I first heard of this story from Kyle Drennen at NewsBusters.org. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie interviewed Joe McGinniss on NBC’s ‘Today’ about his upcoming book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, touting it as “bombshell book” that raises questions like “Is she really the hockey mom she claims to be? How strong is her marriage to Todd?” and “Does she use her children as props?” After an intro like that, the audience expects “stunning allegations” instead of the same old conspiracy theories and baseless smears put forward by Palin’s detractors since the 2008. Sadly, they would be getting more or less the latter.
I find it hard to believe that anyone couldn’t predict that McGinniss’ book would be nothing more than a hit piece. By bring McGinniss on ‘Today’, Guthrie gives this “man” (if you can even call him that), who’s obviously suffering from the later stages of “Palin Derangement Syndrome,” undo credibility. I think Bob and Mark of ‘The Bob and Mark Show’ on KWHL 106.5 described McGinniss best (hat-tip uffdamega52).
What’s interesting about this book, however, is that it’s not being universally praised by those on the left. Janet Maslin of the New York Times wrote a scathing review of McGinniss’ book, stating that,
…Although most of “The Rogue” is dated, petty and easily available to anyone with Internet access, Mr. McGinniss used his time in Alaska to chase caustic, unsubstantiated gossip about the Palins, often from unnamed sources like “one resident” and “a friend”…
It speaks volumes when someone from McGinniss’ political camp is this critical.
The problem with the lies peddled by those like McGinniss is that no matter what the truth is, unless they’re exposed as malicious and unsupported tripe, ill-informed people will accept them as truth. Already we are seeing the blogosphere a buzz with discussions of these smears as if they were fact. Why not spend a few minutes considering whether or not these accusations sound reasonable? Does anyone really believe that Palin was a drug user in her youth? That she was sexually promiscuous?
We’ve been following Palin since she was picked by John McCain to be his Vice Presidential nominee, when reporters rushed to Wasilla, Alaska to find whatever they could to paint her in a negative light, and after that when they went through boxes upon boxes of e-mails from Palin’s time as Alaska’s governor to find anything they could to do finally destroy her politically, and nothing has emerged that supports any of these accusations. Considering the thorough vetting Palin received, why should we believe that one writer with a grudge against Palin and her family found what hundreds of journalists and bloggers couldn’t? Why should these accusations be believed when even hyperpartisan publications like the New York Times have called McGinniss’ book “caustic, unsubstantiated gossip”?
I could spend hours scouring the internet for evidence of Sarah Palin’s evidence, but I doubt that even that would change the minds of those who desperately wish to believe that these accusations aren’t the same old conspiracy theories and baseless smears that have been pushed by Palin’s detractors for years. Joe McGinniss’ The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin is “Palin Derangement Syndrome” made into a book, the worst kind of tabloid journalism which is receiving harsh criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Pathetic…
[...] I had written previously about Joe McGinniss’ latest book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, and I clearly stated that I didn’t believe any of these claims he made concerning Palin and her family. These accusations were beyond outrageous, so much so that even Janet Maslin of the New York Times said they were “caustic, unsubstantiated gossip.” It wasn’t simply the New York Times, however, that thoughts this. As Andrew Breitbart himself, posting at BigJournalism.com, discovered, Random House, the publisher of McGinniss’ book, had issues with a number of the accusations. In fact, Random House’s lawyers told McGinniss that he provided nothing more than “tawdry gossip” to substantiate “any of the salacious stories about the Palin family.” [...]