Harry Reid Calls Palin 'Shrill'

Amanda Carpenter | September 04, 2008 1:40 AM

I thought Sarah Palin's speech was good, but the aftermath makes it even better. She's somehow managed to both light a fire underneath Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and make CNN's Campbell Brown rush to her defense.

In her vice presidential acceptance speech Palin called Reid "the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate" who said "quote, 'I can't stand John McCain,' Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain."

Her line went over well in St. Paul, but not in Washington. Reid's press secretary Jim Manley told CNN Palin's speech was too "shrill."

"Anyone who knows Senator Reid knows he never backs down when he's fighting for what's right and that he always stands up to John McCain when he is wrong," Manley said. "Shrill and sarcastic political attacks may fire up the Republican base, but they don't change the fact that a McCain-Palin administration would mean four more years of failed Bush-Cheney policies." [emphasis mine].

CNN anchor Campbell Brown, who tussled with McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds days ago, thought Reid's statement smacked of sexism. "The catchword there is shrill," Brown said. Her colleague Wolf Blitzer wanted to clarify if Reid was singling out Palin as "shrill and sarcastic" or all of the convention speakers, but Brown seemed convinced the description was aimed at Palin.

"I rarely, if ever, hear the word shrill used to apply to an attack or a style of attack. It's usually applied to women and if they, Democrats are seen as treating her in a condescending way, it mutes, it will totally backfire [and] any attack she makes and allow her to be even tougher on them."

Here's the CNN discussion below: