Can you believe Sarah Palin is still getting trashed eight days after the election? Can you believe she's still getting as much or more attention than President-elect Obama? Something is going on here.
Wednesday, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd ran yet another analysis of Governor Palin. But why? She lost. She's not going to be vice president.
In her column just out, she wrote: "After her brutal transformation by the McCain campaign into a shopaholic, whack-job diva, Palin is now trying to unmake that makeover and morph from uptown cloistered girl back to down-home accessible girl."
Ms. Dowd goes on to cite reporting by The Washington Post that the governor spent even more money, this time on silk boxer shorts for her husband and spray tanners, above and beyond the original $150,000 already reported.
Now, my question is: Who cares? I believe Palin when she says the RNC bought the clothes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN: The criticism that, you know, I took time out to run into Neiman Marcus or Sax, I don't think I've ever set foot in either one of those stores and, of course, didn't know the New York stylist whom they had hired or anything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, "Talking Points" is simply amazed the press is still talking about this in the face of a dangerous economy and the anticipation of a relatively inexperienced new president.
But there are some lessons here, and the first one is about loyalty. After Sarah Palin was hammered by some McCain staffers, it took the senator six days before he publicly stood up for her. That happened on the Leno program last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm just very proud to have had Sarah Palin and her family, a wonderful family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OK, but let me ask you something. If you knew a friend was being humiliated, would it take you six days to defend her? If so, you're not much of a friend.
On "The Radio Factor" Wednesday, Juan Williams said he thinks McCain just doesn't care about the issue, and that rings true. But McCain should have stood up sooner, no question.
As for Governor Palin, the liberal press wants to destroy her mainly because of her pro-life belief. And some Republicans believe she's not smart enough to run the country. So she continues to get it from both sides.
But the very fact that we are still talking about Sarah Palin proves the woman remains a force in America. It will be fascinating to see what happens to her.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
Our pal Donald Trump often does some nice things with his assets, and here's another one. He's been housing actress Jennifer Hudson and her family after the brutal murders of her mother, brother and young nephew. Mr. Trump's putting them up for free at one of his hotels, and for that, he's a patriot.
On the pinhead front, actor Brad Garrett, who gained a measure of fame in "Everybody Loves Raymond," is being investigated by the police after this confrontation:
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a big star, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, leave him alone.
BRAD GARRETT, ACTOR: That's enough. That's enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't touch you.
GARRETT: Oh, you would love that, right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did.
GARRETT: Oh, did I really? Go get a real job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, we sympathize with all famous people because the paparazzi are ruthless. But Mr. Garrett needs to calm down and stop being a pinhead.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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