EMAIL
PRINT
70 COMMENTSShare and save this post:
Also in Election 2008
This Really Is Our Victory
Marisa Handler
A Progressive Agenda for Obama
10 Moving Stories and Images as America Celebrates Obama's Win
The Desperate Right's Five Biggest Flops of the 2008 Election
Brad Reed
Even After Obama Victory, Hard Lessons from the ACORN Smear Campaign
Art Levine
Depraved Right-Wing Attack Efforts Go Down in Flames
Alexander Zaitchik
Amy Goodman: No matter who wins the White House November 4th, a group of prominent conservatives are planning to meet the next day in Virginia to discuss the way forward for the movement. And regardless of the outcome, Governor Sarah Palin will be high on the agenda. The New York Times reports if John McCain loses the election, Palin could emerge as a standard bearer for the conservative movement and a potential presidential candidate in 2012, albeit one who will need to address her considerable political damage.
Most Americans had never heard of Sarah Palin when McCain first announced her as his running mate back in August. Her national debut came at the Republican Party's convention in St. Paul, where she sought to cast herself as an antidote to the elitist culture inside the Beltway.
Gov. Sarah Palin: I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment, and I've learned quickly these last few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
AG: Governor Palin's sudden rise to prominence, however, owes more to members of the Washington elite than her rhetoric suggests. That's according to an article in The New Yorker magazine by investigative reporter Jane Mayer. It's called "The Insiders: How John McCain Came to Pick Sarah Palin." Jane Mayer now joins us in Washington, D.C.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Jane.
Jane Mayer: Hi, thanks. Good to be with you.
AG: It's good to have you with us. Why don't you tell us the story of the cruises to Alaska?
JM: The cruises. Well, Juneau, Alaska turns out to be a major stop for cruise ships that come through Alaska, and there are political cruises, in particular, that are run by the conservative political magazines that stop there. And so, when Sarah Palin was elected governor, she learned that a number of those Washington insider elite members of the media would be trooping through Juneau. And despite the rhetoric that she's got that is about, you know, sort of deriding them and saying she doesn't, you know, seek their approval, in fact, she invited most of them to lunch and to other receptions that she threw. She even brought some up on a helicopter ride to go see a couple sites in Alaska.
So, she was courting some of those Washington insiders. In particular, they were the pundits that work for the Weekly Standard magazine, which is Rupert Murdoch's conservative political magazine, and the National Review, the old conservative magazine founded by William F. Buckley. So she made a great impression on some of these pundits when they came through. They enjoyed their lunches and receptions and went back and wrote fabulous stories about her, and this was one of the things that really got the ball rolling for her.
JM: Well, you know, Jane, if you could actually tell us the story -- for example, first, you had the two magazines, the Weekly Standard had one cruise, and the National Review, Buckley's publication, had the other. Bill Kristol and his crew came into town for the first lunch. Just describe it for us and their impressions, as you understood them from your sources.
JM: Well, I mean, I interviewed many of them. They described her as completely charming. And an unusual dish was served, an Alaska dish, halibut cheeks, in the governor's mansion. And she was -- her little girl Piper popped in and asked about dessert. And Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, who is a regular on a show called "The Beltway Boys" and writes for the Weekly Standard, and Michael Gerson, who was a former speech -- top speech writer for President Bush and writes a column in the Washington Post, were all there with various family members of theirs. And they were smitten by her, especially Bill Kristol, who has really been beating the drums for Sarah Palin, pretty much ever since.
And then, the second group came in several weeks later. They were the National Review crowd, and it was a much bigger group. One of the things that interested me about that group was, among the dignitaries was Dick Morris, who is a political consultant and a very sort of cynical, savvy player in politics, the ultimate, really, Washington insider, in a way. All the kinds of people that Sarah Palin has said that she's such an outsider to, well, they were all at a reception for her there. And, in fact, Dick Morris sort of pulled her aside for a private conversation, which she then revealed later to the group, in which he said, "If you want to be successful politically, you've got to continue to hold onto your image as an outsider. Play up that outsider thing." And obviously, she has. But it's just so interesting to hear that really it's a calculated strategy. It's not just because she is an outsider; it's a ploy, to some extent.
See more stories tagged with: joe lieberman, john mccain, national review, weekly standard, william kristol, jane mayer, sarah palin, michael gerson, adam brickley, dick morris
Amy Goodman is the host of the nationally syndicated radio news program, Democracy Now!
The Real Story Behind How McCain Chose Sarah Palin
Share and save this post:
Also in Election 2008
This Really Is Our Victory
Marisa Handler
A Progressive Agenda for Obama
10 Moving Stories and Images as America Celebrates Obama's Win
The Desperate Right's Five Biggest Flops of the 2008 Election
Brad Reed
Even After Obama Victory, Hard Lessons from the ACORN Smear Campaign
Art Levine
Depraved Right-Wing Attack Efforts Go Down in Flames
Alexander Zaitchik
Amy Goodman: No matter who wins the White House November 4th, a group of prominent conservatives are planning to meet the next day in Virginia to discuss the way forward for the movement. And regardless of the outcome, Governor Sarah Palin will be high on the agenda. The New York Times reports if John McCain loses the election, Palin could emerge as a standard bearer for the conservative movement and a potential presidential candidate in 2012, albeit one who will need to address her considerable political damage.
Most Americans had never heard of Sarah Palin when McCain first announced her as his running mate back in August. Her national debut came at the Republican Party's convention in St. Paul, where she sought to cast herself as an antidote to the elitist culture inside the Beltway.
Gov. Sarah Palin: I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment, and I've learned quickly these last few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
AG: Governor Palin's sudden rise to prominence, however, owes more to members of the Washington elite than her rhetoric suggests. That's according to an article in The New Yorker magazine by investigative reporter Jane Mayer. It's called "The Insiders: How John McCain Came to Pick Sarah Palin." Jane Mayer now joins us in Washington, D.C.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Jane.
Jane Mayer: Hi, thanks. Good to be with you.
AG: It's good to have you with us. Why don't you tell us the story of the cruises to Alaska?
JM: The cruises. Well, Juneau, Alaska turns out to be a major stop for cruise ships that come through Alaska, and there are political cruises, in particular, that are run by the conservative political magazines that stop there. And so, when Sarah Palin was elected governor, she learned that a number of those Washington insider elite members of the media would be trooping through Juneau. And despite the rhetoric that she's got that is about, you know, sort of deriding them and saying she doesn't, you know, seek their approval, in fact, she invited most of them to lunch and to other receptions that she threw. She even brought some up on a helicopter ride to go see a couple sites in Alaska.
So, she was courting some of those Washington insiders. In particular, they were the pundits that work for the Weekly Standard magazine, which is Rupert Murdoch's conservative political magazine, and the National Review, the old conservative magazine founded by William F. Buckley. So she made a great impression on some of these pundits when they came through. They enjoyed their lunches and receptions and went back and wrote fabulous stories about her, and this was one of the things that really got the ball rolling for her.
JM: Well, you know, Jane, if you could actually tell us the story -- for example, first, you had the two magazines, the Weekly Standard had one cruise, and the National Review, Buckley's publication, had the other. Bill Kristol and his crew came into town for the first lunch. Just describe it for us and their impressions, as you understood them from your sources.
JM: Well, I mean, I interviewed many of them. They described her as completely charming. And an unusual dish was served, an Alaska dish, halibut cheeks, in the governor's mansion. And she was -- her little girl Piper popped in and asked about dessert. And Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, who is a regular on a show called "The Beltway Boys" and writes for the Weekly Standard, and Michael Gerson, who was a former speech -- top speech writer for President Bush and writes a column in the Washington Post, were all there with various family members of theirs. And they were smitten by her, especially Bill Kristol, who has really been beating the drums for Sarah Palin, pretty much ever since.
And then, the second group came in several weeks later. They were the National Review crowd, and it was a much bigger group. One of the things that interested me about that group was, among the dignitaries was Dick Morris, who is a political consultant and a very sort of cynical, savvy player in politics, the ultimate, really, Washington insider, in a way. All the kinds of people that Sarah Palin has said that she's such an outsider to, well, they were all at a reception for her there. And, in fact, Dick Morris sort of pulled her aside for a private conversation, which she then revealed later to the group, in which he said, "If you want to be successful politically, you've got to continue to hold onto your image as an outsider. Play up that outsider thing." And obviously, she has. But it's just so interesting to hear that really it's a calculated strategy. It's not just because she is an outsider; it's a ploy, to some extent.
See more stories tagged with: joe lieberman, john mccain, national review, weekly standard, william kristol, jane mayer, sarah palin, michael gerson, adam brickley, dick morris
Amy Goodman is the host of the nationally syndicated radio news program, Democracy Now!
No comments:
Post a Comment