(CNN) - Sarah Palin has complained repeatedly that she was given unfair treatment by the media during her rapid political ascent last year.
But Mike Huckabee – a potential rival for Palin in 2012 should they both decide to seek the White House – apparently doesn’t agree.
In an interview in the current issue of Esquire, Huckabee speaks sympathetically of Palin, saying she had been subjected to “sexist things that would never have been asked of a male candidate.”
But he pushed back against Palin’s assertion that high-profile journalists – particularly Katie Couric of CBS – were biased in their interviews with her.
“Now I must say I did not think that either the Charlie Gibson interview or the Katie Couric interviews were unfair,” Huckabee said. “In fact, if anything, Katie Couric was extraordinarily gentle, even helpful. [Palin] just ... I don't know what happened. I can’t explain it. It was not a good interview. I’m being charitable.”
Since losing his bid for the GOP nomination last year, Mike Huckabee hasn’t been shy about criticizing some of the politicians he might face in a 2012 Republican primary battle – but Mitt Romney has remained his favorite target. In his new book, Huckabee wrote that Romney was "anything but conservative until he changed the light bulbs in his chandelier in time to run for president.”
Palin, meanwhile, has appeared preoccupied with re-hashing the ups-and-downs of the last campaign.
In a recent on-camera interview with a conservative filmmaker, Palin remarked off-handedly of Couric: “Katie, you’re not the center of everybody’s universe.” The day after excerpts of that interview were released and drew enormous media attention, Palin’s office released a statement hammering the press.
“As a public official, I expect criticism and I expect to be held accountable for how I govern,” the Alaska governor said. “But the personal, salacious nature of recent reporting, and often the refusal of the media to correct obvious mistakes, unfortunately discredits too many in journalism today, making it difficult for many Americans to believe what they see in the media.”
From CNN Politics
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If she wasn`t so darn pretty, by golly, she wouldn`t even be newsworthy. ---– What has happened to McCain????
Please Mike, enlighten us. What sexist things was she asked? I think asking someone who could be a 72 year old heartbeat away from the presidency which newspapers they read and to name a SCOTUS case other than Roe v Wade that they disagree with is a very fair.
I am not sympathetic to Sarah Palin's claims of unfair treatment by the media. Katie Curic's questions were very simple; I didn't think the interview was tough enough. Palin simply was not up to the task at hand and it showed. Palin has to accept accountability for her own words or the lack there of. It was her camp who decided she would not do interviews; and had she done a few interviews prior to that highly publicized Curic interview, perhaps she would have been better prepared. Her recent whining is nothing more than a desperate attempt to alter her image and stay relevant by using the very same media she claims is responsible for her own shortcomings. The poor little thing just can't seem to help herself.
hahahahahahaha!
Why anyone would grant an interview with Katie Couric is beyond me.
It would be interesting to see Katie Couric first entrance on the news channels....... Best I can remember, she had problems too.
I have no problem with the dress code of M Obama . I can not understand the problem with the dress code of Sarah Palin. She always looked great.
Ms. Palin's ongoing behavior appears to demonstrate that she is not only not prepared to be Vice President but may not be prepared to be Governor of Alaska. One would thing she would have bunkered down, learning the issues, built a message, and come out swinging in 6-9 months. We have better Republican leaders I look forward to hearing from than Ms. Palin.
Dubouis
I agree with the liberals, women shouldn't be allowed to be VP.
The problem is these two are extreme right wing politicians.
Our country has shown we do not need or want this.
Huckabee will no doubt try to show hisself as moderate but
his past stances, comments etc will rise to haunt him.
Palin, well enough has been said about her. Hopefully she
is past tense.
Love you Huck! .. and i'm a liberal!!
Hey, Todd, what difference does it make what newspapers she reads? I find that nothing but a fluff question. If she reads the Wall Street Journal followed by the National Enquirer, what does that mean? Nothing. I don't know if Obama or Biden mentioned what they read, but I don't believe it was commented on. The only reason she is mentioned on CNN each and every day is because CNN doesn't like her and it gets the complainers to comment and that's just what they want. Anti anything to the right of center. You can thank CNN for keeping her up front and center stage.
The more palin talks, the more im sure i made the right decision in voting for obama.
The interview was simple and Sarah failed. Her interview was the worst one I have ever seen by a politician. All Katie did was try to show a human side to Sarah by asking what paper does she reads. The woman just did not handle herself well and it shows. Sarah Palin can not handle pressure. I think personally she may be a nice person and is good for the small town she current lives, but making major decision I really don't know about her. If a person believe she is capable of running America, Ask her how she left her small town as Mayor in debt over a athletic center she tried to build that no one visit. According to info given it is going to take 7 years for the town to recover from her decision making.
Trevor in VA January 14th, 2009 11:14 am ET
I agree with the liberals, women shouldn't be allowed to be VP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nice Try 'Country First' Hero.
There exists many who aren't even Liberals who believe that Sarah Palin is simply not intelligent enough to be VP. But to your credit, she's 'puuurty' enough. That’s all it takes for you, right? Maybe throw in ‘Folksy’ too.
Remember that it’s conservative people like you who still believe a bi-racial man can't be President; or was it because you believe President Obama is an Arab? Which one is it? Either way, you're scared to death of both.
You are angry. Angry and silly.
I am a Dem, who would have voted for Huck just because of his stand on the IRS. Go HUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sarah Palin has more experience to become president than Obama does. Being governor of a state requires alot more power and decision making responsibility than being a US Senator for 2 years.
Boston Irish–Palin is the one who keeps giving the interviews and posting news releases on her website whining and complain. Palin and only Palin is responsible for her being in the news each day. If she'd stop the crying and complaining we'd all forget she even existed.
Paul January 14th, 2009 11:48 am ET
"Sarah Palin has more experience to become president than Obama does."
----–
You know that in math anything multiplied by zero becomes zero? the same principle is true by anything minus intellect, so experience minus intellect equals a big fat zero.
@ Paul- -Could you give up your tired rant man? It is so old. Like your man Mc Same.
Obama IS President
Paul, why do you, and so many like you, keep wrongly insisting that Governor Palin is somehow more qualified to be President than President-elect Obama, when she only made "tough, executive decisions" for 18 MONTHS before Senator McCain tapped her to be VP. Virtually all of her "accomplishments" before the Presidental race have been debunked as either half-completed, or in the case of the infamous Alaska Pipeline and turning away federal dollars, complete fabrications. Conversely, 18 months is the same amount of time that President-elect Obama served in the Senate, learning how to make accomplishments in Washington, collaborate with others in power, and observe how to avoid being an abysmal executive. Your argument holds as much water as Governor Palin's that Katie Couric somehow degraded her in interviews- which is to say, your argument holds nothing.
Its great to see Mike getting his 2012 campaign underway, and not a moment too soon because it means were are in for four more years of great entertainment. Clearly what Mike and Sarah want most is attention. Desperately. And to see the collateral damage to the republican pary is just icing on the cake. These two media darlings will continue to split the replublican party 50-50 between the superficial, self-serving lovers of fairy tales (who absolutely adore these clowns), and the folks who actually understand what kind of disaster they'd actually be as president, once it got beyond sound bites and cheap ideology.
We are in for some great fun, America!!
The reason Katie asked Palin what she reads is that she had previously said that her world view had been formed from reading, since she had done no traveling to speak of. It wasn't a fluff question, it was a valid follow-up. How was Katie to know Palin wouldn't be able to think of a single actual newspaper or magazine?
Who really care what either Idiot has to say?
Ever notice how Huckabee is slamming anybody that is a threat to him running in 2012?
Now Sarah didn't do well in the Couric interview but do we have transcripts of Katie Courics questions of Biden? She id it just before. Did she ask the same questions? If not why not? Wouldn't that solve all issues being discussed. Other points is Sarah is not a big John McCain fan. Not an enemy but not a fan. Check who she has endorsed when he has competed in Alaska Primaries and his name never showed up.
As far as her studying the US issues? How do we know she is not doing just that? She is not going to have a press conference or interview saying she is. And as far as the only question she said that was unfair was the Newspaper question and my guess is expect the Smart A answer soon. I don't read any Newspaper (or should I say buy one). I look at major articles on various ones on-line. If Katie Couric or anybody else in the Digital world is still buying a Newspaper (minus the Sunday one for coupons) I question there intelligence level in the changing world. Well I guess if you have fish to wrap you still need to buy a Newspaper.
Sara Palin, you tried your best and it didnot work this time. Why not now go home and reflect and learn and practice and practice and come back later. For now just go away.
Huckabee would have been a much better choice for McCains VP. Thank goodness McCain didn't have the good sense to pick him and chose the bimbo instead. We can't afford any more Republicans right now.
OMG, I have some idiot relatives who thought Sarah was a "sweetheart"! As if that made her qualified for VP! Oy!
If you can't handle an interview with Katie Couric, you might as well give it up. Ms. Palin needs to place the responsibility for her failure squarely where it belongs by looking in the mirror. The media only showed how weak a candidate Ms. Palin really was.
Palin is the ultimate sore loser.
Reality is that she did attract large crowds during the election. But those crowds were not diverse. She is extremely polarizing. She wants the media to leave her and her family alone but she keeps thrusting herself and them into the spotlight. Palin appears to be so self absorbed that she can not see the best thing for her and her family is to remove herself from the spotlight for at least 6 months. Learn something about the world and politics and economics and so much more. Then she may be able to hold her own in a debate with Huckabee and the rest of those trying to gain control of the republican party.
PATC: i am sure all the employees at the various papers around the country just love your comment "If Katie Couric or anybody else in the Digital world is still buying a Newspaper (minus the Sunday one for coupons) I question there intelligence level in the changing world. " That's real nice..... As for the alaskan dimwit, she failed easy questions and her incompetence was truly revealed. She just wants to see her name in print everyday so she can stay relevant. Although her childish ranting about being mistreated are nothing but a bunch of bunk. She can't compete. She knows it so she cries "Sexism, double standard, gotcha, etc." Sorry but no one but the flat earth ditto headed lemmings take her seriously
Sarah, quit complaining and do another calendar.
Palin= self obsessed and obviously unfit for high office. As for
Palin's"experience" ...? Her experience as Governor is hard to measure since she has spent more of her term running for vicePresident and then running to rehabilitate her image as a candidate so she can run for president..than actually doing the job she was , by fluke, elected to. she was in a mere 2 months (though paid for working at Wasilia at home.. part of that time!)
Maybe if we do not give her more attention, she will console herself by doing the job Alaskans are paying her to do.
Later, Huckabee was quoted as saying "you know, I was pretty sure about that creationism thing being correct, but then I met Palin and it suddenly dawned on me that maybe we did come from monkeys."
Huckabee, you are a jerk for not defending Gov. Palin from the disgusting and salacious attacks she had to endure. Ms. Kennedy came off as a complete idiot with her "you know " interview and the press was very accommodating as to her performance. You should be ashamed to call yourself a Republican, leave the party, we do not need your kind.