The 'Spiral of Silence'

It has been said by some that the press hasn't asked questions about Sarah Palin's pregnancy, as though the matter were taboo. When one reads what was reported in two widely read national newspapers at the time, one clearly gets a different impression.

On September 8, 2008, Howard Kurtz wrote in his "Piling on Palin" column at The Washington Post:

... When the McCain campaign announced last Monday that 17-year-old Bristol Palin is pregnant, there was no reason to avoid covering it, and it is one heck of a human interest story. But the reason the campaign went public is that national reporters were calling to ask about charges by an anonymous blogger on Daily Kos that the governor faked her own pregnancy and is actually the grandmother of 4-month-old Trig.

Campaign officials were deluged with questions from reputable news outlets about the governor's amniotic fluid, the timing of her contractions and whether she would take a DNA test to establish the baby's parentage, not to mention bogus charges about her son being a drug abuser. There's an important distinction here -- mainstream outlets have not given such rumors any credence -- but that is lost on frustrated McCain aides who have to ask Palin about each new line of inquiry. ...

And The New York Times' Monica Davey wrote on September 1, 2008, in "Palin Daughter’s Pregnancy Interrupts G.O.P. Convention Script:"

... The Palins’ statement arrived after a flurry of rumors had made their way through the Internet over the weekend, growing and blooming, it seemed, by the minute.

Some claimed that Ms. Palin had not actually given birth to Trig, but that Bristol had, and that the family had covered it up. Various Web sites posted photographs of Ms. Palin in the months leading up to his birth this year, and debated whether her physique might have been too trim for her stage of pregnancy. The McCain campaign said Ms. Palin announced Bristol’s pregnancy to stop the swirl of rumors.

Ms. Palin’s own pregnancy took Alaska by surprise this year. Even those who worked for her in the governor’s office said they were surprised. Her announcement, in March, was reported in The Anchorage Daily News, which noted at the time that Ms. Palin “simply doesn’t look pregnant.” ...

Reporters were asking questions; there was not a "spiral of silence," -- interestingly, a turn of phrase that itself rings of conspiracy: I am not sure whether some aren't projecting their own conspirational mindset onto journalists. Instead, the media didn't report that Sarah Palin faked a pregnancy because there wasn't evidence to write a story that she did. It's an interesting misconception -- perhaps perversion -- of journalists' responsibilities to believe that they should report rumor as fact.

Interestingly, both writers state that they were informed by the campaign that Bristol Palin's pregnancy was announced to stop the rumor that Sarah Palin was not the mother of Trig.

Conspiracy Theories

Kate Zernike of The New York Times writes, in "The Persistence of Conspiracy Theories:"

No sooner had President Obama released his long-form birth certificate than Orly Taitz, the doyenne of the “birther” movement, found reason to doubt it.

“A step in the right direction,” she said, even though it was precisely the document that many birthers had been demanding of the president. And then she argued that it was still subject to authentication.

Donald Trump, similarly bouffant, blond and politically inclined, likewise breezed past the new evidence of Mr. Obama’s citizenship, pausing only to take credit for forcing the release of the document before suggesting that the president was hiding something else — bad grades.

So much for Mr. Obama’s hopes of stopping the “silliness.”

To many, those who doubt Mr. Obama’s citizenship are driven simply by racial prejudice; they are unwilling to allow that America’s first black president could hold the office legitimately.

Many scholars of conspiracy theory agree. But they also note that such theories are hardly unique to Mr. Obama; they have a long history in the United States and elsewhere, coming from left and right, covering all sorts of subjects, political and otherworldly (the twin towers were not hit by airplanes; Paul is dead). And those who doubt Mr. Obama’s citizenship fit the mold of other conspiracy theorists: they don’t loose their grip on their beliefs easily, if at all. ...

Ms. Zernike describes some other conspiracy theories, then writes,

In a way, it is human nature to want to construct a narrative to resolve anxieties, to be drawn to mystery or the perception of it.

But the strong embrace of conspiracy theories is also embedded in the American experience. A fear of enemies — real and imagined, internal and external — defined those who forged this country. A place created as God’s country was bound to see the subversions of Satan behind every uncertain turn. ...

... What Richard Hofstadter called “the paranoid style in American politics” is encouraged by popular culture, in movies like “Birth of a Nation” and “The Da Vinci Code,” and by those whom Professor Goldberg [a history professor at the University of Utah and the author of “Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America.”] terms the “conspiracy entrepreneurs” — whether Glenn Beck or Jerome Corsi, who went from self-styled expert on John Kerry’s military record to self-styled expert on Barack Obama’s heritage. The Internet, where you never have to confront an idea you don’t like, allows these theories to grow deeper and wider. ...

Ms. Zernike's article is worth reading in its entirety, here, and Richard Hofstadter's essay, "The paranoid style in American politics," can be read, here, at Harpers Magazine, where it appeared in 1964.

Ms. Zernike makes the point that the "paranoid style" is not just an affliction of what Hofstadter called the "Radical Right" and isn't only seen in a political context.

Update: Hofstadter's essay is also featured in a collection of links at "The Paranoid Mentality."

Good News Roundup - Monday, December 27, 2010

Have you recovered from Christmas? I was in a Target store, yesterday, and it was packed with shoppers. They didn't seem to mind that Sarah Palin's new book wasn't on the shelves. That particular Target has an in-store fast-food restaurant. You can buy popcorn, sit on a stool at the front of the store and watch the cars and people go by through a big window. What a movie!


Some people can't quit obsessing over 2012. The Associated Press' Charles Babington has a reality check for Republicans:

WASHINGTON – When the news is written in D.C., it carries more weight, if you didn't already know. – This month's early, under-the-radar campaigning by potential Republican challengers to President Barack Obama is a reminder of something too easily forgotten: Running for president is harder than it looks, and Obama ultimately will stand against a flesh-and-blood nominee certain to make mistakes along the way.

Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and other possible GOP candidates stumbled over health care, taxes and other issues in December, even as Obama coped with the harsh political reality stemming from his party's "shellacking" in last month's elections.

No serious contender has officially launched a 2012 campaign. But with the Iowa caucuses less than 13 months away, at least a dozen Republicans are jockeying for position, speaking to groups throughout the country, writing op-ed columns and taking potshots at one another.

As all politicians – except Sarah Palin – learn, the more deeply they delve into contested issues, the likelier they are to stumble. ...

... Other potential GOP challengers, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, kept fairly low profiles this month. But it's clear the 2012 race is under way, even if unofficially.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Palin's and Romney's criticism of the New START treaty with Russia and the compromise bill on tax cuts, both supported by Obama.

Americans want Washington politicians to solve big problems by finding common ground, he responded. ...

President Obama is unpopular?

For the third straight year, President Barack Obama ranks as the man most admired by people living in the U.S., according to an annual USA Today-Gallup poll.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most-admired woman for the ninth year in a row, edging out former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and TV host Oprah Winfrey, as she did last year. ...

Speaking of movies, I saw two yesterday. Tell No One is about a conspiracy that seems to hold water, that is, it's plausible. A man believes his wife was murdered. Eight years later the case is reopened and he's suspected of killing his wife (and others). I won't spoil it for you, but if you watch the Blu-ray, you should know there may be a "setup" option to get English dialog rather than subtitles. It is a French movie. On the other hand, Con Air was completely implausible, even though a lot of stuff got blown up and they crashed the plane spectacularly on the Vegas strip (after they had crashed it earlier, in the desert): The prisoners were able to carry out their plan to hijack the plane, in large part, because the authorities were forbidden from carrying guns aboard the plane (full of criminals). Imagine that! Yet you can see Air Marshals aboard commercial flights carrying guns all the time.

Can Sarah Palin Dance?

Last Saturday, I opened a new front in the war on Sarah Palin by questioning her ability to dance.

This picture purports to show her dancing at her inaugural ball in 2007; however, we still aren't certain she can dance.

The picture is but one moment out of the many moments that comprise Sarah Palin's life. Unless we see additional photo evidence, we cannot be sure that she was actually in motion -- dancing -- when the picture was taken. And we would like a lot of other information about any pictures that may appear: camera make, focal length of the lens, distance from camera to subject, camera angle, lighting ... the list goes on.

Of course, Sarah must have been irked by our doubts. Now she may be scheming to prove she can dance by showing us video. How? By dancing on Dancing With the Stars!

Yes! In "Will Another Palin Go 'Dancing' Next Season?" I was amazed to read:

Sources tell me that Sarah Palin had such a fantastic not-booed-at time on 'Dancing With The Stars' Monday night that she's itchin' to return to the ballroom herself next season.

"Sarah was overwhelmed with what a great time she had at the show," an insider who was at the show tells me. "In fact she enjoyed herself so much that she mentioned to producers who greeted her that she would be open to competing herself next season."

But until we see it, we'll remain doubtful that she can dance.

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Afterword

Fight fire with fire: one conspiracy theory with another?

It happened serendipitously. I doubted Sarah could dance out of mean-girl orneriness. After I hit 'Publish Post,' I remembered that there was a picture of her dancing at the inauguration, so I posted it in the comments, along with a babygate-style argument.

"Babygate" is a dead issue. Its loss may disappoint, even anger, some, especially Sarah Palin. It was her oxygen: whether she talked about it or her enemies did, it rallied her fans.

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Conspiracy Theorists Gone Wild!

Breaking news! Protestants conspired to assassinate President Kennedy! Here is the screencap from the comments of palingates' post of 10:00 P.M. (Central European Time) of July 30, 2010:

(Click the screencap for an enlargement)

For those of you who may not know, John F. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic president of the United States.

Wikipedia's John F. Kennedy assassination entry links to its John F. Kennedy's assassination conspiracy theories entry. There are several theories there, but Kathleen Palingates' post is the only place I've read that the assassination was carried out by protestants! We learn something new, everyday, don't we?