The rumors are true. Kate Gosselin will be bringing her kids to Alaska for part of her new show Kate Plus 8. It will be part of Kate’s drive to teach her kids about all of the different states. And what better authority to teach them than former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin? After all, she’s known far and wide for being an expert on so many things, from parenting to her command of the English language. She is signed on for her own show on The Learning Channel for a series called Sarah Palin’s Alaska, in which she will somehow have to spin her notorious anti-environmental moves as Governor. Whatever. People will watch.
I hope Palin reminds Kate to pack a parka.
Both women jumped at the opportunity to go camping together for Kate’s show. Hopefully, they will bring an encyclopedia with them if they want it to be a learning experience. After last week’s “Refudiate-gate”, Palin lost further credibility as an expert on, well, anything. And she certainly isn’t known for being into the outdoors unless it’s to hunt things, or to say things like “Drill baby, drill”. But since exploiting the environment is nothing new, exploiting the fame of Kate Gosselin for camera time is certainly well within her moral standards.
Sarah Palin has, after all, been hit hard on the whole “family values” thing, something that might have been pushed aside had her unwed teenaged daughter not recently decided to marry her babydaddy, proudly donning an engagement ring once again. It has been noted in the press that she not only disapproves of the couple reuniting, but has publicly stated that she doesn’t think the wedding will take place. Seeing young Bristol and Levi in Vegas with young Tripp as ring-bearer will make for a great US Weekly cover, so Palin better get on board with the whole thing pretty soon.
As for Gosselin, she seemed to fare much better in the media than her ex, but is still hardly viewed as a role model for young women. Her turn on Dancing with the Stars was, she claimed, a way for her to make money to support her family. But with the photos of her in a bikini surfacing all over the place, it seems that her visible tummy-tuck scars and new, higher breasts are telling a slightly different story. It also appears that she has had multiple visits from the Botox fairy.
All of the controversy does, however, make for great television, and the pairing of these two parenting giants guarantees huge viewing numbers. No one will be tuning in to Palin’s show to really learn anything about Alaska (unless redneck behavior counts), and no one will be watching Kate Gosselin to pick up parenting tips. But tune in, they will. These shows are not the brainchildren of TV execs looking to educate the masses. Rather, they are easy use of media-hungry women hoping to somehow redeem themselves to the public.
As for whether or not either will succeed, well, that, fortunately for both, is a no-brainer.