In trying to portray Katie Couric as having “patronizingly challenge[d] & lecture[d]” Sarah Palin during their series of interviews, Brent Baker asserted in an Oct. 1 MRC CyberAlert that Couric was calling Palin “an ill-informed dolt” by asking, “What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?” Baker added: “Couric wouldn’t let go: ‘Like what ones specifically?’ and ‘Can you name a few?'”
Baker doesn’t explain how asking someone what publications they read equals accusing someone of being an “ill-informed dolt.” Nor does he mention that, as the transcript he attaches makes clear, the reason Couric “wouldn’t let go” of the question is because Palin wouldn’t give a straight answer to it:
COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
COURIC: Like what ones specifically, I’m curious that you-?
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name a few?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested it seems like, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
Does Baker think this was too tough a question for Palin or that she was somehow justified in refusing to offer a list of what she reads?