Palin feels exploited, blasts Couric and Fey

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In an interview with conservative John Ziegler, Sarah Palin lashed out at Katie Couric and Tina Fey for exploiting her during the campaign:

I did see that Tina Fey was named entertainer of the year and Katie Couric's ratings have risen. I know that a lot of people are capitalizing on, oh I don't know, perhaps some exploiting that was done via me, my family, my administration -- that's a little bit perplexing, but it also says a great deal about our society.

Right, because Fey and SNL have never targeted anyone else, Democrat or Republican. It was all about Palin -- she, and she alone, was their object of ridicule. Actually, I found SNL's treatment of Palin rather tame, and Fey, hardly some vicious comedian, brought an undeniable humanity to her characterization of Palin. It was funny, but it wasn't nasty. How did it exploit Palin any more than any other comedic impression of any other public figure?

And, right, because it was Couric's fault that Palin stumbled and bumbled her way through that interview. It's not like Couric was just luring Palin into gotcha moments, waiting in ambush with tricky questions to trip her up. Last time I checked, a vice presidential candidate ought to know a thing or two about, oh, say, the Constitution, or the economy. But she didn't seem to know much about anything, and the Couric interview exposed her as both a liar and an idiot, which is why it had such resonance during the campaign. Simply put, it exposed her for what she is, an unqualified extremist without much of a clue. And yet I found Couric's treatment of her, like Fey's, rather tame.

Palin wasn't ready for Prime Time, as the saying goes, and she certainly wasn't ready for Couric and Fey. Being lampooned on SNL simply comes with the territory, as do interviews with benevolent network anchors. But she didn't want to face any such scrutiny, comedic or otherwise, and she certainly didn't want to have to answer any tough questions. Which is why she preferred the friendly confines of partisan GOP rallies, where she could feed the frenzy of the mob, and one-on-ones with the likes of Sean Hannity, where smiles, approving nods, and right-wing banter allowed her to play well to the party's base.

Noam Scheiber has written that "Palin's resentment of elites was the key to understanding her." I tend to agree, though I would add that her ignorance and self-absorption -- that is, who she is, not just what she resents -- are very much the driving forces of her life, or at least seem to be.

Ultimately, to Sarah Palin, what happened in the election wasn't her fault, it was everyone else's: Couric's, Fey's, the Democrats', even McCain's. And instead of taking responsibility for herself, her response is to lash out at her enemies, real and perceived alike, claiming that she was exploited, that she was a victim, that "society" is against her.

She may find comfort in such delusion, but delusion is all it is.