Sarah Palin expressed displeasure Friday with media reports of her recent comments. Palin: Kennedy qualified, experienced

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin expressed displeasure Friday with media reports of her recent comments about Caroline Kennedy.

“I was not commenting at all on Caroline Kennedy as a prospective U.S. senator, but rather on the seemingly arbitrary ways in which news organizations determine the level and kind of scrutiny given to those who aspire to public office,” Palin said. “In fact, I consider Ms. Kennedy qualified and experienced, and she could serve New York well.”


“As a public official, I expect criticism and I expect to be held accountable for how I govern,” the Alaska governor added. “But the personal, salacious nature of recent reporting, and often the refusal of the media to correct obvious mistakes, unfortunately discredits too many in journalism today, making it difficult for many Americans to believe what they see in the media.”

In an interview with conservative filmmaker John Ziegler for his coming move “How Obama Got Elected,” posted on YouTube on Wednesday, Palin said that Kennedy has gotten softer treatment in the press because of a “class issue.”

“I’ve been interested to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she will be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope,” Palin said during the interview. “It’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.”

Palin’s office released the remarks along with a statement expressing “dismay” with coverage of the comments, especially with a story in Politico Thursday that the office said “inflames” the governor’s comments on Kennedy.

“Ironically, the latest media eruption concerning the governor came out of an interview she gave to a filmmaker who is creating a documentary on distortions by the national press,” the statement read.

“Particularly troubling was a post on Politico.com titled, ‘Palin: Media Goes Easy on Kennedy.’ The headline inflames the governor’s quote in the transcript, in which she answered a question about media treatment of the prospect that Caroline Kennedy would be appointed to the U.S. Senate.”