Today, Palin’s office has accused the media of taking her remarks out of context “to create adversarial situations.” She continues to blame “independent bloggers” for the persisting (are they?) rumors that Trig is not her child. In a statement released by her office, Palin was quoted as saying: “As a public official, I expect criticism and I expect to be held accountable for how I govern, 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.”

Palin is particularly bothered by the press coverage of her interview with John Ziegler, clips of which were released yesterday. She claims that her comments were taken out of context and distorted to made it appear as though she was accusing the media of being “soft” on Caroline Kennedy, when she was actually commenting on the “arbitrary ways in which news organizations determine the level and kind of scrutiny given to those who aspire to public office," a distinction that is still unclear to us.

In an interview with MSNBC's David Shuster today, Ziegler responded to Palin’s newest complaints. He claimed that “what is posted on YouTube is fully in context, and puts the governor in her exactly accurate light. I don’t think that there is any remotely accurate accusation that anything was taken out of context here, and I think that will be very clear when we make the entire interview available.” Ziegler went on to accuse MSNBC of “character assassination” and taking the Katie Couric clip “out of context” (despite the fact that he just refuted Palin’s claims of being taken out of context, but whatever). As the interview continues, Ziegler became more and more irate, eventually calling Shuster a “joke,” to which Shuster responded: “John, the joke is the fact that you and Sarah Palin can’t take any responsibility for the fact that she wasn’t prepared to run for vice president.”

Palin Accuses Media Of 'Personal, Salacious' Reporting [CNN]
Shuster Vs. Palin Interviewer on MSNBC [Mediabistro/TV Newser]

In Ziegler’s new documentary How Obama Got Elected, clips of which just went up online, the "Mama Grizzly" bitches and moans about everything from her disastrous interview with Katie Couric to Tina Fey’s portrayal of her on SNL. Palin believes that she is still subject to unfair press coverage, and asks “Is it political? Is it sexism? What is it that drives someone to believe the worst and perpetuate the worst in terms of gossip and lies?” (Speaking of lies, let us count them, shall we?)

Palin also says that Tina Fey and Katie Couric have been “exploiting” her and “capitalizing” on her fame. According to Palin, she realized that the interviews with Couric weren’t going so well half-way through and wanted to back out, but the mean old McCain campaign made her do it anyway (which seems to be her excuse for everything these days). She completely glosses over her own lack of preparation, blaming the campaign for making her look like an idiot, when really, she was the only wise one: “it was told to me that, yeah, we are going to go back for more. And going back for more was not a wise decision either.” Also, she uses the age-old excuse familiar to anyone who watches reality TV (editing!), saying CBS “spliced it together,” and that “many of the topics brought up were not portrayed as accurately as they could have, should have, been.”

Palin claims that she never saw the final interview, and when asked why she couldn’t answer Katie’s question “What newspapers do you read?” she responds: “Because, Katie, you’re not the center of everybody’s universe.” She says her answer was “flippant” (right) and that “I read newspapers! I read publications!... That’s my job.”

Palin goes on to blame even the (air quotes) mainstream media in Alaska for unfair treatment of her. She trumpets her status as a reformer, but blames the media for being too fickle and turning on her “the minute that is, that I have done something, that is, you know, back to the conservative roots… that’s when even the mainstream media in Alaska, they turn on ya. There’s so much hypocrisy in it all.” But, see, if only she had run on the Democratic ticket, then things would have been better: “Had I been chosen perhaps to run as a reformer on the Democrat ticket, we would have seen an absolutely different, and I think, if you will, a much prettier profile of Sarah Palin and the Palin family.”

Palin: Media Goes Easy On Kennedy [Politico]
Palin On Olbermann: 'THAT Guy Is EVIL' [Think Progress]

Related: The Twelve Lies Of Sarah Palin [Andrew Sullivan]