Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on December 6, 2009

Sarah Palin talking with wounded soldier in hospital

“When you know to laugh and when to look upon things as too absurd to take seriously, the other person is ashamed to carry through even if he was serious about it.” Eleanor Roosevelt, just like Sarah Palin, had her fair share of critical attacks. Of course, there was a Great Depression going on then and the Internet didn’t exist until after Al Gore invented it.

Sarah Palin was a speaker at last night’s Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington, DC, and was, as I think she would likely say, “a real hoot.” Will her charming humor, poking fun at herself and others, make left-wing journalists despise her less, make them be less likely to write groundless fabrications and vicious critiques about her and her family?

No, despite what Eleanor Roosevelt might have thought about using humor. I have read that many left-wingers not only hate Palin with every fiber in their statist bodies, but many have wished her to be ruined financially, violently raped, or assassinated… and they write or do stand-up “comedy” about it with glee. Expecting a shred of humanity from these cretins would be like expecting Al Gore to give up his precious Oscar for his fallacious An Inconvenient Truth and the exploding ClimateGate scandal of falsified, tweaked, cherry-picked AGW data.

But Palin isn’t trying to impress or woo the media, she never has. She has only wanted them to be fair and honest, two qualities that elude most of her critics. Palin’s natural humor, her remarkable grace under fire, has been impressing mainstream America, as shown by the record-breaking book sales Going Rogue is enjoying and by the long lines of people showing up wherever she attends a book signing. Even members of the left-wing media have tried to grab onto Palin’s coattails (right, Andrea Mitchell?) to help breathe life into their sagging viewership.

As the left-wing media and politicians continue to try to humiliate and destroy her, Sarah Palin has proven time and again that she isn’t afraid of them and has never compromised her conservative values. Her natural speaking-off-the-cuff style isn’t polished (but neither is Obama’s, unless he has a teleprompter), which has prompted Palin’s critics to attack her for a seeming lack of intelligence (but ignore all of Obama’s verbal screw-ups and stammerings). And for those who think she’s dumb, well, it shows tremendous courage and intelligence to poke fun at yourself.

Something Obama just can’t seem to do.

Palin’s got class… another obvious deficit in POTUS’s puny arsenal.

From Dave Cook at CS Monitor: Sarah Palin: What she said at Gridiron dinner:

Sarah Palin served up 11-1/2 minutes of gentle gibes aimed at Democrats, the media, the McCain campaign, and herself during an appearance at Saturday evening’s Gridiron12 dinner in Washington.

Ms. Palin’s powerful impact as a cultural figure and potential future presidential candidate was much in evidence at the black tie event. The club’s winter dinner is usually a low key, off-the-record affair. This year’s dinner, featuring Palin and liberal Rep. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts as speakers, drew 195 journalists and spouses, roughly double the number who attended last year. The Gridiron Club’s members are veteran reporters and bureau chiefs.

In a nod to the intense media interest in Palin, the Gridiron Club’s board dropped a 100 year old rule – often violated – that comments made at the dinner were off the record and could not be reported. Instead, twittering was allowed, although not during speeches or songs. Palin tweets herself and noted in her dinner remarks that she had “the Twitter thing going.”

Palin was surrounded by reporters at the pre-dinner reception held on an evening when Washington was in the midst of an early snow storm. The former Alaska governor was dressed in a stylish black dress and carried what she told Chicago Sun Times correspondent Lynn Sweet was a purse made from an otter.

The appearance was a family affair. Todd Palin sat at the head table, and during her talk Palin called out to her parents who stood at the back of the ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel and waved to the crowd. Palin quipped that her mom and dad “crashed the party.”

On the political front, Palin said that “if the election had turned out differently, I could be the one overseeing the signing of bailout checks and Vice President Biden could be on the road selling his book “Going Rogaine.” Biden is known for many things but not a full head of hair.

While Palin was not specific about her political plans, she noted that on Sunday she would be at a book store in Iowa, which is an influential proving ground for presidential candidates. “Come early, long lines are expected,” she said.

From Politico: Palin cracks wise at Gridiron dinner:

The Gridiron Club’s usually low key winter meeting was anything but this year as the politician who’s defined herself in opposition to Washington elites and the mainstream media stood before the Washington media elite.

A crowd of 195 — about double the average attendance of Gridiron members and their guests — came to hear Palin along with Rep. Barney Frank, a liberal, openly gay Democratic congressman from Massachusetts.

Palin, in a smart black suit with what appeared to be a fur-lined purse, showed up to burnish her political credentials after a stop in Fairfax for her nationwide tour to flog her bestselling book, “Going Rogue.” Frank was also in full biographical dress: “Barney Frank: The Story of America’s Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman,” by Stuart Weisberg was published in September.

[...]

Addressing the crowd of journalists, the former Alaska governor poked fun at the penchant of political reporters to leaf through campaign book indexes to find their names, noting that she decided to skip the index on her book.

So, at her 11-minute speech at the dinner, she created one: “A: Alaska, media not understanding it, page 1-432.

“B: Biased, Page 1-432.”

But Palin also took the opportunity to take a few shots at her running mate from last year, and also her Democratic rival.

“The view is so much better inside the bus than under the bus,” she said, neatly putting together a reference to her book tour and a crack at the former ticket mate.

The last quote supplied by Lynn Sweet is my favorite.

From Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times: Sarah Palin at the Gridiron Dinner takes shots at self, journos:

I’m taking a quick break from the dinner to file this, so I’m not ready to say yet if she has given one of those speeches that turned around her image. But in her 11 minute, 36 second speech, she did no harm to herself. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) speaks in about 15 minutes.

Some of Palin’s lines:

“You betcha. Who talks that way?”

On deciding to speak to the Gridiron Club “Sometimes you just got to trust your instincts. And when you don”t, you end up in places like this.”

“At least now I can put a face to the newspapers I do read.”

“It’s good to be here though, really, in front of this audience of leading journalists and intellectuals, or as I like to call it, a death panel.”

On being on the same program as Frank, “And I’m the controversial one?”

Sidenote: This week’s New York Times Bestsellers List for Nonfiction… Palin’s Going Rogue is Number 1.

Additional:
My Way News: Palin pokes fun at herself at journalists’ dinner
Another Black Conservative: Approval Numbers: Palin vs. Obama. Reality asserts itself
ArgusLeader.com: People lining up to see Sarah Palin
Motor City Times: Sarah Palin At Gridiron Club: “The View Is So Much Better From Inside The Bus Than Under It”
Half-Baked Sourdough: How To Tweak A Liberal
Chicago Sun-Times: Sarah Palin at the Gridiron Dinner. Excerpts, Photos
Chicks On The Right: Martha Stewart Is Not A Palin Fan
I Hate the Media: Hah! Convicted felon thinks Sarah Palin is dangerous
Lisa Graas: Book Review: Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue – Strength in Adversity
LA Times: Going berserk over ‘Going Rogue;’ Democrats’ reaction to Sarah Palin book and publicity
Nice Deb: Desperately Seeking Sarah
Michelle Malkin: Quote of the day and It’s official: Atlantic magazine blogger suffers Palin-Induced Psychosis and The more offensive Newsweek photo of Sarah Palin
Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. Tata, Big Hollywood: REVIEW: ‘Going Rogue’ Reveals Palin’s Ready to Lead
Flopping Aces: Need More Evidence That The Left Fears Sarah?
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Fort Bragg Loves Sarah Palin, Also Visits Rev. Billy Graham (video) and FIFY: Hey, Newsweek… Fixed Your Palin Cover for You. You’re Welcome. UPDATE: Newsweek Stole Photo from Runner’s World… Uh, Oh and Palin’s Still Under Their Skin… How Many Fact-Checking Editors at AP Scrutinized Either of Obama’s Books? Rush Limbaugh’s Take on Palin’s Book (video) and Reagan and Palin: Two Demonized Peas in a Pod (video) and Palin Power: Sarah Palin Turns the DNC into Prissy, Flaky, Lying High School Girls… “No BFFs on Facebook, ‘K?” (video) and So Many Sarah Palin Music Video Tributes Created by Fans… Who Knew? Still Looking for Those Elusive Nancy Pelosi Music Tributes and Olbermann to Ziegler: You Have a Crush on Sarah Palin — Ziegler to Olbermann: $100,000 to Debate Palin-related Issues (video)
Hot Air: Bush strategist: Don’t write off Sarah Palin for 2012

Gateway Pundit: Sarah Palin Tells Obama to Boycott Copenhagen in Light of Climategate and 4,000 Rain-Soaked Fans Line Up to Meet Sarah Palin at Fort Bragg (Video) and Newsweek Illegally Obtained Palin Photo For Sexist Cover and State-Run Media Trots Out 19 Year-Old Porn Star to Rain On Palinpalooza and Sarah Palin Goes Rogue– Slams Newsweek For Their Sexist Hit Piece and David Brooks on Sarah Palin: “She’s a Joke” (Video) and Sarah Palin Bashes McCain Staffers– Blames Campaign For Couric Debacle
VotingFemale Speaks!: Sarah Palin is The One and Why Sarah Palin resigned is now becoming clear to the Socialists, and why they are so utterly fearful
Texas for Sarah Palin: 1,800 gather at Alabama store for chance to see Sarah Palin
NewsBusters: Four Days After Airing Fake Photos of Sarah Palin, MSNBC ‘Fact Checks’ Former Governor
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Pigs Fly: Media Matters Gets It Right On Palin Newsweek Cover
GayPatriot: Will the media’s PDS never end? and No nanny-stater she; Sarah Palin understands meaning of freedom and Did AP Ever Do a Fact Check On Obama’s Books? and MSM: Handmaiden to Obama Campaign in Attempt to Destroy Palin
Sister Toldjah: Palin visits NC, meets Rev. Billy Graham, and receives huge welcome in Fort Bragg
HillBuzz: Anticipating Sarah Palin Going Rogue
The Lonely Conservative: Martha Stewart: Sarah Palin is very dangerous
Roger Stone, Big Government: McCain Aides on Palin Grow Tedious
Radio Equalizer: Libtalkers Scramble To Find Successful Anti-Palin Attack Method
Power Line: The Times Snarks Sarah Palin

Categories: Conservatism, Entertainment, Celebrities, Government, Media & Communication, Social and Political Climate
Tags: Barney Frank, conservative, Eleanor Roosevelt, Going Rogue, Going Rogue An American Life, Gov. Sarah Palin, Gridiron Dinner, John McCain, journlism bias, media bias, political, politics, Sarah Palin, Washington DC