Hoist by their own petard

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The media’s relentless chase for Sarah Palin’s emails has backfired so much that their release will end up helping her rather than harming her. The 13,000 missives show the former Alaskan governor to be “idealistic, conscientious, humorous, and humane,” says Britain's Telegraph.

Toby Harnden, the website’s U.S. editor, says the release of the messages seems likely to leave Palin’s reputation “considerably enhanced.”

“One can only assume that the left-leaning editors who dispatched teams
Sarah Palin, emails, Toby Harnden, Pete Rouse, Obama
of reporters to remote Juneau, the Alaskan capital, to pore over the emails in the hope of digging up a scandal are now viewing the result as a rather poor return on their considerable investment,” Harnden writes.

Among the emails that make Palin look good, he points out, is one from May 2007 where she insists that all alcohol in the governor’s mansion should be removed because teens visiting during prom and graduation season may be tempted.

Another shows her willing to meet Pete Rouse, a Senate official who had lived in Alaska, even though an adviser told her, “He’s now chief of staff for a guy named Barack Obama.”

Harnden says, “The email release could mark the end of a chapter of what conservatives have termed ‘Palin Derangement Syndrome.’ Her enemies in the media appear to have overplayed their hand.”

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American Way: Sarah Palin email frenzy backfires on her media antagonists

The trove of more than 13,000 emails detailing almost every aspect of Sarah Palin’s governorship of Alaska, released late on Friday, paints a picture of her as an idealistic, conscientious, humorous and humane woman slightly bemused by the world of politics.

One can only assume that the Left-leaning editors who dispatched teams of reporters to remote Juneau, the Alaskan capital, to pore over the emails in the hope of digging up a scandal are now viewing the result as a rather poor return on their considerable investment.

If anything, Mrs Palin seems likely to emerge from the scrutiny of the 24,000 pages, contained in six boxes and weighing 275 pounds, with her reputation considerably enhanced. As a blogger at Powerline noted, the whole saga might come to be viewed as “an embarrassment for legacy media”.

Mrs Palin, who suddenly resigned as Alaska governor in July 2009, is no longer a public official. She holds no position in the Republican party. Despite the media hubbub that surrounds her every move, she is unlikely to be a candidate for the White House in 2012.

She is, however, viewed with a kind of horrified fascination by many in the media, who faithfully records everything she says and does while at the same time decrying her as ignorant and even evil.

Whether or not she runs for the White House – and the solid consensus among Republican leaders is that she won’t – the scramble over the Palin emails confirms her status as a pivotal figure in the race to challenge President Barack Obama next year.

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