Althouse: Did it seem to as though Sarah Palin "came out of nowhere"?

September 4, 2008

Did it seem to as though Sarah Palin "came out of nowhere"?

Look how much VP buzz there was about her long before last Friday.

23 comments:

DaLawGiver said...: Link goes nowhere Ann.; 9/4/08, 7:56 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Oops. Thanks.; 9/4/08, 7:59 AM
vbspurs said...: Simon did a magnificent job in researching the exact timeline!

And no, obviously, it didn't come as a shock to anyone who has SERIOUSLY been following the shortlisted candidates on blogs. We've been speaking of it since late May, at the very least. One of the best threads on the topic was on this very blog.

This is why the whole MSM meme of "where did this woman come from?!" and its attendant scurrilous conclusion (that it was a quickie vetting process) is so befuddling to so many bloggers.

Either they bought the inside-the-beltway gossip that it would be Joe Lieberman, a rumour not without merit since he was the chosen guy until last Sunday, or they really never thought this "nobody" stood a chance.

2008 might finally be the year media jumped the shark.

Cheers,
Victoria; 9/4/08, 8:16 AM
Sloanasaurus said...: Victoria is correct, she has been on everyone's dark horse list.

I recall one talking head who said she had never been on meet the press implying that you needed to be on meet the press to be qualified. HA HA HA HA These media people love themselves so much they for get about the 300 million people that live in the country.

It doesn't matter anyways. Russert was left wing enough, at least he tried to be neutral. Today Meet the Press is just Liberal hacks.; 9/4/08, 8:26 AM
Simon said...: It seems as though every meme that the left comes up with about Palin turns out to be vapid, vaporous, gossamer or flat-out fabricated. This one was no exception. And I've got to be honest: in light of the fact that Palin was so widely considered to be in the mix, the MSM's apparently blindsiding seems suspicious. I can't help but suspect that this somewhat overwrought "who?!" is less the product of ignorance than a useful way to frame the subsequent reporting.; 9/4/08, 8:30 AM
Simon said...: Victoria, thanks; you bring up Lieberman, and that's another meme that floats around out there. McCain's first choice, the meme goes, was Joe Lieberman - but the party rebelled and forced Palin on him. (At the same time, there's the competing and wholly contradictory meme that McCain picked Palin as an identity politics sop - so they can't even get their story straight!) But is there any real evidence that Lieberman was the pick? There was a lot of speculation that he might be, but is there any evidence - or even a good reason to believe it?; 9/4/08, 8:33 AM
Simon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/4/08, 8:33 AM
Simon said...: And I shouldn't forget to say - thanks for the link, Ann. :); 9/4/08, 8:33 AM
Meade said...: A+

Well done, Simon, and congrats on the Altalanche.; 9/4/08, 8:34 AM
Swifty Quick said...: "By late July... Politico noticed that Newt Gingrich was advancing Palin as a possible veep pick,..."

IIRC Newt was talking her up on FOX News as the VP choice back in about April.; 9/4/08, 8:41 AM
Scrutineer said...: Interesting pre-speech chat between Tyler Cowen and Ross Douthat:

Excerpt:

R.D.: I also think there's an insider bias to the press — the notion that someone they've never even heard of could be nominated for the vice-presidency is inherently offensive to a culture where the host of Meet the Press is treated to near–state funeral. ....

T.C: There is also the notion that the Kennedy School of Government does not and never will rule America and that America can revoke an electoral victory for the Democrats "at will." Sarah Palin is a populist of the right, and that scares a lot of people. I differ from her myself on many fundamental views, but I will confess that I am enjoying seeing her upend so many presuppositions of her critics.

- link; 9/4/08, 8:46 AM
Anonymous said...: I heard about her on CNBC and every Sat cleaning my apt while listening to Larry Kudlow and the guys from Real Clear Politics.

The only people she was new to was Sally Quinn, Elizabeth Bumiller (who didn't bother to check her sources before publishing mistakes about her), Maureen Dowd, Campbell Brown (all these women!) and the MSM in general (who are so ANGRY they weren't asked).; 9/4/08, 8:54 AM
vbspurs said...: Simon, wasn't it Joe Lieberman that himself mentioned in his RNC speech that he was tapped as VP by McCain?

Don't recall if he mentioned timeline though.

The only source I can think now is Joe Scarborough, who said Charlie Black sat McCain down on Monday, and told him no way.; 9/4/08, 9:15 AM
vbspurs said...: A populist of the Right...pff. That's Huckabee.

Palin is Truman in skirts, with the heart of Teddy Roosevelt.; 9/4/08, 9:17 AM
Anonymous said...: Judging from the fact that LoafingOaf has quit reposting it every 10 minutes, I assume that the "Lieberman was first choice" canard has gone the way of all the previous canards.; 9/4/08, 9:27 AM
Anonymous said...: July 23, 2008 - Categories: Veep
Newt on Veep: No more boring white guys

And here's Newt at the convention making the case for Sarah Palin.; 9/4/08, 9:29 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Sloan said...It doesn't matter anyways. Russert was left wing enough, at least he tried to be neutral. Today Meet the Press is just Liberal hacks.

I think it is more accurate as:

Russert was left wing enough, at least he tried to be professional. When at his desk, Tim was a consumate professional. At a social party, he was an ex-Moynihan/Coumo aide.; 9/4/08, 9:46 AM
holdfast said...: When I was in the Army, we were having breakfast in the mess hall, and out of nowhere the company commander said "So I was reading my wife's Chatelaine magazine this morning..". Well, let's just say that we NCOs were more than a little shocked (it's like Redbook, or a less racy Cosmo) and of course asked him why he would do (and admit to doing) such a girly thing. His answer was simple: "In preparing for war, it is vitally important to read the enemy's doctrine so you will know how he or she thinks".

I think the MSM needed to spend a lot more time reading Conservative blogs and online fora - not because they will like it, but so they know what we are thinking. Conservatives don't need to do this as much, since leftist thought tends to jump straight from their blogs to MSNBC, and, to a lesser extent, the othe networks. Hell, even the blowhard O'Reilly has people reading lefty blogs for him.; 9/4/08, 9:48 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/4/08, 9:51 AM
Anonymous said...: RuthAnne, funny!

You can tell who leans right these days: if they have heard of Palin before last week. Two of us in my very liberal office knew of her, no one else!; 9/4/08, 10:03 AM
Kate O'Hare said...: I've known about her for months, maybe as far back as March, ever since I saw her give a speech on TV. I went home, Googled, read her State of the State Address and sent it out to all my like minded friends and fam, saying, "Reagan reborn!"; 9/4/08, 10:19 AM
bearing said...: Yeah, I don't remember when I first heard of her -- it might be from following a link from Insty -- but I have had her in the back of my mind all along. I'm not sure why everyone's so "blindsided," unless maybe pretending to be so suits their narrative better.

She isn't ready = we weren't ready for her.; 9/4/08, 10:52 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Phenomenal post, Simon.; 9/4/08, 12:18 PM