Conservative blowhards on Fox News and elsewhere have made a mantra out of taunting President Obama for avoiding Fox. They have repeatedly implied that if you’re afraid of Fox News how can you stand up to Iran or Al Qaeda.

Of course the answer is that no one is “afraid” of Fox. Choosing to refrain from submitting yourself to a disreputable tabloid that is overtly hostile to you and broadcasts more lies than truth is not fear, it’s common sense. Obama hasn’t accepted any interview requests from the National Enquirer or Rush Limbaugh’s fanzine either.

Yet no one on the right seems to be the least bit critical of Sarah Palin, whose current book tour has studiously avoided almost every national TV venue except for Fox. The non-Fox appearances were with notably entertainment focused hosts. So far she has visited with…

– Oprah Winfrey.
– Barbara Walters
– Sean Hannity
– Bill O’Reilly
– Greta Van Susteren

We can add Rush Limbaugh to that list and Gretchen Carlson of Fox & Fiends and, coming soon, Glenn Beck. This pattern of dodging all but the most friendly venues mirrors Palin’s behavior during the election season last year. She did not appear on a single Sunday news program for the duration of campaign, or since for that matter. She may be the most sheltered public figure in history.

Obviously she is afraid to encounter any questioner that has not been previously vetted and approved. Her handlers will not permit her to venture outside of her safety zone. This is all the more unusual considering that authors on book tours ordinarily crave attention and maximum exposure for the sake of book sales. But in Palin’s case, a decision has clearly been made to keep her cloistered amongst her congregation at Fox and well managed book signings.

One look at the photos on Palin’s Facebook page tell you something about her congregation. First of all, they are conspicuously white. I could not find a single face of color in the crowds. But one picture, more than all the others, truly illustrates Palin’s fan base:

The concerted effort to keep Palin circulating amongst devotees like this is paying off so far. She is selling boatloads of books and avoiding any unnecessary controversy. And despite shunning most of the media, they are still giving her plenty of press. That seems like a rather unfairly distributed arrangement. Perhaps it would be a better idea if they were to ignore her for as long as she ignores them. Why should the media serve as her PR agency when she treats them as if they don’t exist?

Sarah Palin may not be afraid of Fox News, but she is plainly afraid of everything else.