Piling On

Scott Conroy of CBS News writes a blog entry entitled "Palin Stretches Facts In Effort To Paint Obama As Presumptuous." She's a politician - isn't she required to stretch the truth?

Following a fiery introduction by "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who accused the media of being "deliberately sexist" in its coverage of Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor suggested that Barack Obama assumes he already has the election wrapped up.

No exaggeration on the sexism charge - many women feel this way... in fact, I think Cokie Roberts made the same accusation today on This Week.

"And you know that elections - they're not decided until the votes are counted," Palin said at a rally here.

She's got that one right - although most of the media disagrees.

"But our opponent, he sure seems, once again to be getting out a little bit ahead of himself. Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that Barack Obama's inaugural address is already written."

The article Palin was referring to reported that John Podesta - who is in charge of Obama's transition team - wrote a hypothetical inaugural address for the Illinois senator in a book released last summer at a time when he was advising Obama's opponent Hillary Clinton.

Wow. He was writing the victory speech for Barack even as he was advising Hillary? No wonder Hillary ran such a bad campaign! Bill's buddies couldn't wait to throw them under the bus!

"Nine days out from the election, nine days out, and yet it's already written," Palin said.

"John McCain and I, we're out here asking for your vote so we can get to work for you, and a lot of folks are still undecided. And you know, Barack Obama and I, we both have spent quite some time on the basketball court. But where I come from, you have to win the game before you start cutting down the nets."

Ok so far.

Palin then brought up the presidential seal that the Obama campaign had made for the Democrat and the campaign's plan for Obama to speak at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last summer - a setting that is typically reserved for heads of state.

"Or the stadium that he's already rented out for the victory party that he has planned," she said.

But the Obama campaign has not, in fact, rented out a stadium for a victory party. Obama plans to hold his election night celebration at Hutchinson Field, at the southern end of Grant Park in Chicago.

Oh, that's right. He's getting the venue for free, where a fortune will be spent to built a victory site. Sorry...

"You kind of get the feeling that the Obama campaign thinks this whole election process is just a formality," Palin said. "They've overlooked though the minor detail of earning your confidence and your trust and winning your votes. And I know that judging by media coverage, it does seem that the coronation is already set, but as for John McCain and me, we don't take any vote for granted, and we are not assuming that we have your vote, we are respectfully asking for it."

That's his excuse for a column. How about some coverage on how Barack stretches the truth when he says he's not a socialist?