In order to distract from the real questions being asked about Sarah Palin (see Brown, Campbell), the right is resorting to the only arrow it has in its quiver to distract from the substance of the concerns about Palin: the victimhood card, i.e. that unnamed liberals and the media are "piling on" Sarah Palin.
The other day Rep. Michelle Bachmann claimed that James Carville's merely questioning Palin's experience was "offensive to women." Then rightwing mouthpiece The AP asserted that:
Many liberals are belittling the choice, suggesting that as a mother of five children -- including an infant with Down syndrome -- she has neither the time nor the experience to become vice president.
Umm, really? Who exactly? The article doesn't say and MoveOn pushed back.
And now today on Hardball, McCain's political director Mike Duhaime and Rep. Adam Purnam tried to claim that the media was "piling on" but when challenged to name examples, all they could really come up with was "tabloid headlines" and US Weekly. Chris Matthews was having none of it.
After so many years of the media kow-towing to the right's intimidation tactics, it's funny to see the right so utterly unprepared for when the media -- new or old -- actually does challenge the premise. But, really, what else do they have? So, tonight, in her speech, even Palin herself will join in the media bashing :
"I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment," Palin says in the text. "And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion — I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country."
Blaming the media is a tried and true tradition on the right but after months of claiming this election is all about experience, it's pretty hard for the McCain campaign to suddenly act as though questioning Palin's experience is beyond the pale. That's not to say they won't try, of course, it's just that, for a refreshing change of pace, it looks as though it may not work as well as it once did.
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