drawing the wrong conclusion

There’s some triumphalism in the land (or at least on the left side of the blogosphere) about this magazine cover:

Palin detractors have concluded that her appearance in a “tabloid” under the headline “SCANDAL” will hurt her (and McCain) [e.a.].

Let’s say, instead, like millions of working-class Americans, you get your “news” on the political race from the supermarket aisle. Let’s say you’re — I don’t know, a “hockey mom” — and you’re intrigued by this Sarah Palin person you’ve been hearing so much about since Friday.

So you’re shopping this week — and what do you see on the cover of US Weekly? That esteemed journalistic institution is taking it right to John McCain’s running mate — with a hard-hitting piece that details the “scandal” involving her daughter’s pregnancy. …

It should be noted that there is no new reporting here that I can discern — just a greatest hits from what’s out there.

But this, to me, is the clearest evidence yet that the McCain-Palin campaign is losing the battle over Palin’s image. US Weekly readers are the voters her selection was designed to attract. There’s not much to like in this early take — and not much to indicate that the next round will be much better.

I say these detractors are dead wrong, because they don’t know their “tabloids.” US Weekly offers its (semi-respectable) readers a weekly (fake) soap opera. Its readers know that they’re being entertained. And they’re waiting for the next installment: Palin’s redemption.

Of course Palin may never get coverage like this from US: