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[GLX]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090121/ap_ ... alin_media

Palin to media: Leave my kids alone
By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer Rachel D'oro, Associated Press Writer
38 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is going on the offensive against news organizations and bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children. But political observers say the former Republican vice presidential candidate can't have it both ways: trotting out the children to showcase her family values, then trying to shield them from scrutiny.

Palin's criticism also raises questions about her motivations because she has said she is open to a presidential run in 2012.

"I think she's positioning herself. She's attacking the media as a way to generate support among a base she hopes will support her," said Leonard Steinhorn, a professor of communications at American University in Washington and an expert on the presidency.

Palin shied away from interviews during the campaign, although her children often accompanied her on her travels, including her oldest daughter, Bristol, who was pregnant at the time.

But in recent weeks, she has personally reached out to media outlets such as People magazine and The Associated Press to complain about information she claimed is wrong.

She slammed reports that 18-year-old Bristol Palin and the teen's fiance are high school dropouts. The governor insists the two are not dropouts because they enrolled in correspondence courses.

The couple last month had a son — the governor's first grandchild.

The governor said she is speaking out to set the record straight, not because of any political aspirations.

"It's all about the family," she said. "I'm wired in a way that I can take the criticism. I can take the shots. But any mother would want to protect their children from lies and scandalous reporting."

In a Jan. 5 interview with conservative filmmaker John Ziegler, Palin also questioned whether Caroline Kennedy's quest for a New York Senate seat was as heavily scrutinized as her vice presidential campaign.

When her comments were reported, she chastised journalists for taking her remarks "out of context to create adversarial situations."

Steinhorn is not alone among experts who believe the first-term governor is trying to keep her name in the spotlight. A newcomer to national politics when she was nominated, Palin energized the Republican base but also attracted intense criticism that she had little substance.

Palin "does seem to have ambitions, and this is one way of staying in the public eye," said Janis Edwards, an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama and an expert on women candidates. One of Edwards' classes monitored Palin's role in a project called "The Palin Watch."

Palin's grievances include what she calls "false stories" such as a talk show host's suggestion that she helped Levi Johnston get a job in Alaska's North Slope oil fields, circumventing eligibility rules since he does not have a high school diploma.

Johnston's father, an engineer for an oil-field services company, has said his position accounted for any help Levi received in getting the apprenticeship job.

Palin also lashed out at bloggers and others perpetuating Internet rumors that her 9-month-old son, Trig, is actually Bristol Palin's child from a secret previous pregnancy.

Her decision to strike back at news organizations seems to contradict the governor's earlier statements on how politicians should respond to media coverage.

Months before she was named John McCain's running mate, Palin attended a leadership forum in Los Angeles and was asked her opinion on then-Sen. Hillary Clinton's allegations that she was being unfairly treated by the media during the primaries.

Palin said Clinton did herself a disservice to even mention it. The governor said it bothered her to hear Clinton "bring that attention to herself on that level."

Palin said her opinion has not changed since the March 2008 event and insisted that defending her children is her only motivation.

"I'm not whining about the treatment of the press, but I am calling reporters on the family aspect of this," she said. "I think it's unprecedented in some respects what I have seen with my children."

It's not unprecedented. The children and spouses of high-profile politicians always draw attention.

Early in President George Bush's first term, his twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, made headlines after an embarrassing run-in with the law for underage drinking.

So did Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, when she was treated for alcoholism after her husband's unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1988. She later suffered a relapse and was hospitalized after drinking rubbing alcohol.

Two weeks before President Obama's inauguration, his daughters Sasha and Malia were escorted to their new schools past a line of waiting photographers.

[Spidey-Man]

Palin also lashed out at bloggers and others perpetuating Internet rumors that her 9-month-old son, Trig, is actually Bristol Palin's child from a secret previous pregnancy.

That's the one that's really just out there.

[Nightfly]

yeah, I haven't heard shit about her kids since her grandchild was born.

Palin's just a media whore crying for more attention.

[Nightfly]

Palin also lashed out at bloggers and others perpetuating Internet rumors that her 9-month-old son, Trig, is actually Bristol Palin's child from a secret previous pregnancy.

That's the one that's really just out there.

That's the one that came with a timeline chart

[Allen]

Personally, I think politicians' children should always be left alone, from Chelsea Clinton to Jenna Bush to Palin's kids to Obama's kids.

It's pretty sad that I know as much about Palin's children as I do.

[Doc Jon]

yeah, I haven't heard shit about her kids since her grandchild was born.

Palin's just a media whore crying for more attention.

Neither have I. She's the one calling more attention to it. I cant wait til she runs in 2012.

[Spidey-Man]

Did she even make a recent comment? The latest date they quote is 1/5

I heard some comments a few days ago which were about wishing Obama well.

Very oddly written AP article.

[Thunderstorm]

The funny thing is, if Obama had chosen her as his VP, these would all be unfair attacks by the far-right.

[Doc Jon]

The funny thing is, if Obama had chosen her as his VP, these would all be unfair attacks by the far-right.

Hmmmm...

Hillary was attacked quite viciously during her campaign.
McCain was attacked very viciously when he was running against Bush.
Obama faced outright lies as well during his campaign.

Was Palin attacked? Yes.
But did anyone really care whether Trig was Palin's kid or her daughter's? I'm talking about voters here. Did that really have an effect? That was fodder for bloggers, conspiracy theorists, and gossip columnists.

If you're trying to stop bloggers from being idiots, good luck with that. And gossip columnists make a living off that bullshit. I don't know anyone that took that shit seriously.

I actually hadn't heard that her kid or the boyfriend were high school dropouts, nor that he had procured a job despite regulations. That article was the first time I saw it mentioned.

[Doc Jon]

The funny thing is, if Obama had chosen her as his VP, these would all be unfair attacks by the far-right.

You mean like when McCain was taking exerpts of what Biden had said, editing them and then playing them in ads with radical Muslims in the background?:D

[Spidey-Man]

I knew the guy dropped out to work.

I never heard that the daughter had-I assume its because she just had the baby though and that's why the correspondence classes.
Makes sense.

[Thunderstorm]

You mean like when McCain was taking exerpts of what Biden had said, editing them and then playing them in ads with radical Muslims in the background?:D

I mostly stopped paying attention (or tried to) just before Palin was announced as McCains VP. Regardless, I know far more about her personal life than ANY other candidate, and she's the one I was least interested in.

[Spidey-Man]

She was unprotected by the typical feminist outrage that would counter any unfair attacks

It was bullshit.

[Crump]

If you parade your children around on the campaign trail and use them as some sort of proof that you care about family values, then sadly, this makes them fair game for the media.

it's the same with celebrity kids. such is the price of fame. you want to keep your family out of the public eye? there are many, many jobs that will allow you to do so.

[Doc Jon]

I mostly stopped paying attention (or tried to) just before Palin was announced as McCains VP. Regardless, I know far more about her personal life than ANY other candidate, and she's the one I was least interested in.

Hey, I'm not saying it's fair. I don't care about her personal life and I wish that the families of politicians would be left alone.

I'm saying that I don't think she got it much worse than a lot of other people. Maybe she got more than most VP candidates, but that comes with the enormous fame that she garnered in such a short time.

That's America. The media loves to make you a superstar, and then they love to tear you down. The more of a star you are, the better. The media made her a star overnight, and I didn't hear people complaining about that. I didn't hear anyone saying it was unfair that the media was covering what type of glasses Palin was wearing, or her fashion sense.

A lot of that early hype was bullshit, based on the fact that she was a good looking woman that made ONE capable speech at the Republican National Convention. I didn't hear anyone talking about media bias then.

I guess it's only a crime when Obama is loved by the liberal media.