A question for fellow reporters and editors: At what point do Sarah Palin’s attacks and smears become so vile and absurd that they no longer merit attention? Is there such a point?
Palin, who has broken the mold in so many ways, has defied the laws of political and media gravity in another fashion: Despite the ever-mounting ridiculousness of her claims, she continues to get attention. This isn’t so with other figures. Frequently those who traffic in absurdity and smears to get media attention keep upping the ante until their assertions become so grotesque and self-parodic that they are no longer newsworthy.
It’s kind of like inflation: Keep printing more money and the value of it keeps dropping. That hasn’t happened with Palin.
As long as Palin isn’t an actual candidate for public office, at what point do we stop rewarding every statement from Palin, no matter how vicious or mendacious, with attention? Should there be such a point?
I say no. The fact that we give attention to people like Sarah Palin and pretend that she is actually engaging in serious discourse says more about us as a people than it does about her. We are a shallow and simple minded people with ADD.
