Palin's tour confounds the press

Anti-Palin Propaganda Watch

A very liberal (somewhat famous) friend once chided Mrs Webworker, all you have to do to stay current is read the headlines! Let's see...

"Palin a no-show for fans wanting Gettysburg view" -Reuters

"Palin bus tour stops in Gettysburg" -WHTM (ABC)

"Palin's mysterious bus tour a no-show in Phila." -S Jersey Courier-Post

What's going on? Well, Sarah's family's tour itinerary is not fixed or public. No reason it should be. Meeja speculation gets people thinking she's heading somewhere, and then they report she's disappointing her fans. From the Courier-Post article, for example:

Her political action committee, SarahPAC, did not release an itinerary, instead telling reporters to check its website. But the site only updated Palin's stops after her entourage had moved on….

Contrary to widespread speculation, Palin did not visit the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia Memorial Day. Media reports were initially based on the fact her tour bus features a large illustration of the cracked bell.

The Washington Post reported Palin would stop by Civil War battlefields Gettysburg and Antietam Monday and "likely" swing through Philadelphia Tuesday.

"Today should be about honoring the service of our veterans, not celebrating the political ambitions of Sarah Palin," New Jersey Democratic Committee Chairman John Wisniewski said Monday….

Reporters weren't the only interested parties kept in the dark. The National Park Service, which has jurisdiction over the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, said it received no courtesy heads-up from Palin.

Need I parse the preposterous presumption in the above quotes? Just the last one: Palin is chided for not telling the park service that a private family wasn't coming by? Wow, she is mean! :P

And wasn't it cute how they got that critical Dem quote in there, appropo of nothing? (Take out "Palin" and see how it rings when you put in the duffer-in-chief — who of course is not a Muslim, a socialist, or gay — "not that there's anything wrong with" the last. h/t Seinfeld).

Reuters reported that "Several hundred people gathered at the Civil War site on a hot, sunny day for a glimpse…. Some of those assembled there were puzzled by goal of the tour, which seemed designed to attract public attention despite a lack of information…." The article quoted the confusion of "a baker who drove for three hours from Berwick, Pennsylvania, with two friends to see Palin." Why did folks think she would visit the battlefield? "A photo on her website late on Sunday showed the closing words of the Gettysburg Address delivered by President Abraham Lincoln after the 1863 battle. That was taken as a hint."

WHMT just reported straight-up that the family "made a pit-stop in the midstate Monday night… [and] spoke with supporters and signed autographs in Gettysburg…."

My favorite quote from that article: "Palin was asked if she plans to run for president in 2012. 'Oh, I don't know.'"

Heh heh heh.

Siiigh! Can't predict when entities will post right or not, even if they show up right in the preview. Checking the raw HTML, I see that HB's software is (sometimes) replacing the entities' lead ampersands with the entity for the amperand itself, which defeats the intent. If that's incomprehensible jargon, just pass it along to whomever is in charge of your tech. I'll just quit using them here, though. :(