Althouse: "'Sarah Palin's Alaska' Breaks TLC Ratings Record," "Refudiate" is the word of the year, and Bristol is still on "Dancing With the Stars."

November 15, 2010

"'Sarah Palin's Alaska' Breaks TLC Ratings Record," "Refudiate" is the word of the year, and Bristol is still on "Dancing With the Stars."

Hmmm.

63 comments:

traditionalguy said...: My sincerest sympathies go out to Karl Rove who may be in a catatonic state today. How could so much go wrong on one day?; 11/15/10, 4:29 PM
jr565 said...: None of which makes Palin presidential per se. But clearly you dont mess with the Palin because she's a commodity at this point. And why did she get that way? Because of leftist overreach. I blame Tina Fey and her "I see Russia from my house" snark which only made her more popular amongst people who would normally like her, and only made Tina Fey look like a douche.
Conservatives shouldn't necessarily demand that she be president, but do not disown her or try to marginalize her. They do so at their peril.; 11/15/10, 4:34 PM
Lincolntf said...: The One will not be pleased with TLC.; 11/15/10, 4:34 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Unlike Althouse, I managed to watch the whole thing, although I probably missed about a quarter of it because I was doing other stuff while the show was on. Unlike Atlhouse, I was only interested in the travel show aspects--Alaska is an amazing place, and Palin is a good/funny tour guide.

I'd watch it again, if I remember to do so. Must remeber: Sunday, after Boardwalk (right coast feed, viewed on left coast).; 11/15/10, 4:35 PM
rhhardin said...: I always vote for maxipad as word of the year.; 11/15/10, 4:36 PM
ThreeSheets said...: If they keep showing her in shorts, I'll keep watching.; 11/15/10, 4:39 PM
Bender said...: Once again, what is striking about her, is how absolutely real and normal she is. She acts like a real everyday person, lives in a normal home, complete with her "office" being in a kitchen nook, and does her own work and conducts her interviews without any political handlers, just husband Todd listening in.; 11/15/10, 4:45 PM
traditionalguy said...: The meme to get Palin today is that she is a "Polarizing" person. By that the Palin Organized Critics Syndicate (POCS) suggest by the usual mind control methods that she is a trouble maker. But after watching this Alaskan show we can proudly say back to them, "sure she is Polar Guiding person" that can survive all kinds of dangers and teach the rest of us how to do it.; 11/15/10, 4:47 PM
Phil 314 said...: The sound of cowbell is becoming deafening; 11/15/10, 4:47 PM
jungatheart said...: How is Sully taking all of this?; 11/15/10, 4:48 PM
Irene said...: I hope most people can agree that the photo of Palin over at The Hollywood Reporter, in which she is holding the baby wolv . . . I mean puppies . . . is adorable.

Dog party!; 11/15/10, 4:53 PM
lgv said...: It is inevitable. She will win the primary, probably a bloody one at that. Droves of us right of center libertarians will sit at home or throw away our vote on a meaningless 3rd party candidate (rent is too d*** high). This will outnumber the left of center voters who will do the same thing and BO will be re-elected.

I like Sarah Palin. I like my plumber, too. Neither will get my vote for POTUS.

I'm not interested in her TV show, but it has to be better Jersey Shore or whatever it is that stars people named Snooki and The Situation. I'm sure it is more interesting than Housewives of (random American city).; 11/15/10, 4:55 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Barracuda - I Heart Palin

wv buckin - as in buckin for more Palin.. (there is always a danger that northern-exposure could become over-exposure); 11/15/10, 4:58 PM
Unknown said...: Well, Reagan had GE Theater and Death Valley days, so she's off to a roaring start...

PS What this does is give people a chance to see her as a person and make a connection. And, in doing so, blow a lot of the last 2 years of Leftist propaganda out of the water.; 11/15/10, 4:59 PM
Big Mike said...: Much as I like Sarah Palin as a person -- she's real, which used to mean something once upon a time -- I think that we are already seeing the results of having a person working in the Oval Office who is too inexperienced for the presidency.

Of course in 1980 I told myself that one takeaway from Jimmy Carter's disasterous presidency was that one should not elect a person whose only experience was as a state governor. I am glad to see that Ronald Reagan proved me wrong.; 11/15/10, 5:04 PM
chuck b. said...: I am strangely prepared to vote for Sarah Palin. That could change, of course. But it's not outside the realm of possibility. For now, I will say no more.; 11/15/10, 5:08 PM
chuck b. said...: Make that "Strangely, I am prepared..." That's better.; 11/15/10, 5:08 PM
JAL said...: Don't have cable.

Didn't see it.

How many times did she say "Let me be clear ..." ??

How many times did she remind viewers that she was greater than whatever appeared on the screen in front or behind or beside her?

What was TOTMG like?

2 paneled? Transparent? Balanced on top of the cameraman's head? Written on Bounty towels? On her hand?

Inquiring minds want to know.

(Side thought: I always thought Rove was a smart guy. How can such a smart guy miss this person?)

wv carapp
The new left word for "oh s**t" lefties use when they looked at the post Palin TLC reports after looking at the election results 2 weeks ago.; 11/15/10, 5:08 PM
Craig Howard said...: I object to the constant description of this as a "reality" show. It isn't. Those have devolved into scripted affairs with contrived conflicts and characters chosen specifically to drive a narrative.

Now, this may well drive a narrative, but it's more accurate to call it a documentary. Not a particularly high-minded one, but a documentary nonetheless.

Karl Rove really has to shut up for a while.; 11/15/10, 5:09 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Soon Althouse will have one more credential to add to the trifecta that she posted here.

All we need is for Miller to disqualify voters who wrote "Murkowski" in a way that allows Miller's handwriting experts to detect tentativeness, therefore these unsure votes will become unallowable.

[And, even if he fails, it won't indicate that Alaskans, who know her best, ignore Palin's political guidance, because everybody knows that Acorn and the panthers stole the election.]; 11/15/10, 5:19 PM
traditionalguy said...: Big Mike's candidate may have to be Ralph Nader. If we limit executive political experience to practiced presidents, not barred by the 8 year limit,then we are left with Jimmy Carter.; 11/15/10, 5:21 PM
Trooper York said...: Reality shows reflect an "enhanced" reality. The events and the people and the feelings are real but sometimes the drama does not come naturally. The mere fact that the camera's are there distorts reality.

For example Jersey Shore is a pretty accurate view of the guido club scene. I remember what it was like back in the 1970's and it wasn't very different. Well nobody did steroids and we danced the hustle and listened to disco music. But you know what it was pretty much the same.

The Real Housewive series are much more contrived where they throw people together who don't really know each other that well. The only one that is really organic to itself is New Jersey and that is because most of the cast are related and it is a family dynamic that is being acted out. The overbearing sister-in-laws vs the wackcy one from out of the family and her crazy friend.

TLC specializes in reality shows that are not as crazy as those franchises. Cake Boss, The Little Family and Kate plus Eight are not as over the top as Jersey or Housewives. So Sarah fits right in.

But I do advise her to get some midgets.; 11/15/10, 5:28 PM
chickelit said...: (Side thought: I always thought Rove was a smart guy. How can such a smart guy miss this person?)

Rove is a smart guy but remember that he ultimately serves the Bush family. His long term mission is to bring her down somehow so that he can build Jeb.

What's interesting is how Limbaugh plays in all this.; 11/15/10, 5:37 PM
Opus One Media said...: and bears still pee in the woods.

I liked traditionalguy's opening observation: "My sincerest sympathies go out to Karl Rove who may be in a catatonic state today. How could so much go wrong on one day?"..

didn't you mean, so much of NO importance...

ya'betcha.; 11/15/10, 5:37 PM
BEK477 said...: Ann,
I didn't not see it.

But I can foresee Sarah using this TV show to prepare America for her contiued rise as amajor conservative leader. Will she run in 2012. I hope not. I'd prefer that she run in 2020. I would rather see her serve a four year stint as SOE where her credentials for national leadership may be further burnished.

Had she run for AK Sneator against Lisa Murkowski then she might have gotten the POTUS job offer in 2012. But right now she is still too inexperienced on national issues IMHO.

You got to wonder if Rove is running interfernece for the Bushes so that Jeb Bush has time to mount a challenge for the POTUS job in 2012.

I suspect the Bushes will offer her a deal: 2012 GOP POTUS ticket of Jeb Bush for POTUS and Palin for VPOTUS. Subject to the proviso that the Bushes support Palin's candidacy in 2020. I think that it would be an unwise deal for Sarah to take because the BUshes are selfish when it comes to seeking Power.; 11/15/10, 5:38 PM
Trooper York said...: Sarah Palin is the future of campaigning and Karl Rove is the past.

Not to say that Rove's tactics are not still effective but the new campaigners will have to use Facebook, Twitter and things like talk radio and reality TV to their advantage.

You don't fight the last war. You won't get the nomination by going to the convention and giving a "Cross of Gold" speech.

FDR with the Radio, JFK with the televised debates and now Sarah Palin with Facebook and TLC.

Get used to it you old fogey's.; 11/15/10, 5:47 PM
Trooper York said...: She needs to put her campaign song on Itunes.

Something by Katy Perry or something.; 11/15/10, 5:48 PM
The Scythian said...: Trooper continues to be wise.

All of you should continue to listen to him.; 11/15/10, 5:57 PM
chickelit said...: Blogfather wrote: She needs to put her campaign song on Itunes.

I like:

...Cold grinding grizzly bear jaws hot on her heels...

Shaman's Blues ~ The Doors; 11/15/10, 6:05 PM
section9 said...: Karl Rove, and the Bushes, are turning into Yesterday's News.

What Palin figured out was how to use New Media to communicate with a country that had become disenfranchised by its own Ruling Class.

Palin also realized that Andrew Breitbart was correct: Republicans have to engage Hollywood on its terms and not treat it as an enemy camp.

Sarah intends to out-Obama the Obama campaign when it comes to social and visual media. This is something much newer that what we saw in 2008.; 11/15/10, 6:07 PM
Opus One Media said...: cattle call. cattle call.

all cattle form a line to the right. just follow the yellow brick road. watch where you step.

ya'betcha.; 11/15/10, 6:19 PM
Unknown said...: She's not ready for the top spot, but I have a feeling she knows that.

What this does is keep her in the eyes of the American people and remind them that, unlike The Zero, she has a resume on which to build.; 11/15/10, 6:22 PM
Trooper York said...: What she is doing is talking to America over the heads of the main stream media. She is bypassing print and television and even cable except on her own terms. She doesn't care about old coots like hdhouse or most of the political junkies who post here. She is talking to regular normal everyday Americans who watch "What Not to Wear" or "Cake Boss" or "Kate Plus Eight." That person will be flipping the dial and see the scenery and start to watch and will say "What is this. Ice Road Cheerleaders. Deadliest Catch a Reporter Peering Over My Fence. Oh it's that Sarah Palin. Gee she doesn't seem as stupid as Katic Couric says. She caught that fish. I love to fish. I wish I could live out in Alaska and fish and do things with my husband and my kids. You know I think I like her. A lot more than I like that nasty Keith Olberman. I wonder if Obama even knows how to fish. Or even how to play Go Fish. I never see him do anything with his kids. What's up with that?"; 11/15/10, 6:31 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: If we limit executive political experience to practiced presidents, not barred by the 8 year limit,then we are left with Jimmy Carter.

Or George H.W. Bush.; 11/15/10, 6:34 PM
Synova said...: "It is inevitable. She will win the primary, probably a bloody one at that. Droves of us right of center libertarians will sit at home or throw away our vote on a meaningless 3rd party candidate (rent is too d*** high). This will outnumber the left of center voters who will do the same thing and BO will be re-elected.

I like Sarah Palin. I like my plumber, too. Neither will get my vote for POTUS."

If you're right, then you've just stated that you will be voting for Obama.

Grats.; 11/15/10, 7:00 PM
traditionalguy said...: Trooper...Trooper wrote "Ice Road Cheerleaders"... That is the funniest thing I have heard since Steve Martin quit doing standup. Sarah is becoming a runaway train in this popularity game. But Rove will soon remind us seriously that popularity doesn't win elections. Huh? Should we elect a Honda Odessey if Rove plays all of his subconscious image tricks on us with his new 2012 designer model called the JebMobile with Body by Bush assembled in Florida and Texas smoke filled rooms..; 11/15/10, 7:02 PM
Trooper York said...: I mean I suppose the President could make a reality show about his natural habitat. Surfing in Hawaii. Sort of like Hawaii 5-0.

Book em Rahm-O; 11/15/10, 7:02 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Reality shows reflect an "enhanced" reality.

I call a fake trooper ;)

Just kidding..; 11/15/10, 7:31 PM
traditionalguy said...: Bristol Palin just finished her dance; and it was very well done and received 4 scores of 9. The Palin train hurtles on down the track; 11/15/10, 7:37 PM
roesch-voltaire said...: I admit that Palin has appeal to folks like threesheets who are honest in their focus, but to claim this shows "she's real," ignores the host of media consultants and political advisors who are helping her at every opportunity and camera angle to frame this package to sell a certain product. Interesting how folks here claimed to see through the Obama show, but not this one.; 11/15/10, 7:42 PM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

Ah, the Purists, better to have Obama than the Chill-billy...sure because if we can't have Michael Badnarik, then we'll have NOTHING. Great Plan!

However, do l/Libertarians remain in the minority? The very tiny minority, pulling fewer votes than the Green Party.; 11/15/10, 7:46 PM
Phil 314 said...: I am strangely prepared to vote for Sarah Palin. ...Make that "Strangely, I am prepared..

I liked "I am strangely prepared to vote for Sarah Palin" better. Such wonderful mental images of Chuck in various stages of undress, wearing a ....

Never mind.; 11/15/10, 7:53 PM
Hagar said...: I expect Hillary will challenge Obama for 2012 and win the Democratic nomination.

I don't think any Republican male we know of at this time can beat Hillary, but a Palin/Rice or Rice/Palin ticket just might. They make a complementary pair.; 11/15/10, 7:58 PM
Trooper York said...: Roachy are you ten years old?

Everybody has consultants. How do you think we ended up with Barry.
He is the closest thing to Robert Redford in "The Candidate" that we have ever seen. The complete Robert Hall empty suit.

The point is that everyday people will see that Sarah is not what the media douche lords and the pointy headed academics try to paint her as.

She is beating your mainstream media scum and democratic vast left wing Journalist conspiracy like a rented mule.; 11/15/10, 8:05 PM
Jim said...: I expect Hillary will challenge Obama for 2012 and win the Democratic nomination.

1) Not gonna happen.

2) Hillary would be as badly damaged as Obama going into any presidential election. Or don't you remember this little thing called HILLARYCARE? It would be rightfully argued that she laid the groundwork for ObamaCare, so she's not going to be able to claim she had nothing to do with it. She will also be held responsible for every foreign policy failure of Obama. (Has he had ANY successes?)

She's done on the presidential stage until AT LEAST 2016. Perhaps forever given the unpopularity of ObamaCare and being the SOS for a president whose idea of diplomacy is bowing to foreign leaders and sending them copies of his speeches. Her initial thought may have been to burnish credentials for a future run, but being a part of this administration will likely prove to have been the final nail in her coffin of her political career.

On the bright side for her, she will be able to rake in MEGA-bucks on the Democratic talk circuit when she steps down.; 11/15/10, 8:38 PM
traditionalguy said...: Roesch...You make intelligent comments for those who are guessing at what is happening. But the people who actually watch the show and read her writings are not at the mercy of the very best guessing experts. They know what is happening.; 11/15/10, 8:41 PM
Blair said...: I am really not sure what all this means, except that the world is probably going to end in 2012.; 11/15/10, 9:16 PM
jr565 said...: lgv wrote:
It is inevitable. She will win the primary, probably a bloody one at that. Droves of us right of center libertarians will sit at home or throw away our vote on a meaningless 3rd party candidate (rent is too d*** high). This will outnumber the left of center voters who will do the same thing and BO will be re-elected.

I like Sarah Palin. I like my plumber, too. Neither will get my vote for POTUS.

Is that an example of cutting off your nose to spite your face?; 11/15/10, 9:38 PM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)
Droves of us right of center libertarians will sit at home or throw away our vote on a meaningless 3rd party candidate (rent is too d*** high).

What I like is the phrase, "The droves of us" yeah, I'm sure all HIS friends won't vote for Palin...just like none of Pauline Kael's friends voted for Nixon.; 11/15/10, 9:51 PM
Cedarford said...: Tradguy - "But Rove will soon remind us seriously that popularity doesn't win elections. Huh?"
I think Rove will remind right-wingers delerious with joy over their Goddess that Palin that she is poison to independents and centrist democrats, not just the Left.
Same template as adorable, perky Christine. 20% of the population that is right-wing, religious right just loves her. And a sure-fire loser in the general election.

===================
Hagar said...
"I expect Hillary will challenge Obama for 2012 and win the Democratic nomination.

I don't think any Republican male we know of at this time can beat Hillary, but a Palin/Rice or Rice/Palin ticket just might. They make a complementary pair."

Hillary has more baggage than Tom Delay leaving a conventiom of fatcat lobbyists with all the "gift packages" he received. Better than Obama...but 4 years as his bitch won't make her "Presidential".

Same with your dream ticket of one woman who quit her only high elective office with another who says she doesn't know much domestic policy, has never held elective officem and was considered Bush's bitch and a pretty weak Secretary of State.

Sorry, I know the "dream" many right-wing Republicans have is that if they run a gay black Muslim female confined to a wheelchair the rest of the country would be so guilt-tripped by diversity that the Republican would be a shoo-in on affirmative action bonus points.

It doesn't work that way.

By 2012 we will want a leader who knows a thing or two about the economy and running a large organization well.
Like Chris Christie, Romney, and the ex-gov whose last name Shall Not Be Mentioned.; 11/15/10, 10:14 PM
garage mahal said...: Like Chris Christie, Romney, and the ex-gov whose last name Shall Not Be Mentioned.

Neither party has an answer to the economy. Obama's team from day one thought it was a banking crisis when it's been a household crisis all along. . Unfortunately Obama didn't have the stones to at least try being a fucking Democrat when the beleaguered economy aligned up perfectly with trying public works projects and infrastructure. There are millions of Americans that want to work, and there are a million things that need to be done. But no, nobody listens to me,; 11/15/10, 11:08 PM
chickelit said...: But no, nobody listens to me,

Russ Feingold listened to you. Look where that got him.; 11/15/10, 11:28 PM
Mark said...: ...ignores the host of media consultants and political advisors who are helping her at every opportunity and camera angle to frame this package to sell a certain product...

I believe that's the same host of experts who let her get skewered by that expert rhetorician, Katie Couric.

Keep looking for something that sticks, that's the ticket.; 11/16/10, 2:34 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: The reason that I don't see Hillary! running is that the Black community has made it clear that this next time, it is Obama or no one for them.
And, without them, the Dems don't have a prayer of winning the election. She won't run because she knows that if she beat Obama in the primaries, she would almost assuredly lose in the general election.; 11/16/10, 5:24 AM
Jon said...: I think that we are already seeing the results of having a person working in the Oval Office who is too inexperienced for the presidency.

Obama's problem isn't that he's inexperienced. It's that he's a leftist.; 11/16/10, 5:31 AM
tree hugging sister said...: Loved it. And, from a femaleofacertainage perspective, LOVED the fact that she's schlubbing around sans make-up half the time. Rock ON, sister!

(Don't for two seconds make the mistake of thinking that sort of fearlessness doesn't make an impression on persons who might be wavering in their opinion...); 11/16/10, 7:46 AM
Shanna said...: She's not ready for the top spot, but I have a feeling she knows that.

I agree she’s not ready and I’m hoping that she knows that as well, edutcher. To me, she’s not acting like someone who is seriously running in 2 years. She needs more on her resume. Is it fair that Obama got the top job as a half term Senator, but she was considered too inexperienced for the Vice job as a half term Governor? No, but that doesn’t matter now. It is what it is.

I think if she were serious about the top job, she would have stuck to governing (she could have written her book at the same time, right?). She might have run for Senate this year, or taken some other type of job. I think the fact that she isn't doing that, and instead, she’s doing the facebook/twitter/reality show thing, shows us that she knows she's not ready. I think it could be a step towards learning things she needs to learn while rebuilding her image. I like her fine, but I won’t respect a run for the top job with such a short resume and I suspect I’m not alone.; 11/16/10, 8:13 AM
Hagar said...: By rights, Hillary should be doing 10 to 20 in the Arkansas State Prison (and her husband twice that), but she is still the most "qualified" and "competent" candidate out there from either party, especially now that she has acquired tons of "Foreign Policy Creds."

I think the Democrats are going to be desperate, the Republicans will do something stupid, and Hillary will rise like bird Phoenix from the ashes.; 11/16/10, 8:34 AM
Larry J said...: Everyone keeps talking about Palin's lack of government experience and it's true. She only has several years as a mayor, years serving at the state level, and two years as a governor. That's pretty thin if government experience is the only thing that matters. However, when I consider how it the so many of the people who put us in this mess each had decades of government experience, maybe that isn't what we need. Most of them also went to the finest of universities and have all the right credentials. Maybe we need more people who've actually worked in the real world and done things like ran a business instead of being career politicians. I think that's a big contributor to Palin's appeal. Another factor is that a lot of people see Sarah Palin as someone quite like themselves. The more the Left ridicules Palin, the more people see what the Left thinks about them, too.

Einstein said that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome. Maybe the American electorate is insane. We keep electing career politicians and expecting not to get screwed.; 11/16/10, 8:44 AM
Jim Howard said...: I really enjoyed Palin's show, it was more of a travelog than a reality show. Even Sarah Palin doesn't climb mountains routinely.

I did also notice that Sarah tended to takeoff in one airplane and land in another.

As far as competence goes, am I the only one in the world who noticed that our President's recent overseas trip was a diplomatic fiasco? And who in our government is responsible for diplomacy? Who is supposed to ensure that our President is never embarrassed in an overseas trip?

Recent events have shown that Hillary is no more competent than Barry.; 11/16/10, 9:52 AM
PaulV said...: Big Government, Big Labor and Big Business hate Palin because she does not tolerate corruption and waste. Ask Politicians she put in jail or defeated. Big Media hate her because she got stronger after they tried to trashed her. Poor Biden did not know VP was Art 1 office. She added hockey mom, refudiate, death panels and mothere grizzley to lexicon. What is not to like about Shakespalin?; 11/16/10, 12:45 PM
Hagar said...: Jim,

The White House, the State Dept., and Clinton, Inc. are three separate entities all pursuing their own foreign policies.
And Hillary has no interest in seeing that Obama is not embarrassed, any more than the State Dept. did when they let her go to Moscow with that re-set button.; 11/16/10, 1:18 PM
Kirk Parker said...: lgv,

"I like Sarah Palin. I like my plumber, too. Neither will get my vote for POTUS."

You have got to be kidding. Seriously, if your plumber couldn't do a better job than BHO, it's way past time to get a new plumber.; 11/16/10, 1:50 PM