Blog Roundup: Hot Stuff

Here, your weekly dose of stories.
Stories 0n the youth vote, debunking myths about Palin, photoshopping skills, comments on Charles Gibson the journalist, and the importance of foreign policy in Saudi Arabia.


YOUTH VOTE
"will.i.vote."
Slate.com

Although much attention has been given to the importance of the youth vote, is it all just hype? Writer Christopher Beam likens the impact of the youth in presidential elections to one person taking the credit if his candidate wins by one vote. Currently, Barack Obama holds the favor of approximately 60 percent of the under-29 population. Yes, in 2004, record numbers of youth turned up at the polls, but the 18- to 29-year-old population only makes up 17% of voters. And while youth are becoming more politically active, so has the older population. Beam lists a number of factors (including the proliferation of technology, increased participation at midterm elections, and more young people registering) that could shake the 2008 election.
>>read on



SARAH PALIN
"The Sarah Palin Files"
Henry Jenkins Weblog

You've seen the photos floating around cyberspace: a collage of images accentuating Mrs. Palin's sensual curves, librarian glasses and mighty superhuman strength. As much as ordinary people have the capacity to play citizen-journalist by breaking news from cell phones and digital cameras, they can also partake in the creation of smart editorial cartoons. Sassy and blunt, they take satirize and mock public figures with a brutal sharpness no credible newspaper would publish. These images represent how Sarah Palin and her family have shattered our expectations of a respectable female politician's image. >> read on



And there's even one playing off of Palin's pregnant daughter and Alaska's capital.



And to top it off, here's a video from Funny or Die:

See more Gina Gershon videos at Funny or Die

SARAH PALIN - TRUE OR FALSE?
"The Sarah Palin Smearfest"
CNN

We're pretty cynical of how we're marketed to. We don't believe the car salesman on first take, and we're tired of the mudslinging between candidates. So how do we know what to believe? Glenn Beck from CNN sorts through some of the myths and outright lies about Sarah Palin and her views. The rumor that Palin believes God told her to go to war with Iraq? False. Did Palin cut funding on special needs kids? Nope. The fear that Palin has way less experience than Obama? Well, he only has 133 more days in office than she. Read on to get the full story.
>> read on



MEDIA COVERAGE
"Charlie Gibson's War"
Talking Points Memo



Journalists love those hardhitting questions that come out of left field and sock the politican in the gut. Yaddah yada, skip the planned BS speech and get to the real stuff, the real issues, the real person inside. Charles Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin on Thursday night was grueling. Todd Gitlin even calls Gibson a "lipstickless bulldog," exposing Palin's unconvincing answers about Bush's foreign policy and the Russia-Georgia conflict. Gitlin says Gibson didn't press enough, citing Social Security, Alaska's melting glaciers, and her association with the Alaska Independence Party as issues he could have asked. What grade do you think Gibson should get for his journalistic effort? >>read on

FOREIGN POLICY
"Relationship with Saudi Arabia..."
The Hill

Saudi Arabia is on its toes, waiting like the rest of us to see which candidate becomes the next president. Both George W. Bush and his father upheld a favorable relationship with Saudi Arabia's dignitaries, something that McCain and Obama might not continue. Obama has stated his advocacy for women's rights and human rights, two issues that are particularly touchy in a country where "women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to vote, drive or participate in the Olympics." Roxana Tiron investigates each candidate's possible approach to diplomacy in Saudi Arabia. >>read on