-By Vince Johnson
There was some minor media attention given to Ferraro’s qualifications when Walter Mondale selected her for his running mate in the 1984 Presidential Race. The Reagan/Bush ad campaigns treated her candidacy with caution based on a common sense strategy to avoid offending America’s women voters as well as an obvious need to avoid any mainstream backlash that might be generated by smear tactics.
Geraldine Ferraro – quick resume
BA in English at 21
Passed NY State Bar at 26
Queen County DA staff at 39
U.S. House of Representatives at 43
Democratic Nominee for VP at 49
Inducted into the National Of National Women’s Hall of Fame at 59
Back in 1984 there was ample opportunity to sling a lot of mud. During her campaign for VP, it was discovered that Ferarro’s husband, *John Zaccaro, was involved with some Income Tax issues. The media covered this news in a far more reasonable and professional manner than we see today.
On the other hand, anything that might indicate Sara Palin (nee Sarah Louise Heath) is not qualified to be VP gets intense examination. Example: In a recent interview on ABC News, Charles Gibson asked Palin if she had an opinion about “The Bush Doctrine” and she asked, “In what respect Charlie?” He acted like a bored teacher with a stupid student when he recited his definition of the “Bush Doctrine.” I will not embarrass Mr. Gibson by quoting the brief definition he recited. Instead, I will cite internet’s Wikipedia: “Jacob Weisberg, a political journalist, identifies six successive ‘Bush Doctrines’ in his book The Bush Tragedy, while former Bush staffer Peter D. Feaver has counted seven.” I am astounded that in posing this question, Mr. Gibson did not observe the first rule of journalism: CHECK THE SOUCE! Please note that in this case, the unchecked source is an intellectually pretentious assumption fabricated by Charles Gibson himself.
Sarah Palin – quick resume
Degree in Journalism/Communications at 23
Elected to Wasilla City Council at 27
Mayor of Wasilla at 32
Chair of Ethics Committee of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Committee at 39
Governor of Alaska at 42
Republican Nominee for VP at 44
The Internet and the Elite media have flooded the nation with false and misleading commentary about Palin at a flippant level that is unprecedented. Much of this “journalism” is intended to harm, none of it should be acceptable in America, and the first rule of true journalism, CHECK THE SOURCE, should apply to every word.
*Ferraro retained her birth name for personal reasons and internet provides very little information about John Zaccarro.
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Vince Johnson welcomes comments. Please send them to,Vince Johnson(vjadtrak@wvi.com)
See Vince in the new book Americans on Politics. Policy, and Pop-Culture.