With interviews by Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity in the can, the network has gone full-tilt Palin in promotions and hype. And of course they bring along their patented proclivity for lying.
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Just one week ago, Jon Stewart exposed Sean Hannity for inserting video of a rally last summer to make a less successful rally this month look like it was well-attended. It was a blatant distortion that could not plausibly have happened by accident. Nevertheless, that is exactly the excuse Hannity coughed up, as he sought to trivialize the affair and sweep it under the rug. I wonder how Fox News will explain it this time.
ThinkProgress has caught them red-handed again. The video below was introduced by Fox anchor Gregg Jarrett saying...
"Sarah Palin continuing to draw huge crowds while she's promoting her brand new book. Take a look at...these are some of the pictures just coming into us. You can see the lines earlier had formed this morning. There's a crowd of folks."
The problem is that this video clearly shows Palin at a campaign event last year, not a current stop on her book tour. McCain/Palin signs are plainly visible in the audience. But Jarrett's commentary identifies these images as "just coming in." It should also be noted that Jarrett is considered by Fox to be an actual "news" anchor, not a part of their editorial programming, like Hannity.
Following the takedown by Stewart, Fox and their apologists insisted it was an innocent mistake and that they had no intention of being deceptive. But how many times does this need to happen before their alibis are dismissed for the lies that they are? Real news enterprises do not misrepresent events to advance their agenda. You will notice that they have never made a mistake like this that increased the size of a Democratic rally. The dishonesty of Fox News seems to have no lower boundary. Before too long we should expect it to look something like this:
Palin's interview with Hannity has aired and there is some real news. First, Palin has proven herself adept at catching Hannity's softballs and articulating a message with almost no substance whatsoever. Hannity's questions lead the way requiring nothing more of Palin than a sly nod and agreement.
Palin also ended the mystery as to what she would have said to Katie Couric about her reading materials if she hadn't been stumped by that "gotcha" question. What she reads, it turns out, is the uber-rightist magazine/web site, Newsmax. It is also the magazine that is giving her book away to anyone who subscribes. Now that's synergy. I'm sure Newsmax appreciates the plug. The other publication she reads is The Frontiersman, a local Wasilla operation. Then, just as she did with Couric, she asserted that she reads "everything" online. And you thought Palin was not well rounded.
Finally, Hannity made clear that he is still hot for Caribou Barbie. When she was discussing her concern about becoming a mother again at 43, she quipped that she was no spring chicken. To which Hannity reassured her saying, "You still look good to me." I dare any other news enterprise to snag a scoop like that. This is the network that now advertises itself as having "Hard News. Real Reporting." And they are showing the rest how it's done.
Bill O'Reilly's PalinFest begins tomorrow and continues for three days. It's almost like Woodstock - without the peace and music. Which really just means that it's all mud and hallucinations. Hmmm...that might work for their next slogan.