Here is the Sarah Palin Newsweek cover that has people up in arms. See the photo and read the story.
Update: The new Newsweek cover for November 2009 is on top. The 2008 cover is below.
Newsweek Covers: Sarah Palin
Complaints are resonating from near and far that the Newsweek cover is biased. The party line is that Newsweek generally touches up photos to make individuals look better. That is true but it is not important when it comes to Sarah Palin.
Earth to the Right: Lighten up. Sarah Palin does not need airbrushing or prettied up. In fact, this cover still looks great and gives her an even more competent, trustworthy aura without the airbrushing. I like it. These people have it right.
The problem with the Newsweek cover is not the photo itself but the biased subtitle. In tiny print, after they introduce her appeal as “She’s One of the Folks,” they dismiss the appeal as a problem.
Granted that the liberal bookworms at Newsweek may think “She’s One of the Folks” is a slight in itself. Main stream media academics, like Barack Obama himself, do not seem to get middle-America. Liberal idealogues see “us” as clinging to guns and bibles, not quite smart enough to understand the important issues. Never mind that Democrat voters are the ones having trouble with ballots and hanging chads, and graduate from high school at a much lower rate than Republican voters.
“She’s One of the Folks” is an inside joke to a handful of liberal elitists that nobody else in the country will get. And they know it, which is why the Sarah Palin Newsweek cover went a bridge too far on the joke, like salting quiche at an Obama wine party.
And so we see “and that’s the problem” added as a tiny subtitle just to make sure that everyone is in on the Newsweek slight, perhaps something added by a junior editor. It leaves conspiracy theorists wondering if Newsweek consulted with the message makers for the Obama campaign.
Curious about reader reactions to the Newsweek cover photo and the message text. Meanwhile, an example of a biased Newsweek reporter is below for your enjoyment in video format.
Palin Newsweek Bias (Video)
October 8th, 2008 at 11:17 am
If you are voting McCain/Palin, you honestly are not quite smart enough to understand the important issues. McCain & Palin themselves aren’t understanding/discussing the issues. We don’t need more mediocrity. I realize this sounds insulting, & I don’t mean it to be (honestly). It just shows that more of our tax dollars should be put toward education.
October 8th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Marcus, thank you for the most ineffective post in the history of the internet. If you think calling voters stupid is going to help you win, then you really shouldn’t be involved in a democratic society.
BTW, you called the majority of U.S. soldiers in Iraq stupid. I’m sure they’d be happy to hear that.
I guess Harvard M.B.A’s Mitt Romney and Carly Fiorina also qualify as stupid in your book? Yale Law-educated Joe Lieberman, also not enough book-learning for you, I guess?
October 8th, 2008 at 11:31 am
I would just ask what folks this guy is talking about ?
Right away, without even reading the article.
Joe six pack ?
Or some lemming at a quiche party.
I beg to differ that the best thing this country needs right now is a young constitutional lawyer whos never passed a peice of legislation pertaining to it.
I fail to see how anyone thinks that liberalism as a concept is what will help us out of this mess.
Quite frankly , its what got us into it.
We need some “folks” like Palin in office who do basic math with a responsible conservative concept behind it and dont try to fudge every picture with a bunch of smoke and mirrors laced in promises that no in way can payed for in our current state.
Forget about free health insurance, over priced tuitions or new desks in the classroom right now.
Most just want to know that they’ll be able to go to work, come home and eat.
Lets get real, please
October 8th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Correction.
“that in no way can payed for in our current state.”
October 8th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Yes Ignatius - We are indeed a “Confederacy of Dunces”
October 8th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Perhaps when Barack Obama identifies the 57 states and the eighth that he has yet to visit, I will be as smart as his supporters. I’m having a difficult time naming them all. I keep getting stuck at 50. But Obama’s supporters are certainly very smart indeed. As the lamprey could be considered smarter than the salmon, it’s hapless host.
October 8th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Clarification: Obama/Biden’s supporters are clearly smarter than McCain/Palin supporters. The same way lampreys are smarter than salmon.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Bitter_Clinger,
ACORN added 7 more states so Obama is right. Kenya makes 58.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Yeah, those same basic math skills that left Wasalia $20 mil in debt. Let’s hear it for the same responsible conservative concept that forgot to return money earmarked for the bridge to nowhere. Yeah, forget about proper education that may properly teach some basic math skills.
I don’t understand how wanting someone smarter than yourself, in office, became some “elitest” jargon talking point. Having the best education doesn’t necessarily translate into being the best person for the job, but it certainly shouldn’t disqualify you.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Really? This is what the Republicans what to talk about? That’s right, anyone who doesn’t like Palin is working with Obama to conspire against her and McCain. It has nothing to do with fact that she’s an idiot who can barely form complete sentences or have multiple coherent thoughts. This is so ridiculous. If I showed up to my meetings with CEOs and CFOs of major coporations and spoke the way Sarah did, I would be fired for unprofessionalism. I would also look like someone trying to do a job I’m not qualified for. Sad.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
“‘She’s One of the Folks’ is an inside joke to a handful of liberal elitists that nobody else in the country will get. And they know it, which is why the Sarah Palin Newsweek cover went a bridge too far on the joke, like salting quiche at an Obama wine party.”
Newsweek printed a joke on Sarah that no one but the elite (which, apparently includes you)will understand, is that it? If most Americans are not in on the joke, why does it matter? Or is the other way around- Newsweek is saying that Sarah is exactly who she claims to be, and that is a problem for America? The latter makes much more sense to me- the whole hidden joke thing is silly. The latter is also biased, since it takes a position against her. But sue me for agreeing with Newsweek here. She’s not bright, much less capable of dealing with the problems the country is facing. Before you accuse liberals of attacking her because she doesn’t have an Ivy League pedigree, remember- Bush had the pedigree, and liberals didn’t hesitate to call him an idiot.
Liberals (and a good number of Republicans and Conservatives, according to the polls) aren’t willing to let idiots run their country anymore, that’s all. Culture wars can wait.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Y’all really don’t like people who don’t speak like you. Wow. I had no idea how judgmental the left is.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Lisa, you’ve obviously never heard of or met a flim flam man.
Hes the guy who buys a stick of gum with 10.00 bill and gets change from a twenty.
Thats what Obama is.
You want to talk about basic math ?
Tell me , please, with all the money being put out right now how does he plan to pay for all the sh*t hes been promising ?
I find your nubers on Wasillas debt to be hard to swallow since its no big secret she enjoys an 80% approval rating, across the board. Not just Wasilla or Alaska but the whole country.
If you’re talking about the bridge, the fed money simply went to other projects.
Its not how smart anyone is, its how smart they think they are in relation to what they choose to do with that knowledge.
I dont want someone in office who thinks he’s too smart to listen to anyone.
Ya know ? Like working across the line ?
Obama has no record of ever working with the right most likely because he is so stupid he cant see past a liberal ideoligy, as educated as he might be hes hung up on a vision instead of a practicallity.
When will we ever learn that a socialistic approach to things has always failed ?
Theres always going to be generation that comes along and says; ” I can make it work this time. The other guys were just doing it wrong”
After 7 years of war and now this meltdown its no surprise that people are reaching for something, anything, out of desparation.
But your all missing the point.
The last 7 1/2 years has been pretty good to most people, otherwise there would of nothing to fall from.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
“Y’all really don’t like people who don’t speak like you. Wow. I had no idea how bigoted the left is.”
No that’s the point! I’m not claiming to be smarter than Sarah Pailin- I’m saying I want someone smarter than me, and someone smarter than her, for the office of the president! Why on earth is it wrong (I’m not even going to address *bigoted*) to that???
October 8th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
“Liberals (and a good number of Republicans and Conservatives, according to the polls) aren’t willing to let idiots run their country anymore”
Yea, I guess we’ve come a long way since Carter
October 8th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Well, the elites have done such a good job running our country so far, lets let them keep at it. I mean, if these senators and congress members are so smart, how did our economy get so f’d up in the first place? I’m thinking some good common sense from “the folks” is what this country needs, in addition to congressional term limits.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Micky - Get your facts straight. Palin does not have an 80% approval rate. As of today her approval rate is 63%. Googole it. Lot’s of reputable sources. Take your pick as you might think any source provided by a “liberal” is suspect.
The last 7 1/2 years have not been good for most people. Our government and their lack of oversight on Wall Street made people beleive they were better off than they really were. People were spending money they didn’t have and living in houses they couldn’t afford. When Bush said after 9/11 that people could help America by going out and shopping, they took it literally. The feds made money so cheap that everyone was taking out loans which kept consumers and businesses in a vicious cycle that lead us to this point.
Anyone who has been affected by the war can also tell you that the past 7 1/2 years have not been pretty good. The list could go on and on.
June - You are absolutely right. I want someone smarter than me running my country. I want someone who can represent us in a respectable way to foreign leaders. Calling them “guys” and saying “ya know” doesn’t reflect well on us as a nation. If anything, it only goes to show how far our education system has fallen behing other developed nations.
Palin…uninformed…out of touch and looking more ridiculous each day.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Bryan McAffee - Sounds like you are calling Republican’s elitist. They controlled Congress until two years ago. How long do you think this mess has been brewing? It is the Republican mentality of deregulation that got us here.
It’s interesting that people call Obama an elitist because of his education and his place in life today but his past of growing up in an extremely modest home is ignored. You would think that McCain falls more in line with being an elitist. He is educated (though graduated at the bottom of his class), got into a top naval academy because of who his father is, and he is rich. Interesting how that doesn’t apply, huh?
October 8th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Micky, I thought we were talking about Palin? How does her folksy math get us out of trouble (for the record I am not saying Obama has the world’s best plan here, but that isn’t the point of this thread, is it?)? I “obviously” don’t know what a flim-flam man is? What is that supposed to mean, exactly? What are you trying to say about me? If you like plain speaking so much, just come out with it.
Also, I find it hard that instead of looking up the debt Palin left, and the money she took, you tout approval ratings? I don’t understand how people liking Palin proves or disproves a fact. And why don’t you then look it up instead of trotting out approval ratings? (I can link you, if you need.) That is like saying, “I don’t believe Jimmy got an F in math, his teacher really think he is a very nice boy.” Those two facts aren’t mutually exclusive.
I agree, thinking you are too smart to listen to anyone else is dangerous. But so is a knee-jerk hatred for those with an education. And also, just because you haven’t hit rock bottom, doesn’t mean you are doing well. Just because certain situations in the US are getting worse, doesn’t mean they were all that great to begin with.
And you do have some valid critisism of Obama. But let’s be clear - this post is about Palin. Talking about Obama doesn’t really help clear the air.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
An “elitist” in a political sense is someone who believes he knows better how to run your life than you do yourself, because he or she is a part of a Knowing intelligentia. Elitism has nothing to do with a person’s station in life, but what he believes. Substance over form, dear liberals.
But you guys are off topic. This post is about Sarah Palin’s Newsweek cover so get back to it now please.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
MCCAIN, I respectfully disagree with that definition. Is that a personal definition for the word or can you maybe link me up somewhere? I am not trying to be an ass (please don’t read it that way), I think people can’t really talk about things unless they define things in a standard way. You start talking apples and oranges, you know?
October 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
“An “elitistâ€? in a political sense is someone who believes he knows better how to run your life than you do yourself, because he or she is a part of a Knowing intelligentia. Elitism has nothing to do with a person’s station in life, but what he believes. Substance over form, dear liberals.”
HA! You get to make up your own definitions to common words (when was “elitism” ever about runnign someone else’s life? i thought it was about exclusiveness), just like Palin gets to give whatever answer she chooses, regardless of the question asked. Substance over form indeed.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Well no, June and Lisa. The concept of “elitist” rulers in a democratic society stems from Plato, who believed that the ruling class would best be comprised of those who are the most intelligent. One would not, for example, label FDR an “elitist” because he was filthy rich. You might refer to him as a “populist” instead because of his political philosophy, which is in many ways an opposite concept from elitism. Words matter.
I understand that political science is a difficult theoretical field if you don’t have a background in it. It is a smooshy science, but we are ultimately off topic. So back to Sarah Palin’s Newsweek cover. Final warning.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
i think sarah is beautiful like everyone else in the world and has great taste in shoes.
however as i woman, i do think this cover unfair because the first thing i noticed in this ridiculously gi-normous close up shot was a slight hint of a mustache or facial hair on her upper lip.
i don’t know if thats just a shadow from the photo or if because she has dark hair that she has that as a normal thing (like many dark haired woman do.
there really is no discussion that the mag wasn’t fair to her imo. they just aren’t. but good grief they make michelle obama look like a sorority girl and we all know she is just a chronically unhappy and bitter woman.
even in her complete natural beauty, sarah has something special that the obamas and their hag-olicious followers will never have.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
“Get your facts straight. Palin does not have an 80% approval rate. As of today her approval rate is 63%.”
BFD ! Thats still more than any single government official there is. I’ve heard higher and lower but it doesnt change that fact that she has a lot more of an effective resume` and ratings than Obama.
“The last 7 1/2 years have not been good for most people. Our government and their lack of oversight on Wall Street made people beleive they were better off than they really were.”
Thats subjective , but the fact is that you have to climb to fall. We are falling from the success we have enjoyed.
Its not oversight on Wall street.
This whole mess was created by the housing bubble you guys created through incentivising corropt institutions F&F.
Get it right.
“People were spending money they didn’t have and living in houses they couldn’t afford.”
Which just makes my point above concerning F&F.
Who lead them to believe that ?
Bush didnt tell everyone to go broke, he said ( I’m paraphrasing) to continue your lives as usual.
Would you like a copy of the speech ?
I dont seem to recall him telling us to endulge in full blown gluttony
” When Bush said after 9/11 that people could help America by going out and shopping, they took it literally. The feds made money so cheap that everyone was taking out loans which kept consumers and businesses in a vicious cycle that lead us to this point.”
NOT !
We were given tax incentives and asked to spend them by Bush.
We had GDP growth for 7 years straight which means few were actually borrowing to stay in business. They were borrowing to move into these houses and then used them as ATMs at rates around 24%.
“Anyone who has been affected by the war can also tell you that the past 7 1/2 years have not been pretty good. The list could go on and on.”
Tell that to the families of the 3000 dead.
We have not been attacked once now, have we ?
“You are absolutely right. I want someone smarter than me running my country.”
Then you shouldnt have too much to worry about.
“I want someone who can represent us in a respectable way to foreign leaders. “Calling them “guysâ€? and saying “ya knowâ€? doesn’t reflect well on us as a nation.”
Oh, please dont tell me who you’re calling stupid just cuz of those two words. Because there are people risking there lives for your snotty style over substance a$$ everday that speak that way.
And who gives a rip roaring f*ck what those foriegn leaders think ?
“If anything, it only goes to show how far our education system has fallen behing other developed nations.”
The one system that libs hold so dear to there heart.