The "Vetting" Meme

I'll bet I saw 50 different stories yesterday that all asked the same question: Was Sarah Palin properly vetted? It's pretty clear that there was a Dem talking point on that issue and the slavering liberal media eagerly picked it up. It was a top story on every talking head show and I don't think there was a lefty website that didn't opine in very serious tones that McCain must not have good judgment because of all these new Sarah Palin stories that popped out every few seconds.

The NY Times, which had to be dragged kicking and screaming to cover the John Edwards love child story, ran no less than 4 stories on Palin and her family, including 3 on the front page. Some of the information they offered as fact was just plain wrong, as proven later in the day, but that didn't stop the talking heads from repeating the misinformation.

So, was the real problem that John McCain didn't property vet Palin, or was the real problem that the press didn't find out all this stuff before she became the nominee? I'm fairly confident that the latter is true. Because of the surprise nature of her announcement, the media didn't do a lot of digging into her story until she was the nominee. Frankly, I think they were surprised both by the pick and by the ecstatic reaction of the conservative base which scared them. They had to kill this nomination as quickly as they could.

The McCain campaign was not surprised by any of the dirt drug up by the media. They already had that information and determined that there wasn't anything that would disqualify Palin from the nomination. The media, in its self-created frenzy, sought to make every new revelation a fatal blow hoping that it would depress support for Palin. The opposite has turned out to be true as Republicans have rallied around their nominee, and tonight you'll see that joy in full-throated display. Republicans are used to unfair attacks from the media, but this one has clearly crossed the line.

This morning the meme is that "Palin requested more pork barrel funds than any governor in the country - almost $300 per person!!". Nice try, Dem media. By using the standard of "$300 per person" you can compare Alaska to other states and try and make her look bad. However, there are only 600,000 Alaskans, so in terms of real dollars her requests pale compared to funds going to other states. There are probably congressional districts around the country that have gotten more funds than Alaska.

The media and Dems are desperate to make her candidacy unpalatable for Republicans and Independent voters, but they're failing. Should she knock her speech out of the park tonight, as I expect she will, all of their efforts for the last few days will have been wasted. America will look at Palin and realize she's not the person they're hearing about in the press. Her support will skyrocket.

The media efforts may well doom the Dem ticket. The unfair piling on that's going on will anger a lot of Americans, and it wouldn't surprise me if support shifts to McCain just because some people will want to take revenge on the Dems and their toadies in the media.

UPDATE: Word is that McCain is planning to hit back hard against the Dems and media for their unfair attacks and will release a new ad at noon EDT today. As soon as I can get it, I'll post it.