Man, the MSM Couldn’t Even Do One Unbiased Interview with Sarah Palin

ABC News has released a couple excerpts from Sarah Palin’s interview with Charles Gibson. What’s there tells me that while Palin was ready for the interview, Gibson wasn’t.

In one of the excerpts, Gibson misquoted her not once but twice, and copped a bit of an attitude the one time she tried to correct him.

GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” Are we fighting a holy war?

PALIN: You know, I don’t know if that was my exact quote.

GIBSON: Exact words.

PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words.

But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.

That’s what that comment was all about, Charlie.

GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.”

PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That, in my world view, is a grand — the grand plan.

GIBSON: But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God?

PALIN: I don’t know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer.
[Emphasis Mine]

Thankfully for the viewing public, there’s this little thing called Google. Maybe Gibson should look into it.

Here is what Palin actually said.

“Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God,” she exhorted the congregants. “That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”

Clearly, Gibson chopped up her quote to make her look like a fundamentalist kook, though, as you can see, that’s not what she really said at all. It’s obvious that she wasn’t making an emphatic statement, but asking the congregation of the church to pray for our leaders to make the right decisions. That’s hardly controversial except to those on the left who treat any statement of faith, no matter how benign, like a vampire treats a garlic-soaked crucifix hung over running water.

I’m sure Gibson relied on the bad reporting of the Associated Press (as reported in the Hot Air link above) and the YouTube video, which was likewise edited to make her look bad. That makes him either lazy or dishonest and, to be perfectly frank with you, I’m leaning toward the latter more and more with the MSM these days. It would be better for for both of them if he misquoted her on purpose. At least then we could see that he considered her enough of a threat to the MSM’s anointed candidate to come at her with a prepared attack. If his mistake was due to laziness, that redounds poorly on him, since it shows that he simply didn’t care enough about Palin or his own professional reputation to make sure he got her quote right. I’m leaning toward malice here, though. Journalists of Gibson’s accomplishment are rarely unprepared, especially for an interview that will be publicized as widely as this one. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for him to half-ass his research

Whether he simply didn’t care to look up the full quote or cut up the quote to make her look bad, it’s clear that he wasn’t prepared to be objective or correctly prepared for this interview. It’s a shame that he didn’t respect us enough to make sure that he was ready to give a serious interview.

Other Posts of Interest:

• Looking for Naked Sarah Palin Pictures?
• This is Reason One Why Sarah Palin Was a Great Pick
• This is Reason Two Why Sarah Palin Was a Great Pick

Tags: Associated Press, Charlie Gibson, Hot Air, Media Bias, Sarah Palin

Category: Oh, THAT liberal media., Sarah Palin