Palin Rips Into Media Coverage Of Her Campaign
In an interview with conservative documentary filmmaker John Ziegler conducted at her Wasilla home, Sarah Palin said she was the victim of unfair media coverage and wondered aloud whether Democrat Caroline Kennedy would benefit from fawning treatment from the press in her bid to become the junior senator from New York because of her social class.
"I've been interested to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she will be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope," Palin said. "It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out, and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be."
Portions of the interview, which was conducted for Ziegler's upcoming film, "How Obama Got Elected," were released on YouTube.
A journalism major in college, Palin was a frequent critic of media coverage during her vice presidential campaign but repeatedly affirmed her respect for the Fourth Estate, even offering to do what she could to make improvements in journalistic ethics.
Palin told Ziegler that if she had been Barack Obama's running mate rather than McCain's, media coverage of her would have been much more positive. But she declined to assert that perceived liberal bias was the primary reason for the treatment she received from the press during her two-month national campaign.
"Is it political? Is it sexism?" she asked. "What is it that drives someone to believe the worst and perpetuate the worst in terms of gossip and lies?"
Watch portions of the interview below:
Update Jan. 9, 11 a.m.: The Early Show interviewed pundits Bay Buchanan and Joe Lockhart on Friday morning. You can watch their exchange below.
