Media Lies About Sarah Palin Korea Comments (Global Hit on Palin)
Thursday, November 25, 2010 | Kristinn
Posted on Thursday, November 25, 2010 9:41:56 AM by kristinn
A hit piece by a liberal blogger about a slip of the tongue by Sarah Palin regarding the crisis on the Korean peninsula has become an international news story that is being spun to impugn Palin's credibility as a potential presidential candidate.
Palin has been dishonestly quoted out of context in dozens of articles and broadcast reports as saying on the Glenn Beck radio show on Wednesday, "We gotta stand with our North Korean allies."
Here, in context, is what Palin actually said (transcription by Kristinn):
Glen Beck: "Sarah you said, you said in the last few days that you are considering a run for president. And uh, polls show that you would probably win the Republican nomination. How would you handle a situation like just developed in, in North Korea?"
Palin: "Well, North Korea, this is stemming from I think a greater problem when we're all sittin' around asking, "Oh no, what are we gonna do?" and we're not having a lot of faith that the White House is gonna come out with a strong enough policy to, um, sanction what it is that North Korea is gonna do. So this speaks to a bigger picture here that certainly scares me in terms our national security policies. But obviously, gotta stand with our North Korean allies. We're bound to by, by treaty."
Beck: "South Korea."
Palin: "We're also bound by, yeah, we're also bound by prudence to stand with our, our South Korean allies. Yes. And, uh, you know to remind North Korea, well, we're not gonna reward bad behavior and we're not gonna walk away. And we do need to press China to do more to increase the pressure on North Korea."
The smear started with liberal blogger Oliver Willis who posted an entry with the title, AUDIO: Sarah Palin: "We Gotta Stand With Our North Korean Allies. The blog post did not transcribe Palin's interview with Beck, it just had a snarky comment, "Genius. Absolute genius. When Glenn Beck is correcting you on foreign policy, well… genius."
Willis included the audio clip in his post which this transcription is based on. As can be seen, it was a simple slip of the tongue. But, because of how Willis disingenuously framed it, the slip has become "truth" to once again be used to smear Palin as ignorant of foreign affairs.
The hit piece was picked up by Mediaite, a site founded by former MSNBCer Dan Abrams, which titled their hit piece, Sarah Palin - North Korean Allies.
Mediaite also posted the audio clip. But even with the evidence that the comment was clearly a slip of the tongue, Mediaite smeared Palin as ignorant by quoting her out of context rather than publishing the entire exchange with Beck.
For good measure, Mediaite brought back a previous smear of Palin that claimed in 2008 when she was selected to be John McCain's running mate she did not know Korea was divided between North and South.
The Weekly Standard came to Palin's defense last night with a piece that chided her critics for the smear.
That did not stop the smear from going global, however. A Google News search shows nearly one hundred articles accusing Palin of not knowing that South Korea is our ally.
Wire services, broadcast networks and newspapers across America and the globe have gleefully picked up the smear.
The BBC piled on today with an article that said, "Her slip of the tongue over North Korea will provide more ammunition for critics who say she doesn't have sufficient knowledge or experience for high office."
The Times of India headlined their article, Sarah Palin's Latest Verbal Gaffe - North Korea an Ally.
It is a testament to Palin's global reach and influence that such a simple slip would garner worldwide headlines and be used by her enemies here and abroad to smear her.
However, the truth must be told and the media once more shamed for their duplicitious reporting.