Palin to be “Interviewed” on Hannity Next Week
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, January 14, 2011
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13 comments
Via The Caucus: Palin to Do TV Interview Monday
An executive at Fox News Channel said that Ms. Palin would appear on the program of the conservative host Sean Hannity, and that the interview was scheduled to run through several commercial breaks.
Considering that Palin is a Fox News Contributor (i.e., is employed by Fox and makes regular appearances on various programs), it is really an interview to sit down and talk to Sean Hannity?
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Dave Weigel puts it this way:
She’s going to be hannitzed (rhymes with ‘sanitized’).
I think it’s a mistake. She should lay low for a week or two, and then come back with a wholesome mom image.
I’d worry that this interview is too soon, and that she and her crew won’t be able to turn in from from the “engagement” that is really destructive to her image.
Who would you propose to interview her, Chris Matthews perhaps?
Maybe she could do an email exchange with Doug Mataconis.
“Who would you propose to interview her, Chris Matthews perhaps?”
That might not be a bad idea. At least it would show that she’s got the moxie to face her “adversaries” instead of taking refuge in a Faux News farce.
The simplest answer would be: anyone other than a Fox News personality.
It strikes me as impossible to call sitting down to chat with a co-worker an “interview.”
I think it’s a mistake. She should lay low for a week or two, and then come back with a wholesome mom image.
Why? The “interview” is designed to make her look perfect (and horribly, horribly victimized) and the only people who watch that crap are devoted followers anyway. She can’t lose.
Why?
I tried to type above that I thought “she and her crew won’t be able to turn in [time] from the ‘engagement’ that is really destructive to her image.”
I don’t care if Fox is friendly. It’s too soon after her video, and I don’t think she’ll be able to pull off making it “not about her.”
It’s too soon after her video, and I don’t think she’ll be able to pull off making it “not about her.”
But that’s my point. The people who will watch want it to be all about her and how she’s such a victim of mean liberals and the “lamestream media.” She and Hannity will deliver exactly what they want.
> Who would you propose to interview her, Chris Matthews perhaps
Why not? He has interviewed any number of national political figures.
It’s simple. Palin is afraid to work a room that is not 100% friendly. And given her past performances in interviews that should have been a cakewalk, her fears are justified. The woman can’t handle softballs, much less a few tough questions.
A FOX PAC interview of Palin doesn’t even qualify as “slow pitch” softball — it’s more akin to a game of T-ball.
If she wanted some credibility she should definitely choose someone other than Sean Hannity. Even if it was someone in the employ of Fox News, there are far more suitable candidates. Mara Liasson, Chris Wallace, etc… I am truly beginning to wonder if Palin will ever again conduct a serious interview after the Katie Couric debacle.
One presumes that she will have to if she actually runs, but perhaps not.