THE KEY TO LIFE IS KNOWING WHEN TO SHUT UP

Is it just me or does it seem that Ms. Sarah Palin has put her foot in her mouth so many times lately that even her staunchest supporters may have to step away from the former Governor for fear of media backlash? The unprecedented adversarial relationship Palin has anti-nurtured with the American press is stunning, largely because Palin continues to fan the flames. The latest? A blogger named Gryphen on his The Immoral Minority blog reported last weekend that Palin and former first dude Todd were divorcing. Naturally, the Palin camp quickly issued a denial. After publicly refuting the rumor, if you were Palin, wouldn’t you distance yourself from the rumor? Downplay it, even ignore it and maybe it will fade out when the next big thing hits the digital wires. But not our Sarah. Instead, she decided to come forward to publicly threaten to serve Gryphen with libel papers at the kindergarten where he works. Oh Sarah. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.

This comes just days after Palin delivered her rambling, disjointed buh-bye speech from the state Capitol in Alaska. This is the speech in which she bragged about not having any plan for her life after July 26, and then somehow drew parallels between men in uniform and media professionals. “Our troops are willing to die for you,” she tells the members of the press. Huh? Listen, if you haven’t seen this, you need to. Watch:

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In the world of journalism, in addition to the quest for accuracy, there is one cardinal rule: Once the reporter becomes the story, the story itself is sullied. That means that reporters have to do all things possible to keep the focus off of themselves and on the information being reported. Likewise, politicians need to present a steady presence that keeps the public’s attention on the issues, and not on the personalities debating them. Palin broke the rule, and now she is paying the price. She has become an American punch line. You need proof? Watch actor William Shatner turn Palin’s affected verbosity into 1950s beat poetry:


I rest my case.