Yesterday I watched Sarah Palin on Newsnight and felt a bit sorry for the BBC. The segment was introduced by an old favourite of mine, Jeremy Paxman, and I expected him to be very sarcastic. Perhaps he was under orders to behave himself, so he just made a passing joke using the Shakespearean word "refudiate."
Jackie Long was in Alaska for the duration of the Iron Dog race. She interviewed Sarah at the start of the race and many other people on different occasions. She also attended a Tea Party meeting. The transcripts of her interviews with Sarah Palin and with Sally and Chuck Heath were posted on the BBC website and discussed on Immoral Minority. Sarah Palin complained about the media (what else?), including this:
"It's not all you guys, but some of you are saying that Trig is not mine - that's a sign of a screwed-up media. Would you be offended if someone said your child wasn't your child? It's offensive."
The funniest thing Palin said:
"Our family is pretty thick-skinned."
Chuck and Sally went on and on about the safety of the family and strangely enough, Sally did a lot of the talking. This video shows Chuck talking about their concerns:
"As a mother I do have concerns about her safety and that of the kids... she knows how I feel, that it's risky."
Chuck looked strangely bloated. His upper lip seemed swollen and his eyes were mere slits. He had this sign on the outside wall of his garage:
Jackie also interviewed Sarah Palin's good friends Bob & Mark (of "Lyda Green is a cancer" fame). They sang her praises, of course. She also interviewed another conservative radio guy (I didn't catch his name) and he said something like this: "Sarah Palin was not a good governor, she did nothing for Alaska and will never be qualified to be president in a million years."
Shannyn Moore also made an appearance and was asked about Sarah Palin's children. Shannyn said Sarah herself put her children out there, using them as props at every single opportunity, parading Trig around Lion King style. Her final words: "It was Sarah Palin who put her children in harm's way."
The Tea Party meeting was interesting. Jackie asked who was the best candidate to represent them and they made noises about small government candidates, etc, so she asked for a show of hands of who would vote for Sarah Palin and a few reluctant hands went up. Jackie charitably put the number as one third.
Some guys at a shooting range praised Sarah for defending their Second Amendment rights, but one of them shook his head saying that she abandoned them as governor...
The segment closed at the end of the Iron Dog in Fairbanks. Jackie Long tried to approach Sarah Palin but she was very rude, brushing Jackie aside: "No politics today!" Perhaps she realised that she spoken too much the first time and decided to keep her mouth shut for a change. Sarah sported her hair in a big updo and the streaks made her look like a croos between Cruella de Vil and Cinderella's wicked stepmother.
I don't quite understand why the BBC went through the expense of flying a crew to Alaska when there's very little interest in Sarah Palin in the UK. She features in political satire programs, like Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week, but Newsnight was the first serious program to dedicate nearly half an hour to her. The mind boggles...
Older footage of Chuck Heath's home and interview may be seen HERE.