In what has to be the biggest PR blunder of her career, Sarah Palin's shopping around a reality TV show:
Palin and her family would be on-camera in the show, which one executive described as "'Planet Earth' meets Alaska meets her family," referring to Discovery's high-definition nature hit.
link: http://www.reuters.com/...
Now, let's put aside the fact that her Hello-Dr.-Laura-I'm-my-kids's-mom base has some serious issues with children on reality TV shows, as Dr. Laura herself has described it as child abuse: http://archive.newsmax.com/... , or that even more reputable sources as AbuseWatch.Net have some serious concerns about the exploitation of children on these shows: http://www.abusewatch.net/... .
Let's even set aside for the moment the plethora - the gold mine - of opposition research that could be presented on a silver platter to any campaign that's digging up dirt on the Palins - even an iron-clad distribution agreement can't stop one of the most gossipy industries on the planet from gossiping about what goes on on-and-off set during the shooting of Ma and Pa Kettle The Beverly Hillbillies whatever-the-heck-they'll be titling this thing.
This is the tell about what flies on reality TV:
"There's an awful lot of interest in her," one executive said. "As a short-order series, it might work. It would depend on what kind of footage you get."
It would depend on what kind of footage you get.
Let's swirl that one around in our rhetorical brandy snifters for just a few more moments...It would depend on what kind of footage you get.
Footage like this:
And this:
And this:
Moments like this make reality TV...well...reality TV. If you're not into making a spectacle of yourself on national television, it ain't reality TV.
So imagine...Sarah Palin eating a cockroach. Todd Palin getting into a beer-fueled fisticuffs with alleged Palin paramour Brad Hanson (yes, I'm linking to the National Enquirer because we're talking about reality TV: http://www.nationalenquirer.com/... ). The Palin kids in the background being forced to watch embarrasing on-camera moments between mom and dad, with the inevitable "how did that make you feel" follow up interview.
Imagine all of this...and then imagine Sarah Palin being President.
UPDATE: Thanks for the recs, everybody...watch this blast from the past. I gotta say, this woman was made for reality TV. The Presidency? Not so much:
Caution - this is the ew! version. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach.
UPDATE the Second: Apologies to testavet6778 - this diary was inspired by his where I saw this story first. My oversight in not mentioning this was due to sleep deprivation and getting little ones ready to start the day in the middle of writing this.
Everyone please stop by his diary and show him some love: http://www.dailykos.com/...
UPDATE the Third: newlymintedjerseygirl has, I believe, coined the phrase to describe this latest incarnation of Palin: The Surreal Housewife of Alaska.
Round of applause!