It’s hard to argue for either side in this matter since Sarah Palin seems to have been more offended that she was duped and made her secondary concern the fact that Sacha Baron Cohen was dressed as a wounded soldier. That may or may not be the case, but one thing that should be on the mind of those that consider this in any light is whether Palin had the supposed interview properly vetted or not. It certainly doesn’t seem that likely that a person with her connections would find it difficult to discover whether an interview was authentic or not. Plus it seems that she was so eager to conduct another interview that she didn’t even think twice about it, considering this just another way to step forward and be counted as someone that might be able to run in the next election. Oh yes, there’s no doubt that Palin hasn’t given up on the idea of being the first woman to hold the Oval Office, but she has to know that from the many things that were said about her during her time spent as John McCain’s running mate it would appear that much of America doesn’t have too much faith in her ability to run the country. But that’s neither here nor there at the moment. The truth is that Cohen is a bit sleazy and underhanded in his comedy, but he IS still a comedian and as such it’s his job to find ways to make people laugh.
It is and it isn’t his fault for how Palin reacted to his interview.
It is his fault.
There’s no doubt that Cohen handpicked his subjects to interview them since he’s not a stupid man but he has been very controversial in the past in his choice of humor. That being said he is a comedian and most if not all of what he says and does is protected by law. The fact that some of his material is very tasteless and doesn’t seem to follow what some would feel is a conventional method is not so much his problem as it is his challenge. For years now Cohen has been the guy that does things that no one else thinks should be done and he’s gained quite a following by being the most outlandish character he can be for many films. While he’s been a rather calm and distinguished character in some films he’s been completely outrageous in others such Borat, Bruno, The Dictator, and a few others. But dressing up as a wounded war veteran is a bit low even for him since it implies he sees this condition as just another tool that he can use. Without trying to defend him Palin did fly off the hook a bit but had a decent reason for doing so.
It isn’t his fault.
With all that being said in the paragraph above Cohen is a comedian. He’s not responsible for good taste, he’s responsible for making people laugh. Despite his often crude humor and boorish methods at creating a giggle or a titter he has managed to create a following and is not a hard person to spot or discover. Had Palin managed to dig a little deeper into this interview she might have seen past the facade and simply refused to be a part of it. But of course the argument could be that trying to check out the interview and determine its validity was not a big priority since so many interviews she’s done have been legit and without the kind of controversy that left her fuming and calling Cohen out as she left in a huff. On top of that many people, upon realizing they’ve been tricked, first exhibit shock and then even anger, but a great many of them get over those two emotions rather quickly since it is evident that Cohen is a comedian, and a well-known one at that, and is known for pulling outlandish stunts such as this. The reaction from Palin wasn’t right or wrong to be honest, but it did seem to indicate that she and her daughter were a little too high strung that day and couldn’t see even the faintest bit of humor in the act.
While Cohen is crass, brash, and even straight to the point with his ill humor the point of it all is that he is being humorous in some way and likely doesn’t disrespect the troops at all other than what he does on his show. You can argue, and rightfully so, that this is disrespectful and that his whole act is a bit much. But before Palin wants to cast too many fingers or condemn Cohen once again it might be better if she remembered who she’s backing despite the ‘locker room talk’ and the mockery that’s been made of several individuals just in the past year.
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