Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Huffington Post

Being suckered by the promo and curious about the subject, I
made the mistake of watching the segment. With Chris and his two smirking
guests chortling about how Palin did not know the name of any Founding Father,
they ran the segment with a clip of her interview with Beck.

What Palin actually said was that all of the Founding
Fathers did great things, but her favorite was George Washington, who did not
want to be a king. Before and after airing this clip of Palin, Matthews and his
two guests chortled (and that is a fair word) about Palin’s allegedly not
knowing any Founding Fathers.

Excuse me? George Washington happens to be a Founding Father
(perhaps Matthews and his guests didn’t know this) and virtually all historians
agree with Palin that Washington leaving office voluntarily, when he could have
been a king, was one of the defining moments in the early history of America
(perhaps Matthews and his two guests didn’t know this, either).

Lord knows there are ample issues on which to criticize Beck
and Palin. But this segment was not news. It was not entertainment. It was not
fact or truth or reporting. It was not serious. It was not honest. It was
totally and completely ridiculous. Palin’s answer was absolutely proper and
fully informed, and I among many others have often made the same point she did
about George Washington.

This whole segment was condescending elitism at its worst.
There has to be truth, integrity and clarity, even in this business. This
segment represented none of them. It was a ridiculous embarrassment to any
serious person concerned with facts, integrity and truth on television, or
anywhere else.

I have made more than my share of criticisms of Sarah Palin
in the past, and no doubt will again in the future. But let’s show voters,
cable audiences and ourselves a little more respect than what I saw last night
that appears far too often on cable “news,” including Fox, but also
including those who criticize Fox.

Palin’s answer about Washington was 100 percent proper. To
use her answer to support the proposition that she did not know the name of any
Founding Father was 100 percent false. We should all have the integrity to
accept this, while we criticize Palin on other matters where criticism would be
far more honest and called-for.