End of an error
Sarah Palin's trash-talkin', wolf-shootin', reality-showin', Obama-hatin' persona perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the Tea Party era.
End of an error
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote famously -- and amazingly incorrectly -- that there are no second acts in American lives. Actually, and sadly, that was kind of true for The Great Gatsby author, but not for anyone who's come along since. Consider someone who once seemed to appear daily on this blog, Sarah Palin. When she burst onto the scene (outside of Alaska, anyway) in 2008, I had a gut feeling that even if she lost her vice presidential bid, Palin would be a force to be reckoned with.
And for a time, Palin had the second act of a lifetime. Her trash-talkin', wolf-shootin', reality-showin', Obama-hatin' persona perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the Tea Party era, an era that started with the first Fox airing of Glenn Beck on Jan. 19, 2009, and ended once the last 2010 election results were posted. The Gabrielle Giffords shooting -- and Palin's bizarre "blood libel" reaction to it -- was pretty much the end of that party.
My friend Eric Boehlert has more:
At Fox, Palin represented a particularly angry and juvenile wing of the conservative movement. It's the part that appears deeply obsessed with Obama as a person; an unhealthy obsession that seemed to surpass any interest in his policies. With lazy name-calling as her weapon of choice, Palin served as Fox News' point person for misguided snark and sophomoric put-downs. Palin also epitomized the uber-aggressive anti-intellectual push that coincided with Obama's swearing in four years ago.
And for a while, it looked like the push might work. In 2010, it seemed like Palin and Beck might just succeed in helping Fox change the face of American politics with their signature calling cards of continuous conspiracies (Beck) and perpetual victimization (Palin).
But it never happened.
In the wake of Beck's cable TV departure in 2011, Obama's reelection win in 2012, and now Palin's farewell from Fox last week, it's obvious the blueprint drawn up by Fox chief Roger Ailes was a programming and political failure. Yes, the name-calling and conspiratorial chatter remains at Fox, but it's no longer delivered by Palin who was going to be star some loyalist thought the channel could ride all the way to the White House.
All true. but the reality is that Sarah Palin had the last laugh on all of us. In the summer of 2009, at the zenith of that second act, she realized that the time to cash in was right at that moment, and so she quit her boring day job as governor of Alaska and made herself a millionaire several times over, a living national monument to capitalism. She bedazzled and then befuddled business groups for $100,000 a pop, pontificated on Fox, inked cable deals, and squeezed every last dollar out of fame during that brief meteor shower.
And now it's over.
Because there are no third acts in American lives.
Addios to the bloated gasbag with the cromagnon forehead.— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine- Did something happen to Joe Biden?— Mr. Smith
- Good one Smitty.
Charity cheapskate Plugs Biden said last week he heard shots while golfing from some 2006 Lancaster shooting. No one can place him at the course and the shooting was miles away (and inside). Media yawns. A heartbeat away.— teardownthisfishwrap - "she realized that the time to cash in was right at that moment, and so she quit her boring day job as governor of Alaska and made herself a millionaire several times over, a living national monument to capitalism. She bedazzled and then befuddled business groups for $100,000 a pop, pontificated on Fox, inked cable deals, and squeezed every last dollar out of fame during that brief meteor shower."
And yet more profitable than the Inquirer and Daily News put together. lol— teardownthisfishwrap 
COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —
COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
Doesn't get any better than that. Thanks for the laughs, Sarah.— wokmaster- Just checking, but isn't it the intellectuals who are ringing up 16.5 trillion dollars in debt, and record deficits, yet deny it's significance? And isn't it those who point out Palin's lazy name calling constantly calling conservatives racists, homophobes, sexists, Nazis, and all-around idiots? Again, just checking.— jmc
- Who has denied the debt's or the deficit's significance, other than Dick "deficits don't matter" Cheney? — wokmaster
- "When Joe Biden was first running for vice president, his tax returns showed that he had given away just $3,690 to charity over the previous ten years (about 0.2 percent of his income). In other words, Romney gave away a thousand times as much to charity in one year as Biden gave in a decade."— teardownthisfishwrap
- How much did you give, fishwrapper? Or is the "bonecrushing debt" hampering your ability to donate? — wokmaster
- Why are democrats so mean, intolerant - and hypocritical? If you want to see misguided snark and "intellectual put-downs", just read Mr. Boehlert's article.— Mirror
- Will- two of your recent blog posts are about "the death of journalism" and the "corruption in Philadelphia". When can we expect your blog calling for the resignation of Blondell?— Wiseman6
- @wok- The point is that Joe Biden is one calling for higher taxes, while he gives a pittance of his income to charity. I'm sorry but under any measure, charitable giving averaging $370 a year is laughable especially for a public figure who knows his returns will be looked at. You would think he would be smart enough to donate just for appearances sake. And this clown actually thinks he has a chance to be president....
Sure, Joe doesn't mind paying more in taxes because he already isn't "paying his fair share" in charitable contributions to help support the community.
Somehow, Romney's charitable giving didn't mean anything and it was merely of means for him to "save taxes". Smart men don't give away a dollar to save 40 cents, but compassionate ones do. What does that say about crazy uncle Joe?— Wiseman6 - How much did you give last year? And why are you still fighting the Mitt-Romney-for-President battle?
It's over. You lost. Move on.— wokmaster - Only in liberal la la land can they call Fox a failure when it out-rates CNN and MSNBC - combined.— CD75
- In Biden's defense, at least he didn't give his used undies to goodwill, and then claim them as a charitable donation on his taxes. That honor goes to serial rapist Bill Clinton. lol— teardownthisfishwrap
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