I've written a couple of times in the last few days about the lack of balance in coverage about Governor Palin. That is not because I have changed my mind and decided to support the ticket. But I believe that the news media has been particularly unfair in their coverage of Palin. The latest flap is on the spending by the McCain campaign for a wardrobe for the candidate for VP.
Admittedly, Governor Palin and her husband come from modest means. And the demands of the campaign may have argued for some improvement in her and her family's wardrobe. What is odd about the attention given this issue is there has been virtually no attention given to the other candidates and their spending. We know virtually nothing about how they have used the millions of dollars raised to fund their lifestyles. The media, were it really interested in the details of these kinds of expenditures would have shown a lot more balance. What did each of the candidates spend on all sorts of things - the FEC rules allow spending for meals, catering, travel, some personal supplies and a host of other things. Why concentrate on one candidate and one issue?
The Federal Election Rules are quite specific about who can contribute to a campaign and what the money once accumulated can be used for - but it is inarguable that we have created laws which allow elected members and candidates to use campaign funds for all sorts of purposes. In the forty years I have worked around elected officials I have noticed a real improvement in their lifestyles as funded by your donations. They eat a bit better. They certainly travel pretty well. They use the campaign funds to allow them to separate themselves from the rest of us with all sorts of barriers. Are most of those distinctions within the guidelines of federal law? Sure they are. But do most of them create a separation between the candidate and the voter? Absolutely.
I am still trying to decide whether Palin is an ideologue or a very good representative of a large portion of voters. But the media's biased coverage of issues like what the campaign has spent money on her for, offers no aid in that quest.
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3 comments:
First of all, modest means? Although she is the lowest earner of the other 4 candidates, she reportedly brought in 166k last year. That hardly makes her a pauper or even middle class. The median income for an American family in 2007 was about 50K.
Still trying to decide? I don't think this is the issue to focus on either way, but I assure you, look no further - Palin does NOT AT ALL represent a large portion of voters.
Mrs. Mikey is quite passionate about Senator Obama. Regardless, Governor Palin may represent a larger fraction of voters than she might think.
Perhaps a much larger percentage than you think I think, but 59% of Americans agree with me that Palin is not ready to be VP.
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