Topic: The ConWeb
Having seen its side lose the election, the ConWeb is now engaging in little cleansing ritual: throwing John McCain under the bus and defending Sarah Palin from criticism.
Newsmax has been the leader so far. A Nov. 5 article by Dave Eberhart blamed McCain's loss on "the woeful campaign they said John McCain had run and how blatantly biased the media has been." After noting revelations that Palin's "infamous shopping expeditions for her entire family were even more outrageous than previously reported," Eberhart spun it as best he could: "But the McCain campaign failed to turn the clothes issue into positive spin: Palin was an "average Jane" who wasn't a millionaire like the Obamas." He continued:
Criticism of her deflected the real missteps McCain was making, including his spasmodic response to the financial crisis that gripped the nation. McCain, a self-proclaimed maverick, quickly embraced Washington's bailout of Wall Street.
Despite the multiple fumbles, McCain aides remain fixated on Palin's wardrobe.
Eberhart concluded: "Sarah Palin demonstrated real charisma and will remain a force in the GOP for years to come."
A Nov. 6 article by Jim Meyers was even harsher on McCain and more defensive of Palin:
McCain campaign aides have launched a full-scale smear attack on Sarah Palin to blunt criticisms that they bungled a winnable election.
[...]
But the Times even had to acknowledge the real reason for the post-election sniping.
“But beyond those episodes may be a greater subtext: anger within the McCain camp that Ms. Palin harbored political ambitions beyond 2008,” Elisabeth Bumiller disclosed in The Times.
A Nov. 6 article by Rick Pedraza featured right-wing radio host Michael Reagan asserting that "Palin is not the reason McCain lost the presidential election to Barack Obama." That blame, he said, goes to "George Bush and his lack of leadership in Washington, D.C. with his own party."
At CNSNews.com, a Nov. 6 article by Susan Jones headlined "The Post-Election Sliming of Sarah Palin" lamented that "Disgruntled McCain staffers apparently are behind media reports critical of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin":
Newsweek magazine, in an article called “Secrets of the 2008 Campaign,” says Palin spent extravagantly on new clothes. One angry aide characterized her shopping spree as, "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast." That anonymous aide said the truth will come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
Fox News reports that anonymous McCain aides are complaining about Palin's grasp of basic civics and geography.
And The New York Times also reports on “internal battles” that divided the McCain and Palin camps.
That's the entire article; Jones doesn't offer detail on any of the claims.
Even normally friendly Fox News reporters weren't immune to scrutiny for telling the truth about Palin. A Nov. 6 NewsBusters post by Sharon Hughes complained that "Carl Cameron of FOX News reporting for the "O'Reilly Factor" took the low road yesterday in repeating rumors and gossip from unnamed staffers in the McCain camp about Sarah Palin: her knowledge, temperament, being a shopoholic, etc." Hughes continued:
In failing to mention the names of the accusers, or input from staffers who disagree with the rumors, Cameron failed the 'fair and balanced' creed of FOX News. Plus Cameron's somewhat fevered manner in repeating the rumors, was not only surprising, but showed his lack of objectivity.
[...]
The most popular Governor in the United States with an 80% approval rating in her own state of Alaska, continues to be portrayed negatively by the media. Perhaps it will be found that one of more of these nameless cowards in the McCain camp were plants, or idealogues who took the job but ended up sabotoging the effort, ie the handling of Palin with the press. Time will tell if 'fair and balanced' reporters will investigate.
Hughes makes no effort to disprove the claims, nor does she provide a video of Cameron making the claims so that her readers can judge for themselves (that would be here). She also fails to explain that having "an 80% approval rating in her own state of Alaska" (in fact, it's currently 65 percent) has nothing whatsoever to do with the accusations made by those unnamed McCain staffers.
