June 15, 2009
Posted: June 15th, 2009 05:07 AM ET

From

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Between uncertainty about her appearance at a big fundraiser and a war of words with a late night TV talk show host, former Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was back dominating political headlines last week.

Did the media over do it with too much Palin coverage?

On CNN’s Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz asked three political reporters to weigh in on just that question.

The journalists largely agreed that the wall-to-wall coverage of Palin, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and last week’s annual Republican fundraiser was justified because of all the interest in Palin’s possible presidential aspirations.

"[T]his is one case where it's not the press’ creation," Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin told Kurtz. “A lot of Republican sources that all of us talked to were very unhappy with what Governor Palin did and the confusion in her political operation.”

“And it goes to a larger question,” continued Halperin, “is she doing what she needs to do now in order to be a plausible presidential candidate in 2012? Her relationship with the National Republican Party, confusion in her operation, a lack of confidence in her and those around her is what was at issue there; not gossip and not the rivalry with Newt Gingrich. And that's a legitimate issue and one the people covered.”

Air America’s Anna Marie Cox agreed.

“[I]t was not about Sarah versus Newt. It was more about Sarah versus sort of the apparatus of the GOP - and her relationship with them and the lack of professionalism in her operations,” Cox said Sunday.

The National Review’s Jim Geraghty had a different take, suggesting that the media’s dissatisfaction with the governor’s political staff was coloring the coverage Palin received about the GOP fundraising dinner last week.

“When a reporter doesn’t get a phone call returned, that grates on them,” Geraghty said to Kurtz. “And that may, in one form or another, get reflected in the coverage.”

The four journalists were uniformly critical of late night talk show host’s David Letterman’s recent off-color humor about Palin’s family.

Related: Palin calls foul on Letterman's 'weak' excuse

“I think people across the board say he went too far,” said Halperin. “But in terms of Sarah Palin, it’s not necessarily clear that it’s politically smart for her to do what she did [in response to Letterman].”

“She implied that he was a pedophile,” Cox told Kurtz. “I think the joke was over the line but that’s over the line too. . . . it’s not something that you needed to go to war over.”

“The words ‘I’m sorry’ would’ve been nice,” Geraghty said of what many considered a half-hearted attempt to apologize by Letterman last week as the controversy blew up. “Don’t go after kids,” Geraghty added.

Kurtz added his own “two cents” Sunday, saying that Letterman’s remarks had crossed the line. “This was not Tina Fey gentle mockery, this was pretty rough to go after, as he did, a 14-year-old girl or an 18-year-old girl. And I don't think the apology was sufficient.”

Filed under: David Letterman • Sarah Palin • State of the Union


Why Are We Obsessed With Sarah Palin? Please, Explain. « The Southern Gentleman   June 15th, 2009 11:08 am ET

[...] this non-issue has raised so much attention that CNN devoted an entire panel to reviewing it. That's, count 'em, FOUR (4) serious journalists discussing a public wee-wee match [...]

6/15-Keith Olbermann- The Universe’s Biggest Douchebag of the Day…yet again « American Heartland Bar and Grill   June 15th, 2009 5:54 am ET

[...] Reporters Break Down Palin Coverage, Slam Letterman Remark – CNN Ticker [...]

Comments have been closed for this article

subscribe RSS Icon
About The Ticker

The latest political news from CNN's Best Political Team, with campaign coverage, 24-7. Sign up for our twice daily Ticker emails. Got a news tip or feedback? For complete political coverage, bookmark CNNPolitics.com.

CNN=Politics Screensaver

CNN=Politics ScreensaverTap into the power of The Situation Room. Download this powerful new tool that keeps you posted on the latest political news from the campaign trail.
Download (4.1 MB, PC only)

twitter
@SuzanneMalveaux: At the WH. Doing live shots in the blizzard. :) Obama schedule unchanged. He's mtg w/Height,Jealous,Morial,& Sharpton on Black unemployment.
Updated: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:34:16 -0800
hambypCNN: Marco Rubio will hold rally in Ft. Myers today to highlight the one year anniversary of "The Hug" http://bit.ly/aH4VXj
Updated: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:00:58 -0800
@KuhnCNN: Great meeting @JackGrayCNN today and seeing @sinderbrandrcnn in NYC! AC Rock Stars! :-)
Updated: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:07:10 -0800
@KuhnCNN: Posted today: Clinton foreign trip first on Twitter. http://bit.ly/9Axuh9 /via @PoliticalTicker
Updated: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:36:14 -0800
@KuhnCNN: RT @octavianasrCNN: MUST-READ// Coaching tomorrow's world leaders, through social networking -- http://bit.ly/9tmW6x
Updated: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:32:51 -0800
Categories
Powered by WordPress.com VIP