Sarah Palin Mocked At Fundraiser.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

You missed my point. I'm saying there was a time and place to call a spade a spade, an idiot an idiot. This wasn't it.

Roadtoad, I know exactly what you are saying and the point you are making. Where we disagree in the venue of the remarks. My feeling is that strong idiocy requires strong response. Someone gave her a platform to spout. Where better a place to respond. I tend to go with Mencken on this sort of thing.

 

[Tricky]

Actually, 'toad, the source does say they were reporters but how could they know who the commentators were based on some scratchy voices on the tape. I think the article you cited overstates the case but it does support your concerns.

That does sound fishy. They leave the mikes on, then scour the tapes to determine who was talking? Sounds to me like somebody was looking for something to create a controversy over.

 

[Alferd_Packer]

Anyone have a link to that actual speech? Maybe the reporters were just stating facts.

I agree. Who cares who made the comments. If it was a bad speach, then maybe the comments were well deserved.

Quit trying to WaPo the situation.

 

[Aoidoi]

Of the 4 lines quoted in the OP (not gonna watch the video) only the first seems to be mockery. The other 3 seem like pretty straightforward criticisms/discussion. Even the mockery seems pretty tame.

Slow news day?

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

"Oh my god! Let's go to the mall!"

 

[GreNME]

FOX News: "The comments overheard were made by reporters assembled from other newspaper and television outlets, and at no time was the voice of our photographer or our reporter heard on the stream."

Right. I'd like to hear un-cut audio from the event. It's not like FOX is an organization completely made up of ultra-right sycophants... those guys just get the good cable jobs.

 

[MikeMangum]

They refer to it as "caught" as if there was something sinister going on that they didn't want anyone to find out.

And one of the "reporters" is apparently a college student.

They were 'caught' being human and having opinions, as opposed to being the completely objective and unbiased robots that they pretend to be and present themselves as to their viewing/reading customers.

 

[MikeMangum]

FOX News: "The comments overheard were made by reporters assembled from other newspaper and television outlets, and at no time was the voice of our photographer or our reporter heard on the stream."

Right. I'd like to hear un-cut audio from the event. It's not like FOX is an organization completely made up of ultra-right sycophants... those guys just get the good cable jobs.

Actually, the news department of FOX isn't full of Republican shills ( *cough* Sean Hannity) or evangelical nanny state promoters (*cough* Huckabee). It is the opinion side that is completely dominated by conservatives of various persuasions with a few libertarians sprinkled in, although there is some bleed over into the news with moderate conservatives like Bret Baier(sp) or Cavuto. It's just that so much of what is broadcast on 'news' channels nowadays is editorial (or something else entirely like Larry King) instead of news. Looking at the schedule of the FOX news channel, there are roughly 8 hours of news per day, depending on whether you consider things like Fox and Friends (a crappy version of the already crappy Good Morning America) to be news.

 

[GreNME]

Actually, the news department of FOX isn't full of Republican shills ( *cough* Sean Hannity) or evangelical nanny state promoters (*cough* Huckabee).

Which is exactly what I said.

 

[rwguinn]

I agree. Who cares who made the comments. If it was a bad speach, then maybe the comments were well deserved.

Quit trying to WaPo the situation.

I have not heard any good speech out of her.
She deserves mockery.

 

[GreNME]

I have not heard any good speech out of her.
She deserves mockery.

What are you, a bleeding liberal?

 

[steve s]

She deserves mockery.

Especially when she gets up to $100,000 per speech and she can't spend five minutes to find out where Ronald Reagan went to college.

Palin blunders on Reagan's education.

It just shows how little she cares about it. It's a quick paycheck, and who cares if you're wrong. The lemmings will lap it up.

Steve S

 

[Lurker]

Actually, the news department of FOX isn't full of Republican shills

I can only think of Shepard Smith as a Fox news guy who seems moderate. Let's look at who else there is:

Bret Baier is conservative
Cavuto is conservative
Gretchen Carlson is conservative
Steven Doocy is conservative
Brian Kilmeade is conservative
Megyn Kelly is conservative

These are all allegedly from Fox's "news" programs. The reason we know they are conservative is because is leaks through on their "news" programs. To me, it does not matter that they are conservative. Bully for them. But when it has such a strong influence on their reporting it becomes a problem.

 

[ponderingturtle]

I can only think of Shepard Smith as a Fox news guy who seems moderate. Let's look at who else there is:

Bret Baier is conservative
Cavuto is conservative
Gretchen Carlson is conservative
Steven Doocy is conservative
Brian Kilmeade is conservative
Megyn Kelly is conservative

These are all allegedly from Fox's "news" programs. The reason we know they are conservative is because is leaks through on their "news" programs. To me, it does not matter that they are conservative. Bully for them. But when it has such a strong influence on their reporting it becomes a problem.

I wouldn't care about their political views if they only had intellectual integrity.

 

[Alferd_Packer]

Especially when she gets up to $100,000 per speech and she can't spend five minutes to find out where Ronald Reagan went to college.

Palin blunders on Reagan's education.

You mean he didn't go to school at Notre Dame with the gipper and the monkey?

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

I have the exact opposite opinion to the OP.

If more journalists publicly savaged the clearly incompetent and morally bankrupt, we'd be better off as a society.

As it is, she can do an interview seen by millions, and spout the most offensive and fictitious BS possible with almost complete safety.

We need these people constantly pressed for evidence, and to clarify their positions.

 

[godless dave]

But when we have people who are mocking her in this particular situation, and assuming the mockers are in fact members of the media, it's a bad move. This is the kind of stupid move which her supporters record and use to show just how out of touch the media is with the general population.

No, it isn't. Her supporters will make up absolutely anything to show how out of touch the media is with the general population. Trying not to give them ammunition is futile; they make their own ammunition.

 

[Lurker]

No, it isn't. Her supporters will make up absolutely anything to show how out of touch the media is with the general population. Trying not to give them ammunition is futile; they make their own ammunition.

I agree. I also agree with Jekyll's Guest as I think media has created this environment where politicians feel it is totally acceptable to lie because they know they will not be called on it. If the media did their freakin job then they would be calling out these liars on national TV and if mocking is what it takes to shame them into stopping the lying then so be it.

 

[marplots]

The only link I've seen is the one at the bottom of the OP link. You did read the OP link, right?

I did read the OP and went to the video but it only had a clip of the reporters' talking. I haven't been able to find the actual speech. So I still don't know if the reporters were reporting or editorializing.

Personally, I am glad that Mrs. Palin is as transparent as she is. I shudder to think that most politicians are rather more skilled at "fooling all of the people some of the time."

 

[Brainster]

I can only think of Shepard Smith as a Fox news guy who seems moderate. Let's look at who else there is:

Bret Baier is conservative
Cavuto is conservative
Gretchen Carlson is conservative
Steven Doocy is conservative
Brian Kilmeade is conservative
Megyn Kelly is conservative

These are all allegedly from Fox's "news" programs. The reason we know they are conservative is because is leaks through on their "news" programs. To me, it does not matter that they are conservative. Bully for them. But when it has such a strong influence on their reporting it becomes a problem.

And Dan Rather never let his liberal bias show.