Author next door stoops low in quasi-bio of Sarah Palin
Only a certain breed of political writer actively wants to become part of the story. Unless youre Hunter S. Thompson on the 1972 presidential campaign trail or one of a handful of others, the story is rarely well-served by the author being a participant rather than an observer.
But even the late, great Gonzo master may not have stooped to Joe McGinniss level in his new quasi-biography The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin.
McGinniss, as was widely publicized, is the author who had the audacity in the summer of 2010 to become neighbors with his subject Palin, the former Alaska governor, former Republican vice presidential nominee and, until recently, harborer of presidential ambitions.
With Palins recent announcement that she wont seek the Republican nomination for president, the book has become a smaller part of the national conversation. One feels the book was rushed to publication before the speculation ended.
Still, its notable for examining McGinniss very public decision to set up shop next to the familys home on Lake Lucille in Wasilla, Alaska. And its notable because Palin continues to wield considerable influence with a certain segment of the right-leaning populace through her speeches, punditry and general celebrity.
Palin, of course, might have expected a high level of scrutiny and lowered her privacy expectations. Thats par for the course for public officials.
But does par include having a nosy author live within shouting distance? McGinniss claims the house he rented from a friend is the nicest and cheapest available. But any way its equivocated, it was still an incendiary and antagonistic move on his part.
McGinniss maintains throughout the books 321 pages hes not trying to instigate. All he wants to do is watch the World Cup and cook salmon on his grill while simultaneously digging into Palins past as mayor of Wasilla. And though he swears up and down his intentions are entirely benign (and we have no reason to assume otherwise), its ! appearan ces that matter most in todays political climate.
Why give the self-proclaimed Mama Grizzly any to use some of her favorite terminology ammunition?
McGinnis unfairly gauges Palins apoplectic reaction on Fox News and elsewhere as some sort of indictment of her unstable reality.
Theres a rule among law enforcement against entrapment, which says police cannot unreasonably induce or persuade someone to commit a crime. The same principle should apply to authors against provoking their subjects. And, in the court of public opinion at least, McGinniss book has been widely criticized for this and other problems.
Readers should also be highly skeptical of McGinniss sourcing, with which he plays fast and loose.
In chapters alternating between background on Palin and the present-day firestorm McGinniss started, he lets the accusations against her stand seemingly without independent verification.
In a section about Palins son Track he quotes unnamed friends and the National Enquirer not exactly a bastion of unimpeachable journalism.
Speaking of the supermarket tabloid, nor does McGinniss shy away from spreading the type of salacious gossip that usually graces its pages.
McGinniss has little excuse other than to blame Palin for his predilection:
I dont like it Sarah is quick to denounce any comments made about her by unnamed sourcesbut its the reality Im faced with in the Valley in the summer of 2010; its the legacy Sarah has left behind.
He rehashes a lot of the same Palin scandals and famous gaffes that have been brought to public light already such as Troopergate in which the Palins allegedly tried to have the man divorcing Sarahs sister fired from his job as a state trooper.
The Troopergate imbroglio is worth examining in detail because Sarahs actions, and those of her husband on her behalf, expose so clearly the vengeful, obsessive nature of the person who lurks behind the mask of sexiness and chirpy insouciance.
McGinniss promises to gi! ve us th e real Sarah Palin, but there are many contradictory assessments of Palin and her family.
Palins perceived overt religiousness is either a shrewd political calculation or her true feelings. Shes either a God-fearing evangelical or a heathen who cant be bothered to find church services when traveling Outside Alaskans word for anything beyond the massive states borders.
Palins mothering skills come under intense criticism. And if theres one type of allegation a writer better absolutely 100 percent be sure of before printing its attacks on a womans mothering skills.
Palins husband, Todd, is either a maniacal control freak who can barely conceal his philandering ways or hes a dutiful dad who keeps the family functioning by covering for Sarahs shortcomings as a mom.
McGinniss was many decades ago a respected star of the so-called new journalism but that star seems to have dimmed.
McGinniss baiting the Palins by moving in next door, questionable ethics on sources and contradictory assessments detract attention from the real story here.
McGinniss, to his credit, actually does uncover some mildly interesting tidbits through dogged research of documents and named sources. This isnt a case of the gotcha or lamestream media going on a witch hunt. Its just sloppiness.
But did we need McGinniss to find the real Sarah Palin for us in the first place? Probably not. Few people are on the fence about her today. But now maybe we know the real Joe McGinniss.
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