Kids on TV

Transcript:

GLENN: But the one thing that my wife and I were talking about is the exposure of your family. And I know the press has exposed the family, but you don't seem to have a problem with that. What do you think the effect of all of this is on your kids?

SARAH PALIN: Well, I'm just dealing with reality knowing that they're not going to let up until the collective will of the people is to remind the press that kids should be off limits. And in our case that just isn't happening yet. So I deal with the reality as it is and remind my kids that maybe in our culture there's not a lot of justice in terms of kids being left alone to just be kids and make mistakes but learn as they go and overcome challenges, you know. My kids have the same story as every other kid in this world.

GLENN: But my kids are left alone. I mean, but I just don't, I don't ever, ever put them in front of a camera. You know, anybody takes a picture of my kids, I go all TSA on them.

SARAH PALIN: Yeah, here's the deal. Here's the deal, what we got ourselves into, I guess, was there on the national stage, literally there at the GOP convention when I, being so proud of my family, bringing them on stage like every other politician has done since the beginning of time, being charged then with exploiting my kids and here I'm looking around going, wait, every other candidate, every male candidate brings their family on stage, proverbially and literally. So having done that. And then from there just sort of a different standard that's been applied in terms of the accusations that there's been exploitation or using the kids for whatever. Then, Glenn, having to correct the record and try to change the narrative into what the truth is about my family. So constantly being on defense and having to sort of counterattack the things that they say. That's the position that we're in.

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What Glenn is trying to question is the apparent contradiction of saying "leave my kids alone" and then putting your kids on a tv show.

First of all, I happen to be of the opinion that just because kids are visible doesn't mean they're fair game. I think it's absurd that people call Trig names and rag on Willow and Piper and use the "well they're out there" line as an excuse. It's no excuse, sorry.

Glenn, as a protective father himself, is trying to figure out the rationale of having your kids "out there" but at the same time wanting to protect them from all the bull. If you really want to shelter them, shouldn't you keep them, well, sheltered?

I think the point Palin was trying to make with her answer is this. When she first came onto the scene, she did what every other politician does - introduced her family. (I covered this before here.) Because no one had a clue who she was or who they were, a huge media vetting process kicked into gear, and apparently, they didn't consider the kids to be off limits.

People found her family fascinating. Some began attacking the kids or using the kids to attack their mom. A lot of rumors got started and a lot of conclusions were drawn about the kids and the family that weren't true. The haters attempted to paint the family as some kind of a freak show, and because the majority of the American public didn't know any better, many bought into that perception. How do you combat that? Do you just let the world continue thinking it, or do you let them in and show them what really goes on?

That's what this is. It's an attempt to correct the mischaracterization.

Grown adults who use the kids being on TV as an excuse to attack the kids boggle my mind. Now, Bristol is an exception. She herself has chosen to put herself in the spotlight. She's also a 20 year-old single mother who's more than capable of handling herself. Doesn't mean the stuff coming at her isn't disgusting; I'm just saying that there's no expectation that she won't be fodder for late-night jokes, etc...