Keith Olbermann Highlights Real American Palin’s 350 Acre “Swimming Hole”

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:01 pm

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On his MSNBC program Countdown, Keith Olbermann, while discussing Sarah Palin’s latest paranoid freak out over getting a new next door neighbor in Joe McGinnis mentioned that what Palin considers the family “swimming hole” is really a 350 acre lake, with public access, because you know all real Americans have a lake in the back yard for swimming.

Here is the video via MSNBC:

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Palin made it sound like she is living in typical small town America, “Yes, that Joe McGinniss. Here he is – about 15 feet away on the neighbor’s rented deck overlooking my children’s play area and my kitchen window. Maybe we’ll welcome him with a homemade blueberry pie tomorrow so he’ll know how friendly Alaskans are.”

She continued, “We found out the good news today. Upon my family’s return this morning from endorsement rallies and speeches in the Lower 48 states, I finally got the chance to tackle my garden and lawn this evening! So, putting on the shorts and tank top to catch that too-brief northern summer sun and placing a giddy Trig in his toddler backpack for a lawn-mowing adventure, I looked up in surprise to see a “new neighbor” overlooking my property just a stone’s throw away. Needless to say, our outdoor adventure ended quickly after Todd went to introduce himself to the stranger who was peering in…I wonder what kind of material he’ll gather while overlooking Piper’s bedroom, my little garden, and the family’s swimming hole?”

Most of the good stuff in this segment came from The Washington Post’s David Weigel, who pointed out that once again Palin was using her kids as human shields, “He’s never mentioned the kids. This is of a few instances where Palin has taken a personal attack, or not a personal attack, a political attack, a biographer attack, a journalist’s investigation, and claims that it is an insult to her kids. This happened with David Letterman that David Letterman who made a joke about Bristol Palin, who’s a bit of a public figure. She’s a spokesperson for abstinence, and Palin claimed, despite what Letterman was saying. He was making a joke about another kid. Everyone is after her kids…When she starts attacking, if you try to attack back, she throws up this defensive shield, and in this case it involved I think being incredibly unfair and a bit slanderous to someone.”

Weigel went to say that Palin needs to learn to take it when journalists are investigating her, and he called her more of a celebrity than a political figure. He was mystified by Palin’s consistent need to get involved in these personal political feuds and insults, but the answer isn’t really all that elusive. Sarah Palin has built her career on playing the victim. Her celebrity and fame must be constantly fed with more victimization. This is Palin’s way of mobilizing her base for her presidential run, while also preemptively striking to discredit anything that the McGinnis book might reveal.

I think that Weigel’s discussion of Palin’s habit of using her children as human shields was first for someone in the national media. Sarah Palin’s children alternate between being political props and human shields. She uses her children to generate sympathy in her never ending quest for victimization.

Weigel has in the past been incredibly favorable towards Palin, and if even he is growing tired of her games, then I can’t help but wonder what would happen to Palin if the national media started ignoring her desperate pleas for attention. Palin may rant about the “lamestream media” but without the media, she would still be nobody in Alaska. Palin needs the media and the spotlight. She has no ideas to offer and is disinteresting in putting in the effort needed to become a serious political figure, so her right wing bubble gum fame is all she has.

Palin the millionaire who lives in a compound is selling a Middle American fantasy that about as real as her description of the family swimming hole. Unless only millionaires are real Americans, Palin has as much in common with real America as her family swimming hole does with a backyard swimming pool. As usual, those pesky facts get in the way of what Sarah is selling.

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