Like every other slander, the retractions and apologies will not come close to un-doing the initial damage. I'm not slamming you, Amy. I'm just observing the phenomena.

The lesson, of course, is to be skeptical of all news. Mistakes happen. Lies happen even more frequently. Listen, then verify. Ask yourself why this might not be true. Who benefits?

It saves a lot of regrets.

Amy. Don't be so hard on yourself. At least you apologized. Many other people wouldn't because they think it would make them "look bad". At least you had the cajones to admit you were wrong. A lot of people will respect you all the more for it. Me, for one. o.O

>>Like every other slander, the retractions and apologies will not come close to un-doing the initial damage.

Often true, MarkD.

Metafilter notes, however, that the Fox item about Palin and Africa was broadcast the day after the election so - in this case - that initial damage cannot have affected votes.

(The youtube clip clearly shows it occurred during a special Fox round-up segment titled "The Day After".)

Two things bug me about this situation:
1) Think about the statement. Palin thinks Africa is a country. As much as she's been made fun of for not being intellectual, who in their right mind would even think a statement like this has a shred of truth? I think everybody was still coming down from two years of election bullshit, and would just believe anything. Shit, maybe everybody was drunk either celebrating or commiserating. The check is in the mail, and I won't come in your mouth.
2) This is still out there, and probably widely believed. For a red Texan, I am one of the few in my demographic that still watches Bill Maher. I like the funny, so I put up with the moonbats that occasionally pop up on his show. But even this past weekend he was still pushing the 'Palin thinks Africa is a country' line, the same way he pushes the 'if you are a Christian you believe in a talking snake line'.

Both 1 and 2 above make me really question the gullability of EVERYONE in this country. Self included.

I'm glad this election is over. I don't have to worry about it now. I do have to worry about fighting my local city government in my small Texas college town; they're spending money like a drunken sailor on shit that this community doesn't need, and last time I checked the economy was in the shitter. But this is real work fighting this local battle, uninteresting on so many levels, but it needs to be done. Hopefully people around the country are doing the same thing, and moving on from the dog and pony show that was this election.

Yes it's bad that you ran with this and yes it's good that you admitted your mistake and apologized. However, Amy did more than just "report" the remark. She parlayed that Africa Continent thing into a diatribe about how Gov Palin was unqualified and not smart. I watched her on the campaign trail and I could clearly see that she is a sharp woman. Anyone who can't see that is either not as sharp as Gov Palin or has biases that allowed that single statement abour Africa to turn into a blanket condemnation of Gov Palin's abilities.

That's what you should be apologizing for, Amy.

I just read the NY Times story.

I have a different take on it: I think the two should be given a medal! They set out to prove that the mainstream media (aka "professional journalists") are not up to snuff these days and they quickly confirmed their suspicions.

I don't fault Amy or any other blogger for quoting so-called reputable news sources. However, perhaps it's a vivid reminder for all of us to not trust everything we read.

>>She parlayed that Africa Continent thing into a diatribe about how Gov Palin was unqualified and not smart.

Sean,
I've just looked at the comment you refer to because I am currently on another (nearly dead) Amy thread about blogging, defamation & censorship. I'd briefly just noted there that Amy generally writes as if she is aware of the value of accuracy in blogging.

And - dang! - if this isn't the perfect example!

Amy did not originally write that Palin "was unqualified and not smart".

Amy wrote - when she was springboarding from the (now shown to be falsely attributed) Africa error that Palin..."shows little understanding (or interest) of the stuff of national and international duties...".

And... "I want to see why [Palin is] qualified to be VP, not why she is qualified to be governor."

That's not a diatribe!

From memory here ... you left out her comment that if Palin was a Dem we'd be trashing her on the Africa comment. Like the Africa comment was "case closed" evidence she was unqualified and only the R beside her name was stopping "us" from piling on with Amy. Wrong.

And where I come from saying someone "shows little understanding" about something when that "something" is not too hard to understand is a polite way of saying someone is stupid.

Amy jumped all over that comment. She apologized for "posting the fox news video". She did more than that. She gleefully ran with it.

I'm one of the folks who followed the career of "America's Hottest Governor" closely ever since she made her first small splash on the national political scene by being elected Governor of Alaska. Yes, it's the fact that she's a MILF that made her catch my attention. That's the same thing that made you stand out from the crowd for me, Amy. As a man, I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit that if you weren't so fuckable, I'd still enjoy your writing, but I wouldn't get the satisfaction that comes from finding a woman who's bod is as hot as her mind. And if Sarah wasn't so sexy, I wouldn't have gotten as much satisfaction from reading about how she left the Alaskan landscape strewn with the carcasses of political opponents on her way to the highest approval rating of any Governor in any state.

Not everyone feels the same though. A lot of people (including a great many supposedly feminist women) are predisposed to believe that a sexy woman must be an airhead, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. You must have known that "sexy = stupid" dynamic was at work and would be exploited by the media to the fullest possible extent. That's one more reason why you should have been skeptical, even of your own suspicions.

Yes she made a complete idiot of herself in that Couric interview. Yes she badly needs to bone up on foreign & national policy before she can be a credible candidate in 2012. But the evidence from her record as Governor is indisputable. She made plenty of political enemies, but none of them, Republican or Democrat, thought she was stupid.

>>From memory here ... you left out her comment that if Palin was a Dem we'd be trashing her on the Africa comment.

Sean,
Fair enough - as you say - that was from memory.

What Amy actually wrote though (she linked it above) was:

Come on, guys, pretend she's a Democrat and think how you'd be reacting.

"Trashing" isn't in there.
You supplied that emphatic flourish!

I never believed all of the negative things about Sara Palin. I did however believe that McCain's staff was behind the rumors, adding to my negative views on McCain himself. And I don't just lay the blame on Amy and other bloggers for spreading the lies. It was all over talk radio last week. Are we really at the point where we have to believe ALL the news we read and hear is bullshit, no matter what the source? That frightens me!

It might be hard to follow, but before you give apologies (although it may be necessary in the future), I found this article saying that something else was a hoax, not the Sarah Palin not knowing Africa was a continent thing - http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/11/palin_deserves_an_apology.html

Wow of all the stupid shit that came out of this idiot, she is now some how vindicated by 1 hoax. She's now magically a fucking Fulbright scholar?! I don't think she'd dumb cause she's a MILF I think she's dumb cause she opened her mouth and the shit that came out. The Africa not being a continent thing I was pretty sure was bullshit. I just figured is was a move by democrat supporters to discredit her. I'm not sure why they would do this as she was quite handy with it on her own.

As far as her comment on JOBS. Well no shit we need jobs. Congratulations you've stumbled on a gold mine of a fact there. Next your gone want a cookie for actually hitting yourself in the face with the ice cream cone.

I was a die hard McCain supporter until he picked this back woods air head as a running mate. The idea of this idiot in charge of the country out weighted my fear of higher taxes.

Hmm. "Airhead"?

The people we pick to run for office are often obviously behind the shed, but I challenge you, yourself, to do as well.

Just because I found out a long time ago that you can't tell anything about someone by popular media content.

Sarah Palin is officially a legend! Hustler Video is shooting a porn with a look-alike titled "Nailin' Paylin." The spelling is sic and so is Hustler. You betcha!

Do any of you know whether or not the rumors about her being friends with a witch hunter were ever verified?

IF you make an error by relying on a major news source, it isn't really your fault, and the apology goes a long way to rectifying things.

But like MarkD said, far more people will see the initial story than will see the retraction. I think that anyone that pushes/publishes/tells a story that turns out to be false is NOT at fault (because they acted in good faith), but they are partially responsible for countering the lie as much as possible. But then, I believe everyone is partially responsible for countering lies about other people.

Which includes things like "Obama is a muslim".

"I hope Palin sues them down to their jockey shorts."

She is a public figure, which basically means that anyone can slander her without repurcussion...but then all public figures have to put up with that. The only thing that prevents people from slandering public officials is their own sense of decency and potential social disapproval.

It has its downsides, but it also means that no one goes to jail for saying things like "George Bush is a war criminal".

I was about to post the same thing as April just did:

"It might be hard to follow, but before you give apologies (although it may be necessary in the future), I found this article saying that something else was a hoax, not the Sarah Palin not knowing Africa was a continent thing - http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/11/palin_deserves"

Read paragraph 8 of the NYT article.

The anonymous McCain advisor (if there is one) is still out there...as well as the possibility that Gov. Palin thinks Africa is a continent (not saying she does, but these hoaxers NEVER claimed that they were the ones who started this rumor--again, it's in para 8).

I support Vlad's comments 150%.

Amy -

Thanks for the retraction, this sort of thing is why I love you, even on occasions I disagree with you. I have to admit, there have been times when rather than admit and apologize for being wrong, I just drop my end of the debate (I am getting a lot better about it - feel better when I do). So kudos for having bigger balls than I.

Sterling -

It really wasn't that obvious it was bullshit from the getgo. I know people who are that ignorant about things outside their area of expertise. Note I said ignorant, not stupid, because being ignorant about something, doesn't mean the person is stupid. For instance, I have a very bright engineer friend, who was blissfully unaware there is a difference between the state of WA and Washington DC.

And considering it was a criticism of a conservative, coming from FOX news, I had little reason to believe it was untrue. Especially given that Palin has made some ridiculous statements in the past. Honestly, I assumed she had said it, but probably was quite aware that Africa is a continent. Considering she was on a very strenuous campaign trail and probably suffering from a significant lack of sleep, I was happy to chalk it up to exhaustion. Gods know I have made some stupid blunders when I've been suffering the same.

Martin -

Honestly, I would be more comfortable with her, if I did think she is stupid (though she would be a total MILF, if I didn't find her politics so repulsive). It's the same problem I have with bush - it's that I think he puts on a bit of an act, so as to appear unassuming that makes him as dangerous as I believe he is. What frightens me more about Palin, is that I think her religious beliefs are much more intense and heartfelt than bush's (not to say that I don't think bush has genuine religious beliefs, just that I don't think they are quite as nuts as Palin's).

DuWayne -

Her religious beliefs are a cause for concern, but I don't think they automatically make her more dangerous. In fact, the opposite could be true. The reality is that evangelicals and conservative Catholics are a big slice of the American population, and Republicans cannot possibly win an electio without their enthusiasm & support. The greatest danger this represents is that GOP candidates who don't share their beliefs feel they need to pander to them & promise rhem the moon in order to get their votes. Palin's cred with these people is so high that she doesn't have pander to them. They already know she's "one of them", so to speak.

While Governor, she vetoed a bill denying benefits to same-sex couples because it was unconstitutional, and she never brought up abortion or other divisive social issues before the Alaska legislature.

Martin -

My biggest problem with that, is that she has driven away most of the intellectual conservatives from the party. (keeping in mind that I would love nothing more than to see the republicrats out of power all together) Not that it's just her, bush managed to alienate them too, but putting Palin on the ticket actually drove folks like Chris Buckley and Jeffery Hart to actually vote for and endorse Obama.

You should also keep in mind that while my positions on a lot of issues are rather right of center, a great many more are rather left of center. I'm not a liberal or conservative, I'm pretty staunchly moderate (at least on the American spectrum) and the notion that anyone panders to, or worse is accepted by the fairly extreme right scares the hell out of me. In all fairness, I feel the same about the other direction.

What I would love to see, are close races - close because the candidates are pandering to a more centrist crowd. The actual results tend to be more centrist and the extremists on either end are inevitably disappointed - excepting that for inane reasons, the candidates who get into office feel compelled to throw their extremists a bone now and then. Problem with that being, that the bones that get thrown can and often do, cause significant damage.

So many people believe all the slander put out about Sarah Palin because it is what they want to hear.

The levels of condescension, ridicule and just plain nastiness directed against Palin, especially in comments sections of so-called reputable news media online, is unprecedented. Is it because she is a real person who wants to do a politician's job? Is it because she is a woman with a lotta drive? She is not stupid, let's get that straight. She does need better media training and more experience.

I've never seen anything like it and it disappoints me deeply. What have we become?

PS I take it you have seen the How Obama Got Elected website and video?

Amy, The large family would be objectionable if Palin had her children and didn't look after them. She and Todd have made their choices and stood by them. (The family looks pretty normal to me.) I can't find anything bad in that. She is pro-choice and she takes responsibility for it. As another poster has pointed out, she has not used her position to foist conservative morals on her state.

I asked whether other people were objecting to her being a woman because I am searching for why people are so vehement in their objection to Palin. They protest too much!

I think Camille Paglia read Palin accurately. The governor is not to be underestimated. I liked Palin as soon as I saw her. She connects on an elemental level with many people. It's her character, which isn't something that necessarily comes with a law degree. Now that Obama is proving he is not for really changing anything, it is time to think again.

No reason why she can't do the job with a family, Amy, if she is proving that she can! I think she hit the marriage jackpot with Todd.

There really is something else going on here though. As Hill Buzz as noted in a recent post: a high level of misogyny being directed against Palin by people who should know better. I refer to:

http://hillbuzz.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/sidetrack-in-chicago-is-doing-it-again-the-sarah-palin-misogyny-fest-continues-in-boystown/

Mmmm, and in Chicago of all places, too.

I think you just proved my point, Amy.