The Optics of Palin’s Response
Posted: January 12, 2011 Filed under: politics | Tags: gabby giffords, sarah palin, v for vendetta Leave a comment »I don’t have much to say about the Gabby Giffords shooting that hasn’t already been said, but I’d like to focus on Sarah Palin’s full response to the shooting.
Putting aside the substance of her response, aren’t the optics very strange? Here you have an unelected yet enormously influential political leader accused, fairly or unfairly, of indirectly contributing to the attempted assassination of an elected official. Other than a very brief consolation issued the day of, this leader remains silent in the days following the shooting, despite calls for her to address the issue more formally, and respond to accusations that she played some sort of role. Finally, three days later, she issues…a video response?
Think about it: in the midst of a national tragedy, when politicians across the country are speaking out against violence on talk shows and book tours, and as the country itself is engaging in a national dialogue on the role that violent rhetoric plays in politics, this particular politician decides to stay holed up in her home state, geographically isolated from the rest of the country, and respond by video. Regardless of whether or not she wants to run for President, is this really a good way to connect with the American people?
Of course, a response in this medium is to be expected from Palin; it’s merely the logical extension of her current media strategy. And I think that’s why this new video strikes me as so weird: if anything, a sextuple homicide and the attempted assassination of a Congressperson should be enough to get Palin out of her shell. But it’s not. So what if there were a major terrorist attack on US soil, or some sort of cataclysmic natural disaster? Would Palin respond by staying in Alaska and issuing a video response?
I don’t necessarily mean to criticize her for this behavior. I just think it’s weird and slightly unsettling, because I can’t help but think of the totalitarian leader in “V For Vendetta,” who isolates himself from both the public and his fellow politicians, and only speaks via a large video feed focused squarely on his face.
