Update, 11/14/09: News magazines, too: here.

Reminder: Of the four persons on the Democratic and Republican tickets in the 2008 presidential race, Gov. Sarah Palin was the most qualified by virtue of her experience, leadership ability, intelligence, eloquence, policies and vision for America.

From HillBuzz, THIS is the kind of passion that Gov. Palin inspires:

We here at HillBuzz fully intend to campaign for the Republican nominee in 2012 so that Dr. Utopia gets only one term and there can still be time to save this country from the socialist cancer this terrible man has stitched into the fabric of our nation. If Sarah Palin runs for President, we will quit our jobs and move to Iowa to ensure we do everything we can to stop Dr. Utopia from gaming the Caucus like he did to Hillary. We will relive the nightmare of the last two years’ of our lives, learning from everything Dr. Utopia and the DNC did last time and make sure they do not win again. Those crazy Leftists must be defeated so that, someday, the Clinton Coaltion of 1996 and the Hillary Dems of 2008 can take back the Democrat Party and boot the deranged Carter/Utopia elements out.

(snip)

2012 entirely hinges on three things:

(1) the GOP running a candidate who turns out their base, so that few idiots sit at home “to teach the GOP a lesson” because they believe the candidate is not conservative enough

(2) that candidate needs to talk only about creating jobs, lowering taxes, reining in spending, providing law and order, stabilizing the economy, securing energy independence for this country, protecting our citizens, and providing a solid education and path to a good future for our children. NO talk about social issues…no attacks on gays…no crusade on abortion…no fodder for the Race Industry

(3) balancing (1) and (2), the candidate needs to appeal to conservatives while standing tall and strong as someone Jacksonian Democrats, PUMAS, independent voters, and Clinton Moderates, whatever you want to call us, can get behind.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that person is Sarah Palin.

If she goes for it, she’ll be the 45th President of the United States.

Do read the entire post, it is well worth your while.

One reply on “Any error will do for a smear campaign”

  1. A rather interesting POV from HillBuzz. I, however, still believe that the MSM will be able to ensure that His Holiness will receive his 2nd term. Where they’ll fail is when they try to repeal the 22nd amendment so that we get His Holiness for life…

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