Palin Brushes Off Criticism of Confrontation with Teacher
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is once again berating what she calls the "LSM" ("lamestream media") for the reaction to an Internet video showing a confrontation Palin had with an Alaskan teacher.
While filming her upcoming television series in Homer, Alaska recently, Palin was confronted with a large banner that read "Worst governor ever." Local resident and teacher Kathleen Gustafson was holding the sign when Palin approached her.
"You swore on your precious Bible that you would uphold the interests of this state, and then when cash was waved in front of your face, you quit," Gustafson told Palin.
"Oh, you wanted me to be your governor," Palin responded, sarcastically. "I'm honored! Thank you!"
"I wanted you to honor your responsibilities," Gustafson said.
Video of the incident was promoted on Huffington Post and gained traction across the web yesterday. Some media outlets noted that Palin appeared to roll her eyes after Gustafson informed her she is a teacher.
Palin wrote in a Facebook note yesterday that "the media is now trying to turn my eyebrow movements into story lines."
The former governor contends she would not condescend to a teacher because she comes "from a family of teachers." She lists in the Facebook note her many relatives who are teachers.
While she castigated media coverage of the incident, Palin said the video itself was worth watching because "it helps to remind people once again that Alaska is a great state full of independent-minded people."
The incident, she said, amounted to "what makes our politics so uniquely democratic: two people discussing the things they care about, even though they respectfully disagree about just about everything."
