Fool Us Twice, Part II: The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks.
The Sarah Palin bait-and-switch, which I first blogged about here, continues.
First with sexism charges, just like with Miers:
Apparently realizing that the Sarah Palin rollout is going badly, the GOP is holding a series of press conferences here in St. Paul to push back.
Underway now is a presser with female GOP officials talking about the purported "smear campaign" against Palin. "The Republican Party will not stand by while Sarah Palin is subjected to sexist attacks," says McCain surrogate Carly Fiorina, comparing it to sexist comments endured by Hillary Clinton during the primary.
Then with outlandish claims of victimization by unnamed sources:
In an extraordinary and emotional interview, Steve Schmidt said his campaign feels "under siege" by wave after wave of news inquiries that have questioned whether Palin is really the mother of a 4-month-old baby, whether her amniotic fluid had been tested and whether she would submit to a DNA test to establish the child's parentage.
Arguing that the media queries are being fueled by "every rumor and smear" posted on left-wing Web sites, Schmidt said mainstream journalists are giving "closer scrutiny" to McCain's little-known running mate than to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
"News inquiries" by "mainstream journalists?" Is Schmidt too polite to name names? Too forgiving to point the finger at supposedly professional journalists following "every rumor and smear?" This quiet piety from the same campaign that canceled an interview with Larry King in retaliation for aggressive questioning?
All lies. No "mainstream journalist" asked him whether the amniotic fluid was tested.
Remember, no one knew Palin's daughter was pregnant. The campaign raised that issue specifically to create controversy. After requesting "privacy," both the daughter and the father of the child, whom the campaign named, will appear on stage at the convention.
Candidates do not seek privacy by disclosing their daughter's sex life and then parading her and her fiance on national television. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
I don't know how the Republicans can dump her - the religious right is too excited about her. So no matter what, I think she is on the ticket to stay.