MDS (My Darling Sarah) is the subject of an enormous, almost book-length, hatchet-job by Vanity Fair. It is written, or perhaps I should say, compiled, by some tedious cove called Michael Joseph Gross - nah, I can't be bothered with the obvious joke possibilities. The most you can say for Mr. Gross's effort is that it is, well, long. I was about to write 'comprehensive' but that implies some sort of worthwhile knowledge or insight. Instead what we get is an eye-stabbingly boring list of Palin ephemera. Despite my jokey pretence to be in love with Mrs. Palin my admiration for her as a politician is well under control because, like most of the world, whilst she appears not to know very much about us, so to do we know next to nothing about her. I have been waiting patiently for her to commit herself to a run at the presidency at which point, I assumed, all the skeletons would fall, or be dragged, from her cupboard.
Well, Mr. Gross has jumped the gun and spent an inordinate amount of time, and Vanity Fair's money, I assume, attempting to burrow inside the Palin camp where, he tells us, he met with a blank refusal by virtually everyone to talk to him, and it is a sign of Mr. Gross's less than superior intellect that he was surprised by this. One is left with the distinct impression that the somewhat naive Mr. Gross is unaware that members of the MSM are, in the eyes of any politician to the right of Karl Marx, the equivalent of syphilitic lepers to be avoided and shunned on sight. Even so, I ploughed through his pile of smelly innuendo because my opinion of all politicians is less than exalted and I have been curious for some time to find out what Mrs. Palin's sins of either omission or commission amount to. Well, he dug into this, that and the other but the most that Mr. Gross could come up with is that she has, wait for it, a furious temper which makes Lear look like everyone's favourite old daddy. Now anger is a vice, according to the Biblical teachings that Mrs. Palin says she follows, and it is certainly a weakness as Shakespeare demonstrate with old King Lear, but if that is the sum total of her failings then I think I can live with it. Apart from that, and the ritual sneer that Mrs. Palin often leaves her Down's Syndrome child to his eldest sister to look after (perhaps he thinks she should entrust him to one of Obama's nationalised health service employees), Mr. Gross discovers that Palin runs a tight ship, uses various ad hoc companies through which she channels political donations and refuses to have anything to do with the MSM, all of which is standard practice for all politicians, except the last, perhaps, which is confined to Republicans for very good reasons.
Perhaps the clincher in persuading me that Mr. Gross would be better employed writing about pop stars and celebs, which he has done, is that he implies with many a wink and a nod that the people of Alaska, or at least Wassila, [not]its capital [dummy that I am!], heartily dislike her, and yet, only a week ago the incumbent Senator, the daughter of one of the most powerful Republican families in the State, was ousted by a total unknown - who was backed and endorsed by the very same 'hated' Mrs. Palin. To quote the alleged words of one of Fleet Street's finest editors "Shurely Shome Mishtake - Ed!" A quote from one of the reviews of Mr. Gross's recent book reads as follows:
"...a wonderful blend of insight, personal history, sociology and
hilarious gossip."
I think the only one of those particulars which can best describe his essay on Mrs. Palin is the very last but, alas, it is anything but hilarious and the gossip has obviously been filtered through his Left ear. Well, as they never say, 'there's none so deaf as them wot don't want to hear'!
If you really want to read more, and I don't advise it because you could skip through War and Peace quicker, here is the link:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/10/sarah-palin-201010?currentPage=all
I realize Alaska is even further away from you than it is to me however (though I need it not) Google is as close to you as it is to me.
While Wasilla may be the "figurative" (wink, wink) capital of Alaska, the city of Juneau might have something to say about that.
Teacher !!! David's copying my homework again !!!
Posted by: JK | Saturday, 04 September 2010 at 19:40
Reading the piece's first page had my eyes glazed over. Here's the author and another fellow. But the good looking gal, while kinda softball as opposed to hardball, does sting the guys a bit.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/#38970364
Posted by: JK | Saturday, 04 September 2010 at 20:09
Wasilla, Juneau - who's counting!
And, 'JK', don't think I'm ungrateful but you sent the wrong video link, all I got was a bunch of bores telling me the middle east is a mess - so no change there, then!
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 04 September 2010 at 22:44
I suspect foul play.
Posted by: JK | Saturday, 04 September 2010 at 23:12
Oddly enough, as I was clicking off D&N, murmering about why on Earth anyone would sabotage my earlier attempt to link to a video where the 'Vanity' author was arguing "she won't run" I land on:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100904/ap_on_re_us/us_palin_author
And get this: when the guy moved in, Sarah tweeted he "has a view of my swimming hole." You think what I think? Peekchurs maybe?
Somebody get me Amazon, I need to place an order.
Posted by: JK | Sunday, 05 September 2010 at 00:03
Yes, the aptly named Mr. Gross stayed with Mr. Maginnis and wrote about the fence.
Mind you, I make no complaint about the conduct of either of these two 'gentlemen'. I always tend to "the side of the dandruff-ridden hacks of Fleet Street" and their equivalents 'over there'. Politicians know that they are always and forever a target, quite right, too, but I only complain when the so-called investigative reporters strain, and strain, and strain again, only to produce wind and piss, as Mr. Gross did in his article
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 05 September 2010 at 09:04
Well then, I'm glad whoever ruined my video embed effort saved you from watching it. The video had Mr. Gross confronted by a lovely wisp of a girl, and wind and piss was the sum total of his response. Perhaps the perpetrator knew your preferences and so sent instead one of Sarah's home lessons so she'll then know as GW knew, not to bother with fixing up that place.
Posted by: JK | Sunday, 05 September 2010 at 15:32