Seeing Through The Fog

My political dispositions ought to be well known by now, so I don't think I need to bring them up again, but I did want to briefly address the recent revelations in the much-discussed so-caled Troopergate scandal. One of the big problems with the Palinsanity that ensued in the weeks following her announcement as Veep, besides the general sleaziness of many of the attacks, was the problem of crying wolf, that Simon dealt with earlier.

Let me say that I still like Sarah Palin (although my opinion of her has diminished somewhat), and yet I've always had concerns about some of her policy positions, and certain aspects of her record. Surely, even the most committed Palinites have to recognize that there are valid criticisms that can be made about her. Many press outlets, and various anti-Palin outfits have made such fools of themselves over the past few weeks, that when legit stories come up, they are treated with an amount of skepticism they otherwise wouldn't be.

In case you didn't know, a 263-page report was released by Alaska lawmakers investigating the scandal, that basically accuses Palin of abusing her power, in firing Mike Wooten. The McCain-Palin camp has called it a partisan witch hunt, and have issued a "clarification," that they assume will put the issue to rest. The thing is, I'm not at all prepared to call it a witch hunt run by pro-Obama partisans, just because Palin says it's a witch hunt. I agree with Ann, that even Palin fans ought not dismiss this outright.

First off, let me clear two things up right away: I am not saying that this report is valid, or that Palin did in fact abuse her power. It should be noted that as the Governor she has the perogative to fire Wooten, for basically any reason, so there's no criminality involved here. However, there is an alleged issue of credibility at play.

The point is, with the MSM's predispositions regarding Palin, and the aforementioned history of unfair attacks, Palin can cry "partisan witch hunt" with much more credibility than she would've had otherwise, because there was (and in certain quarters still is) a partisan witch hunt going on. People are more inclined to believe she's the victim of unfair attacks, even when she's not, and the media's reputation becomes so damaged that everything that comes out, is treated with a grain of salt. Everything.

Tag, I'm It

Randy, the Internet Ronin has tagged me with another meme. Who am I to say no?

The Rules:

I. Link to the person who tagged you. (See above)

II. Post the Rules Here.

III. Share Seven Random or Weird Facts About Yourself:

1. I went to Space Camp (Space Academy) in the ninth grade.

2. I have an uncle who is involved in local politics. (Guess who!)

3. I spent almost $200 on comic books once.

4. I've been to New York twice.

5. I have copies of Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Federalist Papers on my bookshelf.

6. I started school at age 2.

7. I'm 79 inches in height (6'7'')

IV. Tag 7 random people, linking to them:

1. The Walrus
2. Sean of Rife's Torch
3. David Schraub of the The Debate Link
4. plez of plezWorld
5-7: Any three of my co-bloggers from Stubborn Facts.

V. Leave a comment letting them know you've tagged them.

OK, then.

This of course assumes that all those tagged are willing to accept, but I think they will.