Gibson’s Propaganda Gambit Worked, But Not Completely
Charlie Gibson, meet the Internet.
Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin did not make her look very good. The more I look, the more it’s clear to me that Gibson and his editing team had almost everything to do with that. The damage, though, may be done no matter what later comes out from the interview. Rich Lowry, no Obama shill, called it “a merely adequate performance” and said that,
The foreign-policy session was a white-knuckle affair. She barely got through it and showed no knowledge more than an inch deep. What she did demonstrate was amazing self-possession. She somehow bluffed her way through the Bush doctrine question. Gibson apparently didn’t want to go into full “gotcha” territory by asking flat-out if she knew what it is. And then he muddled things further with his dubious definition of it, so she was never truly nailed and there was enough ambiguity there for conservatives to defend her. The fact still remains that she very likely didn’t know any of the possible definitions of the Bush doctrine.
I beg to differ. Let me go to the unedited transcript of the interview posted by Mark Levin. The boldfaced parts were edited out of the interview.
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?
PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
GIBSON: The Bush — well, what do you — what do you interpret it to be?
PALIN: His world view.
GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war.
PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that’s the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better.
GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?
PALIN: I agree that a president’s job, when they swear in their oath to uphold our Constitution, their top priority is to defend the United States of America.
I know that John McCain will do that and I, as his vice president, families we are blessed with that vote of the American people and are elected to serve and are sworn in on January 20, that will be our top priority is to defend the American people.
GIBSON: Do we have a right to anticipatory self-defense? Do we have a right to make a preemptive strike again another country if we feel that country might strike us?
PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend.
GIBSON: Do we have the right to be making cross-border attacks into Pakistan from Afghanistan, with or without the approval of the Pakistani government?
PALIN: Now, as for our right to invade, we’re going to work with these countries, building new relationships, working with existing allies, but forging new, also, in order to, Charlie, get to a point in this world where war is not going to be a first option. In fact, war has got to be, a military strike, a last option.
GIBSON: But, Governor, I’m asking you: We have the right, in your mind, to go across the border with or without the approval of the Pakistani government.
PALIN: In order to stop Islamic extremists, those terrorists who would seek to destroy America and our allies, we must do whatever it takes and we must not blink, Charlie, in making those tough decisions of where we go and even who we target.
GIBSON: And let me finish with this. I got lost in a blizzard of words there. Is that a yes? That you think we have the right to go across the border with or without the approval of the Pakistani government, to go after terrorists who are in the Waziristan area?
PALIN: I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to stop the terrorists who are hell bent on destroying America and our allies. We have got to have all options out there on the table.
It’s pretty obvious that her position on the Bush Doctrine, as Gibson has incorrectly defined it, is that we should strike Islamists terrorists whenever we can, but it need not be out first option. In fact, she is crystal clear that it should not be close to our first option.
The interview was edited into a hash and made Palin look like a complete novice who didn’t even try to prepare for the interview. Gibson should be ashamed of himself but he isn’t because he did exactly what he intended to do. He fed into the “Sarah Palin’s an unschooled rube” meme the left and the MSM (but I repeat myself, no?) have been building since she first appeared on stage with John McCain. He’s an experienced TV Newsman and he knows his craft, so it’s no surprise that he succeeded somewhat. But, like I said, there is the internet and, eventually, the hack job is exposed.
The Anchoress has found a roundup of questions Gibson asked Palin, compared to questions he asked Barack Obama. She found them, by the way, on a Hillary Clinton message board. He brought the heat against Palin, but take a gander at the batting practice softballs he lobbed to the Obamessiah.
Here are some of the things he asked Palin.
Do you have enough qualifications for the job you’re seeking? Specifically have you visited foreign countries and met foreign leaders?
Aren’t you conceited to be seeking this high level job?
Questions about foreign policy
-territorial integrity of Georgia
-allowing Georgia and Ukraine to be members of NATO
-NATO treaty
-Iranian nuclear threat
-what to do if Israel attacks Iran
-Al Qaeda motivations
-the Bush Doctrine
-attacking terrorists harbored by Pakistan
Is America fighting a holy war? [misquoted Palin]
And here are some questions he asked Obama:
How does it feel to break a glass ceiling?
How does it feel to “win”?
How does your family feel about your “winning” breaking a glass ceiling?
Who will be your VP?
Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP?
Will you accept public finance?
What issues is your campaign about?
Will you visit Iraq?
Will you debate McCain at a town hall?
What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton] speech?
And some more questions he asked Obama, via The Jawa Report:
“What did [your children] say about [your nomination]?”
“Did you know right away [when you first met your future spouse]?”
“Has the joyfulness of this hit home yet? Do you take joy from it?”
“[Your father] didn’t care enough to stay. How did you internalize that?”
“Do you worry that [this race] could turn on race, age and class?”
“What did you think of [your opponent's] speech?”
“[T]hey went at you hammer and tong last night…saying the fundamental security of this country was at stake in this election, questioning [your running mate's] ability to be commander in chief. I wonder how you felt as you listened.”
“I’m curious about your feelings last night. It was an historic moment. Has it sunk in yet?”
“On what three issues will this campaign turn to you?”
“Is the hardest part of all this behind you or ahead of you?”
“There’s a million people pulling you in a million different directions, but when everybody clears out, the staff is gone, you’re in your hotel room at night and you’re alone — do you say to yourself: ‘Son of a gun, I’ve done this?’”
“Did [your opponents' attacks] make you in any way second-guess the decision…not to mention George Bush from the podium so often…?”
“You speak with such equanimity this morning. Didn’t they make you mad last night?”
Where were the questions about Iran? The Bush Doctrine? Pakistan (even though Obama is on record as saying that he would invade Pakistan)? His arrogance? His inexperience?
Maybe he was blinded by Obama’s majesty or something.
Mr. Gibson thinks he’s a lot more clever than he really is, even though his little propaganda piece has appeared to work on folk like Rich Lowry who should know better. But we who grew up on Warner Brothers cartoons have seen how that tends to turn out, haven’t we?
Think you can avoid me now, will you, eh? Well, Sarah Palin, my dear naive arctic hillbilly, little do you know that Wile E. Reporter buys ink – and glue – by the barrel! Ha! And once you are stuck in my my Acme religious extremism mucilage trap, that will be my cue to drop the piano case full of book-burning accusations!
HONK HONNNK
Mommy.
SHHHPLATTTZZ
FWEEEEEEEEeeeeee
FWOOMPH
tink-tink-tee-tink, tink tee tinktinktink tee…
BLAMMO
Other Posts of Interest:
- Ugh. You Call That an Interview?
- Man, the MSM Couldn’t Even Do One Unbiased Interview with Sarah Palin
- Megyn Kelley Demolishes Us Magazine Jerk on Live Television
Category: Oh, THAT liberal media., Sarah Palin
