The race is heating up indeed. Well, CNN anchor, Campbell Brown, is calling the McCain campaign out for sexism in its treatment of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. “Bear with me for a short rant,” Brown said at the start of a blistering editorial Tuesday, before demanding that the McCain campaign “free (Palin) from the chauvinistic chains you’re binding her with.””Tonight, I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment . . . By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you’re not showing her the respect she deserves.” Hellooo! It is an insult to Gov. Palin that she is not allowed to hold a press conference or even take questions while she is on the campaign trail. What are they afraid of? Okay, I understand why Barack Obama is keeping Joe Biden on a short leash, but if Sarah Palin is such a “mover and shaker,” what is the McCain campaign afraid of?
When asked to respond to Brown’s biting critique Tuesday evening, McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers had no comment. Palin, however, will be making another network TV appearance this week — her third interview with a network, after ABC and FOX — as CBS News anchor Katie Couric interviews her for the evening news airing this evening.
Brown delivered her tirade after John McCain campaign aides tried to ban reporters from covering Palin’s much-touted meetings in New York with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the Ticket notes, and as the Swamp reported on Palin’s media-free zone as well..”Allow her to face down those pesky reporters, just like Barack Obama did today, just like John McCain did today, just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions,” Brown said, suggesting that Palin can hold her own against tough-minded reporters.
“This woman is from Alaska, for crying out loud,” she said. “She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And you claim she’s ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now.”
I wonder what repercussions Campbell Brown will face for her comments? At least she had the guts to do what the other media personalities did not. In early September, after the anchor clashed with McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds over Palin’s foreign policy credentials, the campaign cancelled McCain’s planned interview with Larry King, whose show also broadcasts on CNN. At the time, aides complained that Brown had gone “over the line” in her grilling of Bounds, who it was quite obvious, had no answer for what I consider a very simple question.
Here’s a complete transcript of Brown’s comments on Tuesday:
“But, first, bear with me for a short rant on another subject, because, frankly, I have had it. And I know a lot of other women out there are with me on this. I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin. It has to end.
She was here in New York City today meeting with world leaders at the U.N. And what did the McCain campaign do? They tried to ban reporters from covering those meetings. And they did ban reporters from asking Governor Palin any questions.
Tonight, I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment. This woman is from Alaska, for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And you claim she’s ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters, just like Barack Obama did today, just like John McCain did today, just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions. Let her have a real news conference with real questions.
By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you’re not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chains you’re binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So, let her act like one. We’re going to have more on Palin’s cloistered day coming up in just a moment.”
Filed under: Barack Obama, Campbell Brown, Joe Biden, John McCain, Sarah Palin
Black Political Thought 