Pundits on Palin's RNC Speech: "Facts Matter!"

For conservative supporters of the McCain/Palin ticket, the morning after effect of Sarah Palin's RNC Convention speech was - like most mornings after - a little nauseating. This time, the waves of discomfort were brought on by those who would dissect each line of her 40 minutes at the mic as if they were dead frogs in biology class.

Consider this little ditty from none other than the Associated Press (which, you may remember, used to be the standard-bearer of news agencies, and was at one time free of biased reporting). The piece, titled "Attacks, Praise Stretch Truth at GOP Convention," appeared as a top story on the Yahoo! News homepage under the headline, "RNC Speeches Fact-Checked." The story is essentially a list of "examples" from Palin's speech, as well as those of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, wherein what was said from stage did not stand up to the figures dug up by the fact-checking police.

Since about five minutes after the initial McCain/Palin ticket announcement, we've heard reports that Palin was at one time in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere. Sorry, Jim Kuhnhenn of AP, but this isn't breaking news to most of us. Like most politicians, she changed her mind at some point. In the pundit world, this is called flip-flopping. In the sexist world, this is called a woman's prerogative. Either way, it is not unheard of. When Barack Obama does it, it's called "prudence."

Perhaps even more scrutinized than the claims Palin made during her speech were her comments regarding Obama and his policy stances (the few that we are aware of, anyway). MSNBC "correspondents" and CNN commentators chalked up her largely negative remarks about Obama to "sarcasm" and "belittling." Funny, because when Obama sounds off on the opposition, the same people call it "nuance." So, it appears that facts only matter when they benefit the interests of those who would check for them.