Star Power

Palin Power: The national news remains dominated by an unknown housewife who stands to be the next vice president of the United States. With shades of the Alaskan gold rush 150 years ago, the media has flocked to the frozen tundra in efforts to discover whom Sarah Palin is. What they are finding is not the crusading soccer mom who slayed the corrupt oil and Republican state dragons but a woman of astute political skills who smiles when she sticks her stiletto into the hearts of her opponents. Sarah Barracuda, a name she earned as a state high school basketball champion, is a politician. What she says on the campaign trail about her record are a series of half truths. Yes, she did place the state plane on EBay but it did not sell. An aviation broker sold it. Yes, she opposed the infamous "Bridge to No Where" after campaigning for it during her run for governor. We don't know if she, like she says, told Congress "thanks but no thanks" to the $330 million the state received for the bridge. She did keep the money and spent it on other projects including a road to the proposed bridge. The Alaska State Transportation Department reports about half of the money remains unspent in the state budget. Palin said she is cooperating fully with the state investigation into what now is known as Troopergate. However her cabinent is not, forcing the legislature to decide Friday issuing subpoenas compelling them to testify. One of the country's best investigative reporters, Michael Hirsch, is following that story for Newsweek. The New York Times reports Palin charged the state per diem costs for living at her home in Wasilia. While that sounds bad, it is acceptable under state ethics law. She also filed claims for travel expenses for her husband and children. In total, they appear legitimate claims and two-thirds cheaper than what her Republican predecessor filed as governor. In her convention acceptance speech, Palin said she will be a friend and advocate to parents like her who have children with disabilities. Here, the record is mixed. Some liberal websites say Palin cut funding for handicapped children as governor. The New York Times reported Wednesday she increased funding. The Republican National Committee has dispatched so called "truth teams" to advise and monitor the Troopergate investigation. The National Inquirer has sent five reporters to pay for dirt on the candidate and her family. What all have learned is small potatoes. It appears Sarah Palin is truly the Teflon candidate for nothing so far has stuck. That could change. The McCain campaign is keeping her away from national media interviews. While she is being served a crash course in national and international politics by the McCain forces, her first step into the real world arena may not be taken until the vice presidential debate with Joe Biden. Meanwhile, she has ignited the social conservatives in the Republican Party with polls showing the ticket is making inroads into electoral pockets where Barack Obama is weak. Some battleground states are now leaning to McCain and the old maverick can only point to Gov. Sarah and thank his lucky stars he took the risk to place her on the ticket. Now, stop, take a deep breath and ask yourself: Why in the world is there so much attention on a job so demeaning one veep called it not worth a bucket of spit? After all, there's only two constitutional duties a vice president needs to perform. One is presiding over the senate to break a tie vote. The other is ... oh, my God ... become president if the big guy dies or is incapcitated in office.

Star Wars: Fox News and MSNBC cables are going mano a mano as to whom can insult the other more. The bickering has escalated in recent weeks into a major food fight over ratings. It's silly season, juvenile and accomplishing nothing for the journalism profession. The NBC stepchild is certainly the upstart because it ranks far behind Fox in most of the demographics. I prefer to view it from an historical perspective. When Fox came on line, its only major cable news competitor was CNN. With a format politically charged to the right with conservative commentators Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, John Gibson and Neil Cavuto, the network clawed its way to the top in a matter of a few years. It was different. It had an attitude. It took sides. It insisted to its viewers it was "Fair and Balanced." Then along came MSNBC. Management chose a liberal road to attract viewers and utilized the resources of its parent NBC News. While Chris Matthews steered the political coverage with interviews captured best in charicature by Saturday Night Live, along came Keith Olbermann who put the needle to what he considers the blowhards at "Fixed News." After several years, Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" segment finally got under the skin of Bill O'Reilly since Billo was on the list about four nights out of five. O'Reilly refuses to mention Olbermann's name on air but constantly refers to him as a gutless pinhead and the epitome of the leftwing crackpots. This is amusing fodder depending whether one is a Fox fan or MSNBC disciple. Both cables reflect polarization which may be good for ratings but fails to adequately inform its viewers. Can you imagine Huntley and Brinkley squaring off with Walter Cronkite so personally in the golden years of television news? I don't think so. The difference in today's age is cable network news is less news than entertainment value designed to support or detract from a viewer's pre-conceived notions of how the world spins.