Media Reaction to Sarah Palin's SRLC Address

*
Local media coverage of Gov. Palin's SRLC speech Friday was overwhelmingly positive...

Michelle Millhollan wrote in The Advocate:

"It’s Gov. Bobby Jindal's state but it was Sarah Palin’s crowd... at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference."

Bill Barrow of The Times-Picayune observed:

"The cumulative effect of her speech was electrify the 3,000 people who filled the Hilton Riverside's Grand Ballroom, which gave her a minute-long standing ovation at the start and conclusion of her address."

WWL-TV's Michael Luke reported

"The rising star of the GOP, Palin’s presence electrified the crowd, as they often interrupted her speech with applause. In true rock star form, she even signed autographs before leaving the stage amid cheers of 'Run, Sarah, run' as she walked off the stage waving to the crowd."

As for the national media...

CNN Producer Peter Hamby was impressed that Gov. Palin's address focused on a policy issue:

"Her speeches are typically loaded with partisan zingers and Obama-bashing, but for the first time since the 2008 presidential campaign, Sarah Palin delivered a speech that focused as much on policy ideas as it did on political combat... Without shying away from heated partisan rhetoric, Palin spent the latter half of her talk expounding on differences between Democratic and Republican energy policies, a comfortable topic for the former Alaska governor and onetime chairwoman of the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission."

Brian Montopoli of CBS News filed an amazingly snark-free story:

"Palin was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm by the delegates here, who entered the hall to find Alaskan caribou jerky waiting on their seats. Hundreds of flashbulbs went off when Palin came onstage, and standing ovations and chants of 'Sarah, Sarah, Sarah' broke out throughout her remarks.

Washington Post Staff Writer Amy Gardner's report even admitted that Sarah Palin's appeal is more broadly based than she has previously been given credit for:

"In her second major speech since she appeared at the inaugural National Tea Party Convention in February, Palin's blistering criticism of President Obama was greeted with wild enthusiasm, providing evidence that Palin can reach establishment Republican voters."

Leave it to the bastion of bias The New York Times to come out of left field with a criticism they reserved solely for Sarah and no other SRLC speaker. Times political blogger Jeff Zeleny wondered:

"So what did Ms. Palin have to say about the news of the day: The new Supreme Court vacancy and Representative Bart Stupak’s decision not to seek re-election?"

We can't think of a single reason why Gov. Palin's speech should have mentioned either resignation. It was a political speech, not a commentary on the latest news of the day. No, this was just a another bizarre pretext for the leftist rag to attack Gov. Palin, as Cubachi pointed out:

"The NY Times, who keeps reporting on Sarah Palin’s low approval ratings and non-importance in politics, is indignant that Palin has not discussed the retirements of Rep. Bart Stupak nor Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. So now they are questioning whether Palin will run in 2012, or if her speech is dated. She just responded to Obama’s charges against her about having no knowledge about nuclear arms policy. Keep sliming it up, NY Times."

WaPo blogger Dave Weigel noted that SarahPAC distributed teriyaki sticks with caribou meat to the delegates and even published a photo of the snack.

Jillian Bandes, National Political Reporter for Townhall.com wrote her lede from the angle of the 2012 presidential race:

"Palin didn't hint at her 2012 plans in her keynote address to SRLC, but she did provide some meaty thoughts on energy policy, possibly her most important campaign issue if she does decide to run."

At The Atlantic, D.B. Grady also looked at the Palin speech through the lens of 2012. After firing a few barbs at Gov. Palin in his op-ed, Brady concluded:

"Much of her speech was devoted to energy policy, her strong suit in a potential presidential run... The crowd leapt to its feet when she said, 'There's nothing stopping us from achieving energy independence that a good old fashioned election can't fix.' Whether or not she is part of that election is unclear. She made no mention of her plans in 2012. But judging from the reaction of the party faithful present this weekend, it would be foolish to dismiss her out of hand. When she left the stage, much of the audience followed, massing outside for an autograph or a handshake. Few returned. If she wins the SRLC straw poll this weekend, it won't be because she wooed the crowd. It will be because she attracted the crowd in the first place."

In his Associated Press piece, Ron Fournier made Gov. Palin's speech secondary to Bobby Jindal's address, with a lede about the Lousiana's governor's remarks that he's not running in 2012:

"Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal welcomed several potential Republican presidential candidates to his state while insisting that he won't be joining them in the 2012 race."

- JP