Q&A With HowObamaGotElected.com's Ziegler: 'The Best Stuff is Yet to Come'
Liza Porteus Viana
Contributor
Posted:
01/9/09
If you think the stuff Sarah Palin said so far for John Ziegler's documentary was explosive, Ziegler says, "you ain't seen nothin' yet."
I spoke with the author/broadcaster/filmmaker over the phone this morning about his interview with the Alaska governor, excerpts of which are all over the Web and cable news networks today. In the interview, Palin hit back at Katie Couric, Tina Fey, the media and anyone else she felt wronged her during the presidential campaign and beyond. You can go to www.howobamagotelected.com to watch, or click below.
Ziegler said he's "amused" by the frenzied reaction so far to what she said, since "the best stuff is yet to come." "This is the biggest firestorm I've ever been involved with."
Palin said some "very important and interesting things – most of which have not been made public," he added.
The documentary, "Media Malpractice ... How Obama Got Elected and Palin WasSmeared," is set to be released in late February, focused on the presidential primaries, the general election, and the aftermath. Ziegler is honing in on how the media completely "assassinated" the hockey mom from Wasilla.
"The most absurd notion is that she's not smart – that's just absolutely ridiculous. A lot of the far left went even further than that and tried to indicate she was somehow nefarious," he said with a laugh. "I've interviewed more than my share of celebrities and big-time people and whatever and I have never interviewed somebody who was as gracious, as down to Earth, as un-diva like as Sarah Palin. She's either the greatest actress in the world ... or she's the genuine article."
More of my Q&A after the jump.
Q. Do you think we've seen the last of Palin on the national political stage?
A. Palin said herself "that's a darn good question." From Ziegler: "But she clearly is not backing away from it. My sense is, rather than being defeated by this, I think she's resilient and wants another crack at showing who the real Sarah Palin is and basically correcting the record."
Q. What's the biggest surprise you think people will find in your film?
A. "The greatest surprise about this is, the most likely conclusion people have is that Hillary Clinton's the one that got screwed more than anybody else. It's pretty clear, based upon the conditions of this particular election year – if the media has performed the normal task," Clinton would have won the Democratic primary.
Q. What's the main thing you think people should know about Barack Obama that they may not, or, are choosing not to pay attention to?
A. "The thing about Obama is the narrative the media allowed to take hold. Without being at all cynical about it, his narrative of being post-partisan or a healer and a great sage ...this whole notion that he was born of a virgin under a star or something is just preposterous. I think we've seen that proven - what's happened in Chicago since the election. It's just amazing to me this guy was able to swim through the cesspool of Chicago through his whole political career and that never became an issue in the campaign."
Re: Obama's judgment: "The list of people continues to grow every day that he has endorsed or had relationships with ... he's been forced to jettison from his career or his administration ... it's really remarkable. The list of people he's had to toss aside for various reasons [i.e. Bill Richardson], almost all dealing with scandal. Yet we're all supposed to believe he's got this amazing judgment. I've not yet found a record of any major decision, tough decision, he's ever made that has worked out, other than hiring [chief campaign strategist and now senior presidential adviser] David Axelrod."
Q. You use the term "malpractice." That implies damage was inflicted. What was the damage?
A. "I think there was plenty of damage done. You can argue we have a president the American people know less about than ever in our modern history. But No. 2, a brand new president has been sat. Unless there's some sort of backlash, the vast majority of the media can become the political arm of a presidential campaign."
Plus, the "personal destruction" of a "good human being" (Palin) just because "she was a threat to the media's favorite candidate," he added. "If that's not a danger, I don't know what is."
Q. So what's next for you after "Media Malpractice?"
A. "I'm dedicating my life to this [right now]. This is a cause I feel very very strongly about. We'll see what happens after this. A lot of people like to say I'm becoming a right-wing Michael Moore .. if that's the case, I've got a lot more facts and a lot less fat."
RELATED:
Palin Takes Aim at Fey, Couric, Kennedy
Sarah Palin Shrieks at the Sight of Keith Olbermann
Palin Interviewer Subjected to David Schuster Goodness
I spoke with the author/broadcaster/filmmaker over the phone this morning about his interview with the Alaska governor, excerpts of which are all over the Web and cable news networks today. In the interview, Palin hit back at Katie Couric, Tina Fey, the media and anyone else she felt wronged her during the presidential campaign and beyond. You can go to www.howobamagotelected.com to watch, or click below.
Ziegler said he's "amused" by the frenzied reaction so far to what she said, since "the best stuff is yet to come." "This is the biggest firestorm I've ever been involved with."
Palin said some "very important and interesting things – most of which have not been made public," he added.
The documentary, "Media Malpractice ... How Obama Got Elected and Palin WasSmeared," is set to be released in late February, focused on the presidential primaries, the general election, and the aftermath. Ziegler is honing in on how the media completely "assassinated" the hockey mom from Wasilla.
"The most absurd notion is that she's not smart – that's just absolutely ridiculous. A lot of the far left went even further than that and tried to indicate she was somehow nefarious," he said with a laugh. "I've interviewed more than my share of celebrities and big-time people and whatever and I have never interviewed somebody who was as gracious, as down to Earth, as un-diva like as Sarah Palin. She's either the greatest actress in the world ... or she's the genuine article."
More of my Q&A after the jump.
Q. Do you think we've seen the last of Palin on the national political stage?
A. Palin said herself "that's a darn good question." From Ziegler: "But she clearly is not backing away from it. My sense is, rather than being defeated by this, I think she's resilient and wants another crack at showing who the real Sarah Palin is and basically correcting the record."
Q. What's the biggest surprise you think people will find in your film?
A. "The greatest surprise about this is, the most likely conclusion people have is that Hillary Clinton's the one that got screwed more than anybody else. It's pretty clear, based upon the conditions of this particular election year – if the media has performed the normal task," Clinton would have won the Democratic primary.
Q. What's the main thing you think people should know about Barack Obama that they may not, or, are choosing not to pay attention to?
A. "The thing about Obama is the narrative the media allowed to take hold. Without being at all cynical about it, his narrative of being post-partisan or a healer and a great sage ...this whole notion that he was born of a virgin under a star or something is just preposterous. I think we've seen that proven - what's happened in Chicago since the election. It's just amazing to me this guy was able to swim through the cesspool of Chicago through his whole political career and that never became an issue in the campaign."
Re: Obama's judgment: "The list of people continues to grow every day that he has endorsed or had relationships with ... he's been forced to jettison from his career or his administration ... it's really remarkable. The list of people he's had to toss aside for various reasons [i.e. Bill Richardson], almost all dealing with scandal. Yet we're all supposed to believe he's got this amazing judgment. I've not yet found a record of any major decision, tough decision, he's ever made that has worked out, other than hiring [chief campaign strategist and now senior presidential adviser] David Axelrod."
Q. You use the term "malpractice." That implies damage was inflicted. What was the damage?
A. "I think there was plenty of damage done. You can argue we have a president the American people know less about than ever in our modern history. But No. 2, a brand new president has been sat. Unless there's some sort of backlash, the vast majority of the media can become the political arm of a presidential campaign."
Plus, the "personal destruction" of a "good human being" (Palin) just because "she was a threat to the media's favorite candidate," he added. "If that's not a danger, I don't know what is."
Q. So what's next for you after "Media Malpractice?"
A. "I'm dedicating my life to this [right now]. This is a cause I feel very very strongly about. We'll see what happens after this. A lot of people like to say I'm becoming a right-wing Michael Moore .. if that's the case, I've got a lot more facts and a lot less fat."
RELATED:
Palin Takes Aim at Fey, Couric, Kennedy
Sarah Palin Shrieks at the Sight of Keith Olbermann
Palin Interviewer Subjected to David Schuster Goodness