John Fund:
Call it the stalking of Sarah Palin. The former governor of Alaska has been an object of fascination and derision for many reporters ever since she burst onto the national stage in 2008. But the level of continued interest is nonetheless stunning.
Three years ago the left-wing magazine Mother Jones requested Ms. Palin's gubernatorial emails during the 2008 election. After lengthy delays they were released last Friday in Juneau. The fact that you heard almost nothing about them is because there is almost nothing salacious or scandalous in them. As Britain's Daily Telegraph noted, "the trove of more than 13,000 emails detailing almost every aspect of Sarah Palin's governorship of Alaska . . . paints a picture of her as an idealistic, conscientious, humorous and humane woman slightly bemused by the world of politics."
But the buildup to their release was treated like the prelude to the release of the Pentagon Papers. David Corn of Mother Jones salivated at the prospect of what might be in the 24,199 pages being released. "I have a reporter in Juneau who will grab our set of documents and scan the docs for us in the DC bureau," he wrote. "I and the eight reporters in my bureau will then pore over these pages. Mother Jones, msnbc.com, and ProPublica will be putting up a searchable online database—very quickly —which will allow everybody (other reporters, readers, and GOP opposition researchers) to join in."
Other media outlets joined in....
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Just before the 2008 election, Mark Halperin, an editor-at-large for Time magazine and co-author of the campaign classic "Game Change," was one of several speakers at a conference sponsored by Time and CNN in New York. During a panel discussion, Mr. Halperin was asked if the media had been too soft on Mr. Obama. To the surprise of the largely liberal audience, his answer was yes. He went on to say that through the subtle choice of which stories to cover and where to deploy investigative resources, the national media had handed Mr. Obama "hundreds of millions in free publicity."
Mr. Halperin attributed the positive coverage in part to the historic nature of Mr. Obama's candidacy. But he also noted that only a few hands had gone up in the crowded room when the audience had been asked how many had voted for George W. Bush. "I find it curious that far more time and media energy has been spent on Sarah Palin's time in Wasilla, Alaska's city government in the last eight weeks than in looking at Barack Obama's dozen years in Chicago politics and government over the last 18 months of his candidacy," he noted dryly. And Ms. Palin was only running for vice president.
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The email appear to have lacked the gotcha moments the media was looking for. The mostly show her as a competent governor who cared about her state and her family. I don't know what her plans are for the 2012 election, but these emails are not going to hurt her chances. But the pursuit of them by the media makes many of them look like voyeurs instead of reporters interested in gathering relevant facts about announced candidates. It does create a stark contrast to the treatment they have have given Obama.
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