We saw several very good examples of this "history-morph" in two places in the last two weeks: the article in People magazine in the September 22nd issue and a long article published in the Dallas Morning News. For the first time, Gov. Palin speaks at length about why she waited so long to announce the news of her pregnancy publicly and did not even tell her immediate family she was carrying a Down's baby. In the "People" article, she repeats her prior statement that she knew Trig had Down's in December. However, while in numerous previous articles (published in April and May) she speaks only of being briefly "sad" at the news, now, we get lots more info: to People and the article in Dallas Morning News, she describes months of angst as she acclimates to what it will be like to have a special needs child, angst that prevented her from telling anyone (other than Todd) that she was even pregnant! I quote, "Not knowing in my own heart if I was going to be ready to embrace a child with special needs... I couldn't talk about it."
And from this, comes our second spin... the reason that no one noticed she was pregnant. I thought it was because SHE DIDN'T LOOK PREGNANT, but apparently not. Now we learn it was because she was CONCEALING it with "an elaborate game of fashion assisted camouflage," via scarves, shawls, loose-fitting blazers and "artfully-draped" accessories. (Hmmm. Here's the picture taken on Super Tuesday, in early February, 2008, when she would have been 26 weeks pregnant. Just a flat-chested no-tummy Gov. Palin in a running suit, with nary a shawl, scarf, blazer, or accessory, artfully-draped or otherwise, in sight.)(Unless you count the Blackberry. That's kind of an accessory. Maybe her tummy is hiding behind that.)
We're told that at the Vogue photo shoot on Wednesday, December 12th, she was photographed wearing an "enormous green parka." She would have been 16-18 weeks pregnant at this point. Huh? The Super Tuesday picture, above, was eight full weeks later. Why would she have needed a parka, enormous or otherwise? Is she trying to suggest now that she looked MORE pregnant on December 12th, than she did on February 5th?
Here's another photo taken when she would have been around 32 weeks. (Boy, that's some impressive pregnancy-concealing scarf. When I was 7-8 months pregnant with my fourth child and looked like a whale, I sure wish I could have had one of these!)
And then, our third spin. Why did she finally reveal the pregnancy? According to the Dallas Morning News, because "Alaskans were beginning to talk," i.e., speculate that she was pregnant. Really? In every news report from every paper and TV station in Alaska that we can still retrieve, the statement is the same: utter shock, complete disbelief, astonishment. Staffers being quoted that they had no idea. A state legislator who was also pregnant saying the same thing. No one, other than Sarah Palin herself, has ever suggested that people were beginning to notice. Here are two quotes from fellow state legislators, both saying the same thing. No one knew or even suspected. And it would be reasonable to assume that if anyone had heard gossip or rumors, it would be folks in the legislature, who worked with her professionally on a regular basis.
""Really? No!" said Bethel state Rep. Mary Nelson, who is close to giving birth herself.
"It's wonderful. She's very well-disguised," said Senate President Lyda Green, a mother of three who has sometimes sparred with Palin politically. "When I was five months pregnant, there was absolutely no question that I was with child." " (Of course, note that this is a misspeak on the part of Ms. Green... Palin was actually representing herself to be SEVEN months pregnant at this point, NOT five.)
Spin, baby, spin.
