Friday, December 10, 2010

Palin's New Reading List

Sarah Palin got a do-over from Barabara Walters.

In an interview with Barbara Walters, Palin set the record straight.

"I read anything and everything that I can get my hands on as I have since I was a little girl," Palin told Walters in an interview to air tonight on ABC as part of Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2010."

So what books and newspapers currently top her reading list?

"I'm reading the best book right now -- Dean Karnazes's book about being an ultra-marathoner. I read a lot of C.S. Lewis when I want some divine inspiration...I read Newsmax and The Wall Street Journal. I read all of our local papers of course in Alaska because that's where my heart is," Palin said.

A couple of observations.

1. I am still not sure why Palin didn't just give this kind of answer before. Was it because she wasn't reading anything at the time? Surely not.

2. I giver her a C on her current list. Other than The Wall Street Journal, she does not list any other credible news organizations. Still, while the WSJ is not perfect, it does prove that Palin has some access to the outside (real) world.

3. I suppose that Palin's response is limited since she has engaged in a drawn-out war against "the lamestream media." She can't mention traditional newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post because she thinks that these organizations are out to get her.

4. Contrast Palin's daily news intake with other conservative pundits.

David Frum
David Brooks
Tucker Carlson
Jeffrey Goldberg

These men spend a significant portion of the day reading various sources from all ideological perspectives in an effort to fully grasp public policy debates. One of my biggest complaints against Palin is that she believes in "common sense" solutions to our problems. Yet, the more one reads and seeks to understand public policy, the more one realizes that public policy is complicated and not easily solved by folksy one-liners.

5. Lastly, it would be nice to see a daily reading list by the other 2012 hopefuls, as well as President Obama. Although, such a comparison is unfair because his President Daily Briefing trumps the New York Times.

14 comments:

Doug NYC GOP said...

Pablo - Welcome to Right Speak and Congratulations on your debut post. Nicely done and well written.

I would be interested as well to see what the other candidates read,etc. It you gives one a better idea of their overall personality.

This would be a good story arc to file updates on as this info becomes available.

Good job and thanks for joining up.

BOSMAN said...

Welcome Pablo!

I agree about the candidates and what they read.

Romney used to post in his blog at his PAC website,the "Daily Reads". It would be 5 to 10 articles that he would come across in a day. He'd give a brief description, comment, and link.

I noticed that stopped at his site once the mid-terms got under way. I don't know whether it is somewhere else now (Facebook/twitter). I thought it was a good idea at the time, because it gives you a little insight in his tastes and interests.

Anonymous said...

Welcome Pablo,

I almost wonder, If Palin had the questions ahead of time. Her History of avoiding live interviews tells us yes.

My guess is, she heavily into tv like her supporters. Anyone can come up with a list of reads and pass it off as their own.

zeke

Right Wingnut said...

Via Right Scoop:

ABC edited out Sarah Palin’s mention of Mark Levin’s book

Ann said...

Hello Pablo,

I'm looking forward to your posts.

I agree with you about the candidates and how they keep up with current events.

It would be nice if the candidates we support let us know where and how they get their information.

We certainly don't need a POTUS who is just winging it.

Pablo said...

RW,

ABC did Palin a favor by leaving that out. Levin is not exactly a reputable source of information. Plus, I am more interested in Palin's daily reading. I want to know that she knows what is going on in the world. Citing Levin's book does not alleviate my fears.

Pablo said...

Thanks all for the kind words.

Right Wingnut said...

Pablo,

Give me a break. Read her tweets and facebook posts. She constantly links to articles from great conservative minds like Krauthammer and Sowell..oh, wait...they're probably too conservative for you too. In addition, she receives daily foreign policy briefings. Newsmax is a reputable conservative site as well. Levin is great. You won't hear Palin quoting Frum or Brooks...sorry. Actually, it's unlikely that your preferred candidate would either.

illinoisguy said...

Does anyone know who writes her posts for her on facebook? Is it the same person who writes he speeches, or not?

Pablo said...

RW,

As I mentioned in the post, I give her a C. She doesn't fail. She does read the WSJ. However, it takes a lot of reading to understand an issue. And reading Newsmax is not going to get you there.

Pablo said...

IG,

I am of the opinion that she writes her own Facebook posts, but I don't know.

illinoisguy said...

I sincerely doubt that Pablo, but I don't know.

phil said...

If she is reading reputable material, it's not reflected in her grasp of issues.

kelly said...

Welcome Pablo,

I used to enjoy reading your posts at ROS until I was banned. I'm glad you're here now.

I agree with phil. She just doesn't seem to come across like someone who is into reading or keeping informed.

It's certainly not reflected in any of her interviews. There usually generic with softball questions