Is Sarah Palin Newsweek cover sexist? Palin says yes.

Perhaps this is something that Runner's World isn't that upset about after all. It's interesting to observe that right after the "Editor's Note" is a promo to see their original photo slideshow of Palin.

Too sexy!

Some people have rushed to Palin's defense, however. Like the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody.

"You've got to hand it to the folks at Newsweek," Brody writes. "They have accomplished being biased and sexist at the same time. Quite a feat. This cover has got to be a new low right? They don't use a photo of Palin on the campaign trail. No instead they take the sexy Runners World photo."

Didn't she pose for it though?

"Yes she posed for it but don't tell me they didn't purposely use that photo to make a point?" Brody said before asking the whereabouts of "sexy photos of Tim Pawlenty with an unbuttoned shirt relaxing on a couch in the Twin Cities."

Yeah, where are those, anyway?

Payback

Newsweek's Eleanor Clift says reactions like Brody's aren't surprising. It's something that conservatives will jump on.

"Why do right-wing men rush to Sarah’s side to defend her?" Clift asks. "My theory is that this is payback time. They’ve been called sexist and racist, and subjected to media ridicule of their allegedly retro views. Palin is their way to push back against the elites that have marginalized them."

What about that photo?

As for the use of the photo, Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham defended the decision saying it was "the most interesting image available."

"We apply the same test to photographs of any public figure, male or female: does the image convey what we are saying? That is a gender-neutral standard," he said.

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Hey, we'll never use a photo of you in running shorts. But if we do, we'll only distribute it on Twitter! So follow us.

See also:

Will President Obama read Sarah Palin's book?

Sarah Palin on the Oprah Winfrey show: Five best outtakes

Sarah Palin 'Going Rogue' and making dough

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