Dowd Delivers More Tripe for the NY FishWrap
Maybe Maureen Dowd is one nutty puppy. But that is how she apparently perceives Governor Sarah Palin or wants you to view her that way. Dowd certainly wouldn’t be the first or only member of the MSM to do a hit piece on Sarah Palin.
Speaking of Dowd, what road did she take and how is she viewed as a ‘columnist’? Wiki should be up to the task of providing biographical information on Dowd. A BA in English and her early career from 1974 included editorial assistant, sports columnist, metropolitan reporter and feature writer for the Washington Star which closed in 1981. More of the same with the NYT until the op-ed job in 1995. One Pulitzer for stories about Monica Lewinsky, a few other awards and a writing style described as acerbic and polemical. That explains a lot.
If you view the Wiki entry for Dowd you will find an area labeled ‘criticism’. Funny how she is accused of many things that explain her latest shot at Palin. Which supports the notion that those who look favorably upon Sarah Palin are not the only ones that may find this latest ‘op-ed’ objectionable. But then her acerbic and polemical style may indicate she simply does this to p— people off. Is that a marketing strategy at the NY Times?
So what about ‘Caribou Barbie is one nutty puppy’? Ann Althouse writes Dowd borrowed from Todd Purdum at Vanity Fair for her current Palin hit piece supporting other criticism from the Wiki source alleging Dowd does no actual reporting. You can take that to mean she does nothing to gather facts and pass them along. Dowd is not a shrink but may play one in her op-ed to characterize Palin as having a mental disorder based on a layman’s paint by number analysis using a psychology reference text. And perhaps all borrowed from another author. Is she related to Joe Biden?
The interesting thing from Althouse is the argument that all public figures or political types have characteristics described by Dowd, et al, or they wouldn’t make it in their chosen line of work. Hence the failure of the Thompson bid for president in 2008.
Reading Dowd’s laundry list of insults of Sarah Palin appears like more of the same from the left. Bush bashing may have run its course and no longer aids in selling MSM advertising space or time although Dowd gets one shot in at Cheney. So why not bash Palin at least one more time? It can also give credence to the notion that those on the right to whom the left feels most vulnerable receive the most bashing.
Some expect Palin will retire from public life. Some think she is preparing for a 2012 run. And still others think she has reached a breaking point and cannot complete her term as governor. Dowd certainly expresses an opinion. How easy is it for someone like Dowd to sit on the sidelines and get paid to make comments and judge others without having any skin in the game? Very easy, based on the op-ed on Palin from the 4th.
Has Dowd ever stopped to consider that not only was Sarah Palin attacked which may be fair game in politics but her family was also attacked? And how many other POLS have been treated that way? None that come to mind with the possible exception of the daughters of President and Mrs Bush for a brief period during that administration. Protecting one’s family is not the worst reason to withdraw from battle.
Stanford Matthews
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