Dan Hirschhorn and Politico try their hands at knocking down Sarah Palin with two articles featured on Memeorandum. First we learn that New Hampshire Republicans are left cold by Palin's One Nation tour.
MANCHESTER, N.H. - As it played out on TV this week, Sarah Palin’s “One Nation” road trip of U.S. historical sites was a masterpiece of political mischief-making – a wild dash up the East Coast that delighted her fans and cornered the market on 2012 coverage for days on end.
That’s not how the bus tour looked to Republicans on the ground, many of whom are more convinced than ever that the former Alaska governor is simply not serious about running for president.
While Palin has reveled in giving an extended one-fingered salute to the national press, refusing to give out details about her travel schedule and forcing reporters to literally chase her vehicle up I-95 in order to cover her, she reached out to precious few activists and party leaders in the states she visited.
Now, I'd be willing to bet that reporters Alexander Burns and Dan Hirschhorn are speaking metaphorically when referring to an extended one-finger salute. But, by using it they leave no doubt that they're quite annoyed. And the annoyance extends into the second featured article which is by Kasie Hunt with Hirschhorn listed as a contributor. Sarah Palin's tour a rolling menace, they say.
SEABROOK, N.H. — Sarah Palin’s bus is plastered with a mock-up of the U.S. Constitution. But her entourage — both the three-vehicle motorcade that includes the bus and the smaller, two-SUV version she uses for smaller events — hasn’t been very respectful of traffic laws.
They speed. They run red lights and stop signs. They make last-second lane changes to get off the highway, sometimes without signaling.
So do the reporters following them.
Journalists in the caravan trailing her “One Nation” tour bus describe the experience as harrowing, a rolling menace careening up the East Coast in hot pursuit of the former Alaska governor who declined to provide any advance itinerary of her tour over six days on the road.
They must wonder, why can't she just suck up to us like everybody else? How humiliating that they have to chase her down, and quite obviously without much success. But Sarah isn't giving them the time of day. Based on their stories, should she?
Meanwhile, as the media herd breathlessly speculates, will she or won't she run, Byron York points out that Sarah has been laying out substantive policy positions all the while.
One thing many viewers have probably missed in all the horse-race speculation is that Palin is perfectly willing to discuss her positions on key issues, if anyone wants to ask. In fact, in recent days, weeks, and months, we've seen a lot of policy commentary from the former Alaska governor.
For example, during the bus trip, Palin took a stand on an issue that is crucial for candidates considering a run in the Iowa caucuses. "I think that all of our energy subsidies need to be re-looked at today and eliminated," Palin told RealClearPolitics. "We've got to allow the free market to dictate what's most efficient and economical for our nation's economy." What that means is Palin opposes the infamous ethanol subsidy that some presidential aspirants are afraid to question, lest they lose support in heavily agricultural Iowa.
And wasn't this right after presumptive front runner Mitt Romney announced his support for ethanol subsidies, who also happened to be in Iowa when he announced it. So it shouldn't surprise anybody if Republican bigwigs are put off by Palin, who turned up in New Hampshire on the day Mitt Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2012 presidential race. She's always ticked off the bigwigs.
I guess the reporters count themselves as bigwigs.
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