Chatterbox: Sarah Palin's Worst Enemy
It's not who you think
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Since Bristol and Levi broke up after birth of their son Tripp, Johnston has been target of sharp barbs from Palin spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton.
A politician's press secretary has to be like a doctor in one important respect: The Number One rule to follow should be a version of the Hippocratic Oath -- "first do no harm."
Working under that principle, one must wonder why Sarah Palin bothers to keep spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton around.
Rather than protect her boss/client, Stapleton seems intent on pouring gasoline on the fire. The latest example of public relations arson? Her handling of the return of Levi Johnston, father of Bristol Palin's baby, Tripp.
On Thursday, Johnston gave his opinion that Palin decided to quit the governorship because of monetary reasons:
Photos and VideosMore Photos and VideosLevi Johnston, 19, whose wedding to Bristol Palin was called off earlier this year, said Thursday he lived with the Palin family from early December to the second week in January. He claimed he heard the governor several times say how nice it would be to take advantage of the lucrative deals that were being offered, including a reality show and a book.
"She had talked about how nice it would be to take some of this money people had been offering us and you know just run with it, say 'forget everything else,'" he said.
He said he thinks book deals were really what appealed to Palin.
"I think the big deal was the book. That was millions of dollars," said Johnston, who has had a strained relationship with the family but now says things have improved.
Again, Johnston is a 19-year-old kid. The only way he's a threat to the Palins is if they let him become one. The smart response to his comments is to either (preferably) just ignore them or, alternately, just play them down. One could say, "The governor has made the reasons for her decision known. It's been more than six months since Levi lived with the Palins. He's not in a position to know what's transpired since then." With such a response, Palin and Co. remain above the fray.
Instead, Stapleton can't resist personalizing her exchange with Johnston: "It is interesting to learn Levi is working on a piece of fiction while honing his acting skills." By engaging him thus, Stapleton elevates him (and diminishes her bosses, the Palin family).
And it's not the first time she's lashed out in such a manner. After Levi's appearance on the Tyra Banks show in April (when he revealed, among other things, that Todd Palin offered Bristol a knew car if she would dump Levi), Stapleton responded in a statement:
"Bristol did not even know Levi was going on the show. We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship.
"Bristol's focus will remain on raising Tripp, completing her education, and advocating abstinence. It is unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well being of the child."
The statement ends, saying, "Bristol realizes now that she made a mistake in her relationship and is the one taking responsibility for their actions."
Even though Bristol and Levi are no longer romantically involved, they still have a child together. Having the spokeswoman trade barbs with the father of Gov. Palin's grandson isn't just dumb politically, it's stupid personally.
If anything, these incidents suggest something rather obvious that should have occurred to Gov. Palin long ago. She should have two spokespeople: An official one would respond to questions about public/official duties; a second one would respond to issues related to the family and other non-official concerns. Now that Palin's stepping down, maybe the inherent conflict of having one spokesperson represent both the governor and the family can be avoided.
Stapleton, unfortunately, seems poorly-suited in either role: A story only gets bigger when a statement is returned with major fire. This is true whether one is a press secretary for an elected official or a spokesperson for a celebrity client.
The fact is: Johnston's explanation for Palin's quitting seems to be more honest and straight-forward than Palin's own (or Stapleton's subsequent defenses). In short, he sounds more "plain-talking common-sense" than the so-called "maverick" governor.
Stapleton acts more like a typical political operative (as opposed to an elected official's press secretary): Attack a perceived threat. But, again, in doing so, she actually enhances Johnston's possibility for getting a modeling or acting contract and does nothing for her boss' political fortunes -- assuming Palin still has any.
Forget about the political opponents launching ethics charges against her. Sarah Palin's worst enemy is one of two people -- her spokeswoman who contributes to the soap-opera dramatics around the family -- or herself, for not realizing that she might be better off with a PR person who first does no harm.
New York writer Robert A. George blogs at Ragged Thots. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Posted Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009 - 1:05 AM EST
