Blog: Dermot Cole
'Vanity Fair' and Palin
Published Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The national editor of Vanity Fair magazine, Todd Purdum, has written a blistering article about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who he describes as the "sexiest and the riskiest brand in the Republican Party."
He says that at one point last fall, the McCain campaign offered to poll 300 Alaskans to see how they viewed Palin's performance.
Purdum writes:
By all accounts, Palin was either unwilling, or simply unable, to prepare. In the run-up to the (Katie) Couric interview, Palin had become preoccupied with a far more parochial concern: answering a humdrum written questionnaire from her hometown newspaper, the Frontiersman.
McCain aides saw it as easy stuff, the usual boilerplate, the work of 20 minutes or so, but Palin worried intently.
At the same time, she grew concerned that her approval ratings back home in Alaska were sagging as she embraced the role of McCain’s bad cop.
To keep her happy, the chief McCain strategist, Steve Schmidt, agreed to conduct a onetime poll of 300 Alaska voters. It would prove to Palin, Schmidt thought, that everything was all right.
Then came the near-total meltdown of the financial system and McCain’s much-derided decision to briefly “suspend” his campaign.
Under the circumstances, and with severely limited resources, Schmidt and the McCain-campaign chairman, Rick Davis, scrapped the Alaska poll and urgently set out to survey voters’ views of the economy (and of McCain’s response to it) in competitive states.
Palin was furious. She was convinced that Schmidt had lied to her, a belief she conveyed to anyone who would listen.
For the full account, go to http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
Meanwhile, Jim Geraghty of the National Review Online rips the 10,000-word "profile/excoriation" as a cheap shot.
He writes:
She has been living in the eye of a hurricane since last August, and has become one of the few figures subject to the scrutiny of both the political media and the celebrity-industrial complex manifested in People and Us Weekly.
Almost overnight, she’s gained millions of devoted fans and furious enemies. That has to be a horrific environment to make tough decisions in.
She may not run for reelection as governor, which seems like a serious mistake if she aspires to national office. (I would argue that Mitt Romney’s 2008 bid was hampered by the fact that he had only served one term; the flip-flopper label deteriorates in the face of a clear and lengthy record. You become much more of a known quantity in that second term, demonstrating that successes in the first term weren’t a happy accident.)
Palin may run for president in 2012, which could very well be a mistake. Her current public reputation and support is probably just enough to win the GOP nomination and then generate similar electoral college results as 2008.
As a GOP strategist put it to me a few months ago, “The perception of Sarah Palin will change when the reality of Sarah Palin changes.”
I find my toddler son exhausting; I can only imagine a life running a state while caring for a son with Down syndrome and a son in Iraq and a daughter who is a new mother in the sharp glare of the public spotlight and a grandson and another daughter suddenly appearing in David Letterman’s routine.
This may not be the right time for another go-round in a multi-year process in which vast swaths of the political world will aim to see her torn down to nothing. She's 45 years old; it's not like the window is closing.
But it's her call, and time will tell.
For Geraghty's comments, go to http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZGJiMTYyMzU3ZmE3NDIxNGI2ZjU1N2VhMWQxODE3ODU=
Graydon Carter had to find a Republican to attack in VF after President Bush left office. That is why I no longer subscribe to the magazine.
Amazing how she is able to get so much response from the public still. How many VP candidates who lost can anyone even name. Vanity Fair would only write about her if it meant sales of their magazine. Just ask David Letterman what Palin can do for your ratings.
I can see this will be shot full of holes by Palin and friends.
You don't like meeeee! Take this you bad, bad personnn! Your a big fat liarrr!
Too funny. I agree FreeDafur, how can a has-been still attract so much attention? We will see after the 2010 election and she is sent packing.
Purdom constantly refers to the Gov's "sexiness." He clearly thinks she is HOT. I wonder if he was forced to laminate the large photo he keeps of her in the bathroom. I can't believe this poorly written, researched and unrevelatory article passes for journalism.
The same old posters continue saying the same thing...how can Sarah still be in the news? HEADLINE: Sarah's a real threat to the future of the democratic party and they know it. It may not be now...or even 2012...but she is building up for a future in national politics...and THAT's why she continues garnering headlines. FreeDarfur is right in one respect, though...how many losing VP candidates can you name in the last 12 years?
"....how can a has-been still attract so much attention?"
Spoken like a true "never was" Yukonjohn. Jealous?
I love it! The Republicans are tearing away at each other and Sarah is the cause of the friction! She thinks she has it tough now? Wait till she runs for the GOP nomination for the 2012 election. Her opponents for that nomination will dig up so much dirt on her and protray her in such a searing light of scorching truth that she's going to wish she had bought stock in the Kleenex company as she weeps and wails about how mean everyone is to her.
Gol, if only someone were selling popcorn this would be the perfect circus!
As for "how can a has-been attract so much attention"... Ever notice how people love to rubberneck at an accident's aftermath? It's the morbid fascination of "How can this be?" combined with "Boy, I'm glad that's not me!". She is an accident slowly unravelling in the public's eye. Everytime she opens her mouth the nation waits to see how much deeper she digs the hole into which she has fallen. One needs only look at the ratings boost Letterman got when he needed it most from her rantings and ravings.
Bring on the cotton candy! We've already got the best clown there could be and her name is Sarah! *Grin*
I love it! Dobie yet again proves both his arrogance and his ignorance by labeling all Palin-supporters as "The Republicans."
Plenty of non-Republicans make up the back-bone of her support.
Ponderous...consider the source. Unfortunately dobie's been in the doobies again.
Ponderous and oldakcuss - you actually might want to read what dobie said instead of just trying to take potshots at it. His only mention of Republicans was how they were tearing away at each other - and the Republican blogs, radio and tv shows, etc., are showing just that ever since this piece came to light.
The Vanity Fair article just brings to light what was hinted at during the campaign - that the Republican party machinery (esp. within the McCain campaign) grew to have huge doubts about Palin, that they would have seen if they had done a good vetting beforehand. That to me was the interesting info here - certainly not the author's potshots at Sarah and Alaska (although his positive comments about some of her skills were interesting, considering the source)
I think Dermot wishes he had written the article.
I can name two losing VPs : Admiral Stockdale and Geraldine Ferraro
dobie, we sure agree so rarely, but we agree here. It is going to actually be pitiful when and if Sarah goes national again. Her own party will rip her apart way before the Dems get ahold of her. I am just happy she never decided to turn to the AIP and be our standard bearer. She is a liability to any party she decides to join, and will probably not retire until she is embarassed nationally once more.
Gee Dermot, a week off and this is all the better you can do?
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