Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Frank Micelotta/Fox
Sarah Palin’s latest book, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag, won’t be released until next Thursday, but fightin’ words from it have already leaked—and her American heart does not reflect fondly on the likes of Lee DeWyze.
“Did you ever wonder where the producers of American Idol come up with the seemingly endless supply of people who can’t sing but are deluded enough to get in front of a national television audience and screech out a song anyway?” Palin asks, according to a report on MTV.com.
Contestants on reality talent shows like Idol, she says, are victims of “the cult of self-esteem. No one they have encountered in their lives—from their parents to their teachers to their president—wanted them to feel bad by hearing the truth.”
Simon, however, gets a pass: “Cowell can be a little harsh at times, but he upholds the highest standards and something in us recognizes and responds to that,” she writes. “Unfortunately Cowell is almost alone in his willingness to tell hard truths.”
Without hard-truth tellers like him, she writes, “a growing chorus of voices is trying to convince our kids that hard work isn’t necessary anymore.”
And with that, her daughter Bristol, currently a controversial finalist on Dancing With the Stars replied: [step ball change thud] “Shazam!”
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