CALL FOR PAPERS – Hockey Mom or Sarah Barracuda? Addressing the Media Coverage of Sarah Palin

“The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”
–Sarah Palin, Republican National Convention

FLOWTV: CALL FOR PAPERS

In light of the overwhelming surge of discourse following John McCain’s selection of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, the editors of FlowTV invite submissions dealing with the media treatment, reaction, and handling of Gov. Palin as a politician, a woman, a “Hockey Mom,” a wife, an Alaskan, and a Conservative. We hope the following quotes serve as a jumping off point – what we view as some of the most poignant examples of the recent media treatment – but we encourage submissions to look to viral video, spoofs, celebrations, editorials, Facebook status updates, blog entries, and myriad other sources of coverage.

Submissions should be between 1000-1500 words. Because of the topicality of the particular subject, we welcome submissions as soon as possible, and no later than September 30th. While we seek neither diary entries nor diatribes, submissions need not be overly formal or academic, and we encourage the incorporation of images and video. Additionally, we encourage alternative perspectives from students, non-Americans, bloggers, etc.

Please send submissions and inquiries to Anne Petersen, Co-Coordinating Editor.

Palin at the Republican National Convention

A Smattering of Recent Quotes Concerning Govenor Palin:

“In choosing Palin, McCain may also have changed the course of history as much as Ike did with his choice of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan did with his choice of George H.W. Bush. For should this ticket win, Palin will eclipse every other Republican as heir apparent to the presidency and will have her own power base among lifers, evangelicals, gun folks and conservatives – wholly independent of President McCain.

A traditional conservative on social issues, Palin has become, overnight, the most priceless political asset the movement has. Look for the neocons to move with all deliberate speed to take her into their camp by pressing upon her advisers and staff, and steering her into the AEI-Weekly Standard-War Party orbit.”
-Patrick Buchanan, “Johnny’s Got a New Girl,”World Net Daily

“I know, I know: Sarah Palin is receiving rosy plaudits for her speech last night. She is being heralded as the savior of the GOP, someone with enough moxie to sustain the party’s unholy alliance between the oil plutocrats and the oily preachocrats. Many pundits in reviewing her polished performance claim to see an unflappable and gung-ho winner on stage. My honest-to-goodness visceral reaction was quite otherwise. What I saw on that stage was the personification of small-minded smugness, an utter lack of humility, a kind of self-righteous entitlement based on little more than puffed-up narrowness.”
— John Seery, “The Face of Ugly Americanism,” The Huffington Post

“Because Ferraro grabbed at the chance, without revealing to Mondale’s incompetent vetting team how damaging some of her husband’s financial imbroglios could be, she went from being a female icon to part of the reason it’s taken a quarter-century for another party to take a chance on a woman. When McCain gets in trouble, he pulls out the P.O.W. card. Now Republicans are pulling out the sexist card. Hillary cried sexism to cover up her incompetent management of her campaign, and now Republicans have picked up that trick. But when you use sexism as an across-the-board shield for any legitimate question, you only hurt women. And that’s just another splash of reality.”
— Maureen Dowd, “Life of Her Party,” The New York Times

“I think this is pertinent because McCain has been running this campaign based on ‘we’re at war, it’s a dangerous world out there. The democrats don’t get that. I, John McCain, am the only one standing between the blood-thirsty Al Qaedas and you. But if I die, this stewardess can handle it.'”
–Bill Maher, Real Time with Bill Maher

“If Internet search traffic is any indication, Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin is the hottest thing going – in more senses than one. Time.com blogger Bill Tancer reports that the search term “sarah palin” generated more hits in a mere two days than any other political figure in the past three years. Right this second, the keyword phrase “sarah palin hot pictures” is one of the top-ranking entries on Google’s constantly updated list of top search trends.”
David Emery, Urban Legends Blog

“She’s smart, she’s honest, she’s conservative, she’s smoking hot. Perfect basically.”
–Facebook Group “Sarah Palin: Govenor [sic] I’d Like to F***”

A FINAL WORD

We at FlowTV are dedicated participants in the democratic process, and we hope to publish a politically unbiased product. By no means do we intend to put forth articles that bash, trash, or deride Palin or any other politician or political view. Instead, our hope is that analysis will encourage a more thorough understanding how the media influences our reception and consumption of American politics.

Image Credits
1. US Weekly Cover
2. Sarah Palin at the RNC
3. Sarah Palin waves to supporters
4. Front Page