That story about Sarah Palin not knowing Africa was a continent instead of a country has always smelled like bullshit to me. I don't like her, I don't think she's a good person, I don't think she should be in charge of anything. I do think she is cunning and dangerous, and a new version of George W. Bush, combined with Barack Obama. All the same, I just could not believe the story about her ignorance of Africa. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I know how the news gets re-re-re-reported, and this one felt like, at worst, a misunderstanding that got turned into a fact.
Well, it wasn't even that. It was just made up. The media, with their lust for scandal and constant demand for content, gobbled it up. The next thing I know I'm debating the veracity of this story with a friend from high school on the other side of the country.
This leads me to the next point: the media is not responsible for Obama's victory or McCain's loss, or even Hillary Clinton's loss. The media is, in fact, responsible for making races that were over long before they "ended" go on and on and on. They demand ratings, and that means keeping a story going as long as possible. Hell, on election night they wouldn't tell their audience the truth about Obama's victory for a full hour, in spite of the mathematical reality.
Anyways. Stupid media.
