Onetime speech writer for Ronald Reagan and syndicated columnist Peggy Noonan had an interesting quote in today’s column that seems to encapsulate the media’s frustration with their irrelevance:
“The mainstream media, which has been holding endless symposia here on the future of media in the 21st century, is in danger of missing a central fact of that future: If they appear, once again, as they have in the past, to be people not reporting the battle but engaged in the battle, if they allow themselves to be tagged by that old tag, which so tarnished them in the past, they will do more to imperil their own future than the Internet has.”
Once again the clerics of the media like to snipe at a candidate for Vice President that offends their senses. I was asked once by someone in the media if I thought they were ‘biased’? I simply said, “How would you know you were not?” FDR, knowing that he lived in a world unconnected with the rest of America, would travel up to northern New York to meet an old friend who would give it to him straight. I suspect that Governor Palin’s appeal is certainly broader than the media’s worst fears… but time will tell.
Governor Sarah Palin represents the emergence of a once forgotten woman: mother, professional, married and holding many conservative values. I say ‘holding conservative values’ because although not all mothers are conservative, they all share certain common desires, wishes and dreams for their lives and for the lives of their children…. which almost by definition put them on the side with so-called ‘conservatives’ on issues described as ‘family values.’ Nothing makes a woman think about the future and experience a personal change in her perspectives than becoming an involved mother. Motherhood seems to make all the difference.
Gloria Steinem ( not to be confused with being a ‘mutha’) recently was quoted as saying that all Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Hillary Clinton shared was an ‘X Chromosome.” The truth is that Sarah and Hillary just represent different point of view, one perpetuates the battle of the sexes, the other will work with anyone…. even men.
Yes, as a man, I prefer to ‘hang with’ women like Sarah Palin. They just seem more ‘real’ to me. Ask any man if they prefer a professional woman who likes sports, technology, real friendship, commitment and children… and few thinking men would walk away from that. Sarah Palin is real.
So, again, congratulations to Governor Sarah Palin and especially to Senator John McCain for the willingness to protect what is good about our country and yet have the courage to make those decisions for positive change and inclusion.
Roger Freberg
‘nothin finer than a fine lady with a gun!’ — adapted from the Bruce Willis movie “The Whole 9 yards”
A funny thing happened on this post… someone wrote to me about the usage of the term ‘northern New York”… whereas typical New Yorkers refer to it as Upstate New York.
I agree… having lived and worked in NYC, I used the same terminology… however, that seems to be a difference around the country as to how folks refer to different parts of their state. In California, people use terms like Northern or southern… central coast or the valley to describe where they live or travel.
My southern roots still has me talking about the temperature getting a bit ‘warmish’… television has blended the country a bit linguistically… but the differences are charming when they pop up.
Thanks for the email