Posted 11/18/2009 05:58:00 PM by Douglas

I've been trying to avoid a comment about the self-created Palin-hype, because it's gone on way past its self life, but I got my Newsweek the other day with this pict staring me in the face (thanks mom) and I thought I'd weigh in:

I read last week that Althouse weighed in pretty negatively, but I'd have to agree with this:

Apparently, they were afraid you were not ready, and they were right, so why didn't you trust them or at least accept that you owed them control over the presidential campaign? You agreed to take the subordinate position, and you had to know that their reasons for picking you had to do with image and style. If you weren't prepared to do it their way, you should not have accepted the part. At the very least, you should not have been mystified about the way they were treating you. You should have been looking at the campaign strategy from every angle and building your sophistication, not just aching to burst free and expose yourself to the world — which, as you soon learned, did not go well.

It seems that Sarah Palin wasn't able or didn't want to bother to analyze whether she was ready to debut on the big media stage, and she wasn't large-minded enough to think beyond herself to what it would mean for the whole campaign. That is, she was dumb. She was too dumb to handle campaign responsibilities properly, so she was clearly too dumb to step into the role of President of the United States.

Althouse has taken a reaming, mainly by trolls questioning her feminist status, but I think she's right. You want to run with the big kids, but you can't stand up to Katie Courick or John McCain campaign advisor? That bullshit may fly in Wasilla, but now Washington.

Now, according to her facebook page, she's steamed about the Newsweek cover:

"The choice of photo for the cover of this week's Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this "news" magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner's World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness -- a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention -- even if out of context.

What? A photo used to pepper up the lede? Oh my god, stop the presses!

Come on, Caribou Barbie, you can't have your cheesecake shot and eat it, too. Your photo shoot showcasing your "physical fitness" has just as much context showing what a beauty queen you are as pictures of you shooting a moose does have with the anti-gun crowd. You can't have it both ways.