CNN's Cafferty Features Ex-Palin Aide's Rants About Former Governor, Doesn't Scrutinize His Motives
CNN's Jack Cafferty reverted back to his Palin derangement syndrome
Wednesday afternoon. He touted two new books that heavily criticize
Palin - labeling one as "required reading" for any potential supporters
of a Palin presidential run - as an antidote of sorts to what he deemed
"Palin propaganda."
Cafferty's question of the hour was "With the GOP field so weak, should
Sarah Palin run for president?" He spent the majority of his brief time
slot bashing Palin and assembling the case against the former governor.
"Just when we thought that maybe she had decided to just go away and
leave us alone comes news of Sarah Palin, the movie," he bemoaned.
[Click here for audio. Video below.]
The book Cafferty labeled "required reading" for Palin supporters was
"The Lies of Sarah Palin: the Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest
for Power," by investigative reporter Geoffery Dunn who received his PhD
in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz - a school
with quite a liberal tradition.
"This book, which I have read, chronicles a lifelong pathology of
deceit, and makes the claim - makes the point - that she's lied about
almost everything her entire life," Cafferty boldly stated. By
inserting "makes the point" over "makes the claim," Cafferty obviously
believes Palin is a pathological liar.
The other book he recommended was "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A
Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years," written by ex-Palin aide Frank Bailey, a
tell-all memoir of his days on Palin's campaign for governor in 2006
and then for vice president in 2008.
While Bailey's memoir may be factually-correct, it could also be an
embellished product of a disgruntled ex-aide with an axe to grind.
Cafferty's peddling of the book as a credible alternative to "Palin
propaganda" without noting that Bailey is currently under investigation
by the state's attorney general hints at how he truly feels about Palin -
and his feelings are well-documented.
In the wake of the Tuscon shootings, Cafferty hit Palin for her "inflammatory" response to criticism that she inspired the shootings. Last fall, Cafferty also revisited his malcontent with Palin by broadcasting his rant about her from two years prior.
Cafferty could have drawn information about Bailey from his Tuesday
interview with CNN's Brooke Baldwin. Bailey was asked to respond to the
Palins' accusations about him and Baldwin did mention that he was under
investigation by the Alaska attorney general's office. However, the vast
majority of the interview focused on his memoirs. He had plenty of
air-time to dump his grievances on willing ears.
To be fair, CNN's "American Morning" Wednesday was balanced in its
coverage of the dispute, having read part of the retort by the Palins
just after playing a clip of Bailey from the afternoon before. However,
the Tuesday afternoon Newsroom interview and Cafferty's Wednesday
afternoon bit were much more slanted toward Palin's critics than the
former governor and her family.
A transcript of the Cafferty segment, which aired on May 25 at 5:12 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
CAFFRTY: Just when we thought that maybe she had decided to just go
away and leave us alone comes news of Sarah Palin, the movie. Next
month, a secretly-produced, two-hour feature film all about the former
Alaska governor will be released in Iowa, where the 2012 campaign kicks
off with the Iowa caucuses in February.
This is a million dollar production put together by conservative
filmmaker Stephen Bannon. He agreed to make the film after Palin and her
staff asked him last November to produce a series of videos that would
highlight her accomplishments as governor and re-establish her as a GOP
maverick. It's probably a short movie. After its initial release in
Iowa, the film will open in New Hampshire, the home of the first
official primary. She'd better hope it's a blockbuster. According to the
latest poll of New Hampshire primary voters, Mitt Romney outpolls Sarah
Palin by a margin of more than 6 to 1 - 33 percent to 5.
Now if you're looking for something besides Palin propaganda, there are a couple of new books to read:
"Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of our Tumultuous Years," by
ex-Palin aide Frank Bailey. It's based on thousands of e-mails that he
kept while working for Palin during her run for governor in 2006 right
up through her failed bid for vice president in 2008. He says Palin
loves to play the victim and he calls her leadership style "chaotic."
I would also strongly recommend "The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold
Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power" by investigative reporter
Geoffrey Dunn. This book, which I have read, chronicles a lifelong
pathology of deceit, and makes the claim - makes the point - that she's
lied about almost everything her entire life. There's also some juicy
personal stuff in this book. The book is well-researched and it ought to
be required reading for anyone considering supporting a presidential
run by this woman.
Here's the question: With the GOP field so weak - and it is - should Sarah Palin run for president?
- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center.
