Trig and the Truth

Andrew Sullivan wrote to Lisa Miller who did the Newsweek piece titled St. Sarah, in which her "choice" to bring her fifth pregnancy to term is trotted out yet again as the key to her being percieved as a saint to the evangelical base. Sullivan asked Miller if she got any confirmation about the Trig birth story. She responds that she didn't, because, like, Sarah said it, which makes it true. Here's an excerpt from the email:

"Palin’s book and public remarks are my sources for the details about the birth of Trig. Despite your persistent interest in the matter, we have never found any reason to doubt Palin’s truthfulness regarding the circumstances of Trig’s birth. Further, I’d argue that obsessing over Trig’s parentage obscures the bigger – and more important – story. In some quarters, the left so loves to loathe Palin that it can’t or won’t acknowledge the real power she has among millions of people. With midterms coming up and a presidential election just two years away, understanding that power is crucial to understanding our political context.

I use the word “discomfiting” near the end of the story, then, because Palin seems to be telling the story over and over for personal or political gain. Thus, a sympathetic, human moment becomes a billboard; that makes me squeamish because a real child is involved."

"Never found any reason to doubt Palin's truthfulness?" She said she went into labor with a high risk pregnancy, prematurely, in Texas, then flew home, drove to the boonies, and then delivered the child at a tiny regional hospital? The reason to doubt the story is the story itself. If you don't believe it, present that steaming pile of crap to an OBGYN.

In the Newsweek story she says this:

"The Trig story, moving in its first hearing, turns discomfiting and self-serving upon repetition... When she’s talking about Trig, Palin is able—if just for a few minutes—to convince a lot of women that she’s just like them. She’s a hardworking mom with too much on her plate. Her momentary consideration of the alternatives makes her ultimate choice more sympathetic, not less. No matter what generations of activists on both sides say, there is gray area in the abortion debate, and Palin is claiming it for the Christian right."

So, let's just see if we've got this straight. You're saying that because of the story millions of people essentially worship her. But whether the story is actually true or not makes no difference? What if those who believe the story actually found out it's all a fabrication for the express purpose of manipulating them? That makes no difference? If trotting the kid out as a political prop is "discomfiting" how do you characterize faking the pregnancy in the first place? It would mean there was "no momentary consideration of the alternatives," nor was there a "sympathetic human moment." It makes the entire narrative a cynical, creepy ploy to manipulate people that she clearly believes are pretty damned stupid. So, explain again how asking the media to get at the truth misses the point. Please.