While continuing to avoid stories on Climategate, the AP is focused on creating “news” where none exists.
In an article on Sunday, the AP attempts to be the first to announce that Sarah Palin is running for the Republican nomination for President. They conflate Palin’s book tour appearance in Iowa with a confirmation that she is running for the nomination. They do this on one simple argument; because Iowa is the first State to have a caucus for the nominations and Sarah Paling is in Iowa, she must be running for President.
The AP tries to bolster their assertion that Palin is running for President by getting a comment from a “Veteran Republican activist” to chime in. Says Tim Albrecht:
politicians don’t just happen to stop in Iowa and Palin must know that her visit is seen as a signal she is considering a run.
Mr. Albrecht was previously National Director of Communications for the American Future Fund which does fine work on conservative issues. However, Mr. Albrecht does live in Iowa. Not that living in Iowa is bad, Mrs. Shoe and I lived there ourselves for a couple of years. My point is that when living in a state, people have a way of thinking that that state is the center of the universe especially if it happens to have a claim to fame that is coincidental to the topic being discussed. To conclude that Sarah Palin is running for President because she has a book tour stop in Iowa would be like Sarah Palin being at her book signing in Minnesota wearing a plaid, flannel shirt and when asked what I thought she was going to do next, I answer “she’s going ice fishing!”
Hey, AP, while the obvious eludes you, it’s apparent that jumping to conclusions doesn’t! How about this line of reasoning: Sarah Palin is trying to sell books. To do this, she is on a book tour to meet, greet and sell her books. Her publicist has chosen several states and sites that they believe Sarah’s appearance would have a large impact on awareness for the book. While Palin will sell books in all states, there is no secret that her appeal is higher in red states or states who lean towards small government ideals. Believe it or not, Iowa fits that description.
The AP could use a bit of sage advice that I heard years ago: If you hear clip clop, clip clop behind you, it would be silly to assume that if you turn, you will see a zebra. It’s much more likely that it will just be a horse!
