“They do want me to sit down and shut up.”Those aren’t the words of some crazy alien abduction “victim” or a 9/11 Truth Movement member. But those are the words of a conspiracy theorist. Those are the words of Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain’s running mate, spoken during an Oct. 14 interview on Rush Limbaugh’s popular radio program. On the show, Palin and Limbaugh agreed that the media — collectively, mind you — are conspiring to undermine McCain’s chances of victory by unfairly attacking Palin and thereby handing Sen. Barack Obama the election.If so many people didn’t believe it, such a belief would collapse beneath the weight of its own silliness. But plenty of people do believe it. Fifty-five percent believe media bias is a larger problem in our democracy than where the candidates get their campaign cash from, according to an Aug. 11 survey by Rasmussen Reports. Media bashing is a familiar tactic for the Republican Party, and it seems to hold plenty of weight with Republicans. Eighty-one percent of Republicans see media bias as a larger problem than campaign cash, according to the same Rasmussen survey.   And it is often the tactic of any losing campaign to whine and play victim, attributing collapsing poll numbers to anything but the weakness of the campaign or the candidate. Surely Palin’s aloofness in interviews is because of “unfair” treatment by the media.Palin has repeatedly said she is forgoing the “media elite” to speak directly to the American people.Of course, Palin can’t really speak to every single person who wants to talk to her — she isn’t God. No, to speak to the American people, Palin is relying on that pesky “media elite” she decries almost daily to broadcast her stump speeches and campaign events. She needs them to cover her speeches and discuss the content of them from night to night. But one thing Palin has not done since her selection as the vice presidential nominee is hold a press conference.She has yet to stand behind a podium, spotlight on her, with curious and — sometimes — answer-hungry reporters beneath her and take questions on the fly.She has done sit down interviews — though since her disastrous rounds with serious news organizations, she has been primarily been interviewed by cheerleaders on the right. In fact, she had not even been interviewed by CNN until Tuesday, two weeks before Election Day.So what? Why are press conferences important?Press conferences can no doubt be hostile environments for politicians. Sometimes, press conferences are given when something goes wrong or when a politician needs to pony up on a scandal. There is no easy way to prepare for a press conference, and politicians need to be ready to answer questions on the fly. In that environment, ignorance is amplified and lies are a bit harder to sell. Follow up questions can be asked.Palin apologists are probably thinking I just want to see Palin get cornered by the media.Well yeah, that’s the point. Politicians — all of them — need to be pressured into answering questions truthfully. Press conferences allow for a certain level of transparency; we get to see candidates react to an uncomfortable position. Press conferences can be quite revealing about the type of leader a person is. Think about former Gov. Kathleen Blanco — her legacy, fair or not, may well be summed up by the teary-eyed press conference she gave in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Blanco was wearing indecisiveness on her sleeves that day, and it haunted her the rest of her second term.  Palin in her short time on the national stage has simply not been tested by the media yet, certainly not as much as Sen. Joe Biden. But she is asking us to elect her to be the second-most powerful person in the world.There are plenty of questions for her to answer — ethics scandal, anyone? A press conference would go a long way in proving her worth as a potential vice president.Again, this is a standard all candidates should be held to, and if Obama or Biden had comparable issues, they should open up to the press as well.  But Palin has decided to complain about the coverage of her and McCain’s campaign by the “media elite” even though she has taken no steps to rectify or correct them. The media has had to fill in the blanks with the information of others because Palin and the McCain camp have been so reluctant to dole it out. Even if you believe the media to be one massive, liberal conspiracy, why should that stop Palin from confronting them? How could she handle hostile dictators from rogue countries if she’s afraid of, say, Wolf Blitzer?—-Contact Nate Monroe at [email protected]