Blogs and Stories
Palin vs. The Power Girls
Couric's unmasking of Sarah Palin was not just a service to the nation, it was a tonic to the professional pride of American women still sore about losing Hillary as a presidential role model. The whole Palin reality show-firecracker debut, flameout, and debate comeback-has been a complicated psychic passage for aspirational American women, Democrats included. However appalled many Dem women were by her views, when Palin came out guns blazing at the Republican Convention, there was a kind of exhilarating hormonal supercharge that excited guilty admiration. At 8:30 in the morning after her Convention speech I ran into the unlikely focus group of a bunch of working Brearley School moms in a Madison Avenue coffee shop. "She's fabulous!" they chorused. "I hate her! But she's fabulous!!" I have to say that I too loved Palin's Ethel Merman star turn, especially when she said that special needs kids would have a friend at the White House and the cameras cut to Cindy McCain gazing down at challenged baby Trig Palin like the Pieta.
Then came Katie and the interview we can summarize here as Putin Invaded My Airspace and Ate My Homework. Dem women's political relish at Palin's brazen vacuity was marred by a morbid sense that somehow they all shared in the gender disgrace of her performance. It was the double insult of it all. First Hillary gets trashed and discarded and her whole voter base is made to feel like a bunch of saggy old feminists in 60 denier support hose. Then Palin's answers to Couric's probing questions declares that the show she belonged on was not the CBS Evening News but Fox's own Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?
I'm inclined to think that intense sisterly embarrassment accounted for a good chunk of the emotional buildup to the debate and helps explain why 35 million of those unprecedented 70 million Americans tuned in to watch. (The other 35 just wanted to-well, just wanted to watch.)
A lot of the anticipatory tension was not just about partisan politics or the quiz show element of whether Palin would mispronounce Ahmadinejad (she nailed it, several times) but whether she could redeem herself to members of her own sex as a bona fide power gal. Which she kinda sorta did-alongside solidifying herself with the west-of-the-Hudson, east-of-the-Rockies "base" while not doing so well that she stoked the fears of those who worry that, if we be so unblessed, she might actually wind up president of the United States.
The strange thing was that after it was over the same Dem women who were enraged by the Couric interview could now shrug about Palin more or less getting away with it. The formerly larger than life Governor of Alaska, they could see, had comfortably settled in to a new, less threatening role as the GOP populist charm operative and sex symbol and therefore could be discounted. That could be a mistake, though. It's still possible that the fetching image of a swimsuit contest has greater resonance to voters than the For Sale sign on their house. Heh.
P.S. Maybe while Shelly Mandell's working on Palin's issues she could also work on the executive suite of NBC and save Meet the Press after Tom Brokaw throws it in. They ought to drop the lame idea of rotating a bunch of boys' club network bets like Chuck Todd and David Gregory and go all out to spring Couric from her CBS contract. And if they can't get Katie, snatch Greta Van Susteren away from Fox News. The ferociously well-briefed former attorney has been the No. 1 woman in cable news for 14 years. In her six and a half years at Fox she has consistently won her 10 p.m. time slot against CNN and MSNBC despite a staff of only 12 and a marketing budget of zero. (Post-debate she was 200,000 ahead of the also-ran, the aggressively marketed Anderson Cooper of CNN.) Now that would be a triumph for professional women: for a tough dead-aim broad like van Susteren to be hold court in Washington rather than those swimsuit "strategists" that keep popping up on cable news.
Bringing Down Bachmann
Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
America's Hot Jobs (and Not Jobs)
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Nicolas Cage, Compulsive Spender
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
Hillary Finally Doffs Her Burqa
Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
Philip Roth Unbound
Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
The Daily Beast Video curates the most essential and entertaining video, and brings you original and exclusive productions from our talented contributors.
Philip Roth Unbound: The Full Interview
Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
The Daily Beast Video curates the most essential and entertaining video, and brings you original and exclusive productions from our talented contributors.
Palin is an reflection of a majority of Americans; she's litigious, vindictive, evangelical and martyr prone. The pathological strains matter much more than whether or not she'll make it to the white house.
Tina, never seen you before. You're pretty cute yourself.
If McCain had chosen Tina Brown as a running mate, I would vote for the Democrats.
I think that Katie Couric may have actually saved the world
forgetting palin for a minute, i love the idea of greta or katie taking over meet the press; even rachel maddoe would be a good choice. unfortunately, except for charlie rose, none of the other msm talking heads know how to listen and ask the good follow up question. tim russert really was in a class by himself.
Rachel Maddow would be much better on "Meet the Press." But I do give props to Katie for her Palin interviews.
The women of the Left is absolutely terrified of Sarah Palin. She is smart, beautiful, Republican, and their husbands are in love with her.
I never once took Katie Couric's interview seriously ... with editing these days, you cannot believe anything the msm puts on the air.
I was ready to vote for McCain while holding my nose, but now I am so ready for McCain/Palin to take over the White House in 2009!
i have become more and more nervous as the mating dance of John McCain and Sarah Palin has played out on the national stage. Their mutual eye massages (and messages), her splayed hands across his back when they hug, his protective he-man strutting. The body language connection they each have with their respective spouses looks grim, cold, dutiful. His delight in the good fortune of discovering a worshipping fire-cracker that might both feed the huge sucking ego- vaccum and the image he cultivates has sparked him from eyes to toes. She clearly knows the sexual equivilant of the fisherman's tricks: purposeful baiting and reeling. Her indomitable delight in the lucky discovery of both a vessel and a venue to "shore up" the acent that might feed her ambitions. Unfortunately this public woo-fest between the two means that their pride in appearances and protectionism of the obsessive posturing that accompanies the early stage of the sexual dance will take center stage.
TinaBrown, I am so happy to see you again. I loved your TV show. It was so far above the others.
Rachel Maddow can listen, be balanced (when necessary), and has an enormous depth of knowledge. I have followed her for a long time and think she would be great on Meet the Press because she will not let lies slip by. She calls them out, but with grace and humor.
Tina, why do you and all of the white journalists write as if all women were white and that only white women's responses to Sarah Palin matter? I'm a professional African American woman (with a Ph.D.) and a feminist., and I do not share the identification with Sarah Palin that is experienced by so many white women of various class backgrounds. NOT AT ALL!! I understand why she's appealing, but I do not identify with or root for her. Other women of color are left equally cold by her. (Like many Black women, however, I have always found Hillary Clinton impressive and inspiring.) Why not be a responsible journalist and note that all of the women you're discussing in this article are white women. Certainly the majority of Brearley mothers are white, and all are wealthy. Perhaps you assume that all "Power Girls" must be white. Please contact Oprah, she didn't get the memo. If that is your opinion, then please state it clearly and rename your article Palin vs. The White Power Girls. Again, as a woman of color, I am tired of being erased by journalists.
Tina:
I'm so pleased to see you back after that most-fabulous cable show you had on a few years ago.
You are right on the target about Palin, but I will not be swayed by her in any way. I'm a white middle-aged female with a need to have a woman only if she's intelligent enough to answer the questions!
wow, am I the only positive person here? Reading through these comments, all I see are a) she makes McCain strut like a peacock, b) she leaves me cold, and c) I liked Hillary better.
For Frozen61, calm down. Sounds like you are "frozen."
Why are all of you so darn scared of Sarah Palin? Frankly, a woman is raising five children has all the diplomacy and ball-busting experience she needs.
Everyone ... calm down about Sarah and start panicking over the possibility of Obama turning us into the People's Socialist States of America. There go your REAL freedoms!
"Now that would be a triumph for professional women: for a tough dead-aim broad like van Susteren to be hold court in Washington rather than those swimsuit "strategists" that keep popping up on cable news."
Apparently Tina hasn't seen Rachel Maddow in action!
Greta Van Susteren is a scientologist. She may win the rating wars but that alone makes me question her sanity.
Tina,
You couldn't be more right. Katie Couric may have saved the world.
How can anyone put Hillary & Palin in the same SENTENCE? Hillary is a Great Lady, who was done in by lousy political strategy. Sarah Palin is yet another Trojan Horse for Morons, put forth by the Republicans not to make the country better, but to distract, defame & slander anyone who runs against them. Maybe when she comes on stage, "Devil With the Blue Dress" should be playing...
... not quite Winnie Mandela eh ? - An African Perspective
It is so strange that Governor Sarah Palin has stirred up so much latent lefty hatred toward strong,successful women. Her accomplishments are not even acknowledged in any real way. What happened to civil discourse?
I love a cat fight.
Dear Tina, I am new to your website and have enjoyed reading several of the articles including your blog post. I disagree with you about the choice of Katie Couric for Meet the Press. Rachel Maddow at MSNBC would be a more plausible candidate to replace Tim Russert. Her PhD in Political Science and her Rhode Scholar background would rival George Stephanopoulos on ABC.
As for Sarah Palin I applaud her willingness to accept the offer John McCain made. My problem with the Republican VP candidate is that there were so many qualified Republican women I would have gladly supported. Kay Baily Hutchinson, Olympia Snowe, Elizabeth Dole and Condoleezza Rice.
As a woman I feel that Senator McCain has insulted my intelligence by selecting as his running mate a person with limited experience in national matters, laughable credentials in international relations, and a shallow knowledge of the issues threatening our country's stability, independence and sovereignty.
Sadly as you point out Sarah Palin is the current national champion of the MILF. Regardless of the outcome this November, she will be the 2012 Republican nominee. You betcha!
I only hope that you chose wisely for next election, in a recent past, twice you made the same mistake, turning the world in one big confusion. Palin its a sort of Bush in skirts, they both represent the worse of America, I hope that the average american can be capable of using his or her best judgement to chose with care, the next american war lord.
Palin is ridiculous, and the cynical and opportunistic selection of this highly impossible candidate for VP rules out McCain's judgement immediately. It's a loser.
I don't think Couric did anything any decent journalist should do when questioning Palin who has the stones to run for VP and would be an eyelash away from the Presidency. As for Tina Fey's satire, it's not a matter of being fair. The heart and soul of satire is to cut to the quick and exaggerate the absurd which Fey did brilliantly.
As for Brokaw he looked air brushed and out of it. He reminded me of my old aunt Becky. Follow up? What's that? Ifill was bad enough. This was boring and Brokaw did not move the time along which would have added pace and more pressing questions could have been answered
Either Greta,Rachel, or Katie would do a great job with Meet The Press. It's time for women to enter the Media Sandbox that has been male territory until now. We have seen what women can do in Media, Politics, and public life. It's time.
XLaura, you need to get some serious help. The women of the left are not terrified of Sarah Palin, they are terrified that an old man (who seriously may die in office) is standing for President of supposedly the greatest country in the world, and if he does die then a woman who can't run her own family (unplanned teen pregnancy is not a good thing for anyone) and who has no experience worth rattling a stick at, may become President.
Is that what you really want? Just because she is a woman! And your husband loves her. If he loved the woman next door would you vote for her too?
Shame on you and shame on all those Americans who are thinking the same. This is important folks, we are in a big mess (I am from the UK) and we need a real leader, not a winking dolly who can't even say what newspapers she reads, and won't even answer some questions (moderator I may not answer the way you want me to) It's not about the moderator stupid it's about answering the people you want to lead.
You were going to vote for McCain while holding your nose, guess that says it all. Lots of real thinking behind that statement. No wonder you love Sarah Palin - maybe you are her? Checked what the kiddies are up to lately?
Rachel Maddow would get my vote for Meet the Press - she's the best qualified, is whip-smart and a lot of fun.
As for Palin, she's old news already. Yawn.
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.