I’ve never been impressed with National Public Radio, even though friends of mine -- who are reading this right now and thinking “that’s me!” -- think me bullheaded and shallow for not appreciating the vast array of news and priceless journalism NPR has to offer.

Now NPR has published the worst assessment of Sarah Palin I’ve ever read. The form of the argument is grade-school quality (no offense to the grade schoolers out there). I don't mean to give away the whole thing, but NPR seems to be selling ad space in their Opinion section.

In “reporting” on Palin’s endorsement of Doug Hoffman, New York’s Conservative Party candidate for the state legislature, Betsy Reed attacked Sarah Palin for walking in “lockstep with the Christian right” by not endorsing the Republican candidate who is pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage. I guess Reed feels as though it would be more politically advantageous for Palin to abandon her ethics by voting for a candidate in her own party.  Isn’t that the type of behavior most Americans demonize politicians for?

While Reed is correct in saying that Palin’s endorsement could split the Republican vote and help elect the virtually unknown Democrat in the race, there are still principled reasons for not voting Republican, in cases such as this. There are non-negotiable issues for Christians in the voting booth. I believe that we cannot in good conscience vote for candidates who support euthanasia, abortion, gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research, or human cloning.

Then, in the middle of her article, Reed pulls out the traditional, tested tool of journalism to show just how relevant this piece really is: she hawks her own book. Not to be thought of as merely prejudicial, Reed spends several lines talking about the book she’s co-edited on how Palin doesn’t write her own speeches (as if any politician does), how empty her policy positions are, and how dangerous she is for modern feminism. But wait—if Palin is so “nonsensical” and irrelevant, then why is she important enough to write a book about? I disagree with Dennis Kucinich, but I’m not writing a book about him.

Continuing her attempt to dismantle Palin’s credibility, Reed placed the final layer of icing on this dung cake. Reed said that Palin is “practicing the politics of deception” because she isn’t actually “rogue.” When one makes a self-identifying claim, refuting the claim like a child by screaming “no you’re not!” doesn’t help one's case. Though Palin entered the 2008 presidential campaign with Hollywood finesse and with an impressive wardrobe, I hardly believe this is cause for cries of deception. Reed needs to research “ad hominem” before her next journalistic endeavor.

In selecting opinion content, my hope is that it’s back to the drawing board for NPR.