Huckabee: The Media Was Gentle With Palin

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 11:58 pm

In a profile for Esquire magazine former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said that although some sexist questions were asked of Palin by the media, he thought Palin’s interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson were gentle, contradicting Palin’s recent media bias complaints.

Huckabee did say that there some unfair things in the media about Palin, but, “Now I must say I did not think that either the Charlie Gibson interview or the Katie Couric interviews were unfair. In fact, if anything, Katie Couric was extraordinarily gentle, even helpful. [Palin] just…I don’t know what happened. I can’t explain it. It was not a good interview. I’m being charitable.”

Of course, Huckabee is sowing the seeds of doubt about Palin because they will both be vying for the 2012 GOP nomination. In fact, they are both competing for the support of the social conservative wing of the Republican Party. His little shot at Palin was implying in the gentlest of terms that she can’t take the heat, and is complaining a bit too much.

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What makes the comparison between Huckabee and Palin all the more interesting is that while Palin started out as a media darling, Huckabee is John McCain 2.0. The former Arkansas governor is not quite beloved by the media to the same degree that McCain is, but he is getting close to that level. Palin could have been a bigger media star than Huckabee, but she bombed even the simplest of interviews.

Huckabee is much more personable that the seemly always guarded and scripted Palin, but both of them are advocating a strategy that would make the Republican tent even smaller. Huckabee is building himself a nice base to stay in the public eye with his talk show, but the battle to be the future leader of the GOP could come down to whether or not Palin is ready to do some serious interviews.

Esquire’s profile of Huckabee

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association