Pulling Back the Curtain: In Their Own Words

On The Daily Show from Sept. 3, Jon Stewart lets GOP honchos -- including Sarah Palin herself -- expose their own hypocrisy in their bashing of the media for even talking about the GOP VP nominee in anything other than flattering... deference. Hypocrisy is a moral issue. The real revelation here is what the hypocrisy illuminates: That the pick of Palin is purely a self-serving, political move by the GOP, intended to put their interests as the Republican Party above those of the nation. It also reminds us of what we all claim to know but seem to constantly forget: Politicians are lying to you. Especially when they tell you they're not lying to you.

For those who can't watch the video, here are some highlights:

In one clip, Karl Rove lauds Palin for having been mayor of -- "I think" -- the second-largest city in Alaska. In a clip from last month, Rove blasted Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia for having been only governor for three years (Palin has served 1.5) and mayor of Richmond, which he derides as being "not a big town" (it has more than 20 times the population of Wasilla) and called Obama's considering of Kaine an "intensely political choice".

We then see a clip of Bill O'Reilly telling people to back off the issue of Palin's having a pregnant teenage daughter, that it's a "personal" family issue. Then we see a clip of Bill O'Reilly talking about the teenage pregnancy of Jamie Lynne Spears, in which he concludes that her pregnancy proves that her parents are "pinheads" and obviously have no control over their daughter.

Top McCain adviser Dick Morris, on the floor at the GOP convention derides the "deep sexism" that has resulted in the media's talking about Palin. Then a clip from a few months ago: "When a woman wants to be President, she shouldn't complain based on gender....This is what Hillary always does when she's under fire: She retreats behind the apron strings."

We even get a nip from Palin herself. Just watch. This is good journalism.

(Thanks to the three of you who brought this clip to our attention.)

Technorati tags: politics, Palin, Republican, Obama,President, Biden, McCain, Stewart, Rove.