The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Matthew Continetti has written a touch, revealing look at how the bias or habits of liberals in the media led them to assault a political figure who shared neither their values nor background. Whether you like Sarah Palin or not, this well-researched and meticulous volume strips the bark off influential players in journalism."
-Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to President George W. Bush

"A compelling account of journalistic malpractice on a grand scale. Those called out in the book should not be allowed to forget what they did."
-Brit Hume, senior political analyst, Fox News

"What set off the media feeding frenzy over Sarah Palin's place on the 2008 Republican presidential ticket? Was there something wrong with Palin? Or something wrong with the media? In The Persecution of Sarah Palin, Matthew Continetti finds the answer-and exposes the media's worst excesses."
-Byron York, chief political correspondent, The Washington Examiner

"If every member of the anti-Palin media was simply forced to read and understand just the first page of this book, what is left of journalism in this country would be greatly improved. If every voter had done so prior to the election, we might have a different president right now."
-John Ziegler, creator of the film Media Malpractice

"During the 2008 campaign the 'mainstream media' wrote a narrative about Sarah Palin that had very little to do with the facts. Now Matthew Continetti, who told us the truth about the Republican machine in The K Street Gang, tells us the truth about how Palin was chosen by John McCain and how so many in the press set out to destroy her."
-Michael Barone, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute; coauthor, The Almanac of American Politics

"Matt Continetti has not only written a great book about Sarah Palin, he has also written a classic study of the modern political press, complete with the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly. This book should be required reading for political journalists."
-Yuval Levin, editor, National Affairs

Product Description

After her dazzling convention speech in August 2008, Sarah Palin was on track to win John McCain the presidency of the United States. Never before had a vice presidential candidate gotten such a strong response. Then Katie Couric and Tina Fey came along...

Sarah Palin spent more than a decade making her town and her state better-she slashed government spending and corruption and encouraged economic growth. In 2008, she took to the national stage to bring her successful vision to the entire country. America quickly embraced her message, and Palin became the hottest rising star the country had seen in years.

Palin was a strong and popular conservative with traditional values-work, family, and religion-and Washington Democrats and their allies in the so-called mainstream media decided she had to be destroyed. These elite liberals attacked everything from Palin's clothing to her parenting style to her church. They spread one malicious and untrue rumor after another, including claims that Palin:

* Had been a member of the separatist Alaskan Independence Party (New York Times)

* Had been a supporter of Pat Buchanan (MSNBC)

* Fakes giving birth to Trig Palin, who was supposedly her grandson (Atlantic Monthly)

In addition to spreading lies and distortions, the media treated Palin with such insulting condescension that it frequently lapsed into mockery. Palin was routinely ridiculed and vilified-and so was her family.

The liberal media did not succeed in one way: It was able to give the election to Barack Obama, a man with dangerous and radical ideas. However, despite the media's disdain, Palin persevered and remains one of the most important figures in the Republican Party. Because she speaks for Main Street America on issues from energy to health care, her star will only continue to rise.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sentinel HC (November 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595230610
• ISBN-13: 978-1595230614
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #591 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helps Correct the False Information from the Campaign, November 17, 2009

By	Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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The author of this book did a generally good job of correcting false information about Palin that was disseminated through out the campaign. As many people know, the media abhors a vacuum and that is exactly what they faced when presented with Palin. What do you do next? Dig for whatever you could find. Given that Palin had stepped on a few toes in the Republican Party in Alaska, it is not surprising that there was plenty of dirt to be found, as people were using her candidacy for payback.

The author also does a good job of exposing the problems within the campaign itself. They were so wrapped up with catching the media off guard with her pick as VP, they forget to give the staff the background information that would have allowed staff members to quickly squelch unsubstantiated rumors. A valuable lesson is there for future candidates.

I do think the author spent a little too much time dealing with blogs and tabloid type papers, which I don't consider viable media streams. More focus on the MSM would have made the book a better read and would have made the case stronger than it already is.

The book should be read by all those who believe Palin will be a viable candidate in the 2012 primary or general election. Many people have already made u their mind about Palin, which is unfortunate. This book might change a few minds.

21 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, soon to be trashed by left-wing ideologues everywhere, November 14, 2009

By	Bruce Fancher - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book brilliantly takes apart and disproves the vicious smears that the leftist media used to attack Palin during the 2008 campaign. The book makes an excellent and irrefutable case that the media's politically-motivated portrayal of Palin, which was almost inversely proportional to the extraordinary efforts made to ignore and explain away any negative information about Barrack Obama, was unprecedented and bore almost no relation to the truth. Unfortunately, more than a year after the election, the campaign against Palin continues unabated. Today's so-called "fact-checking" article by the Associated Press is so ridiculous that it almost reads as a parody. For example, the eleven (!) contributors to the article take on the role of mind-readers, challenging Palin's claim that she was driven by "purpose" instead of "ambition" by characterizing her book as having "all the characteristics of a pre-campaign manifesto." Hopefully, Continetti's book will help to set the record straight about who the real Sarah Palin is.

29 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Feral Beast: The Media Go Wild, November 14, 2009

By	V. Hutson (Duluth, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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In the prologue of this book, the author includes a very powerful quote said a full year before Sarah Palin came on the national scene:

"Today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack. In these modes it is like a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits. But no one dares miss out."--Tony Blair, June 12, 2007.

Continetti then goes on to show how this "feral beast" of the media hunted down its new prey: Sarah Palin. He does an excellent job of documenting the lies and smears the media perpetrated against her. He names the lies, the journalists who told the lies, and the media outlets that published the lies.

Palin supporters will most likely recognize the top lies such as: Trig not being her son, her banning books, being a Buchanan supporter, or a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, and others. What may surprise and shock them (and any fair minded person) is WHO published the lies! While many may have started on extreme liberal blog sites, by hate-fueled individuals, the real tragedy is that they were introduced to main stream Americans by powerful news outlets and journalists that many Americans, including myself, trusted.

The main chapters are:

1) The Golden Ticket: When John Met Sarah
2) The Feral Beast: The Media Goes Wild
3) The Village and the City: There's No Place Like Home
4) The Ties That Bind: The Blistering Assaults on Palin's Family
5) Amazing Disgrace: How the Press Went After Palin's Faith
6) Sex and Sarah Palin: The Furious Battle over the Governor's Gender
7) The Classless Media: The Elite's Condescending Attitude Toward Ordinary Americans
8) Sarah's Choice: What's Next for Palin and her Party?

This book is a powerful wakeup call to any fair minded person. It clearly documents that "truth no longer mattered" to many in the media when it came to Sarah Palin.

My hope had been that the media would see the dangerous path they have taken, and go back to honest reporting. Unfortunately, as Sarah's own book is about to be released it looks like we're in for Round 2.