Dave Weigel calls the Mat-Su Hospital. Does this really answer anything? Update!

Dave Weigel, who famously went WAY out of his way to discredit Andrew Sullivan on his own blog, decided to call the Mat-Su hospital and ask if Trig Palin was born there:

The clerk, realizing that Washington, D.C. reporters don't typically cold call her hospital, asked me if this call was about "our former governor." It was. Was Trig Palin born there?

"Oh, that's not even a question," she said. (If my reception was better I could have heard her eyes rolling at this point.) "Yes. Everybody here remembers that. Yes, this is where the Palins come -- this is their family hospital."

Well that is more than most journalists have been able to get out of the Mat-Su Hospital, who usually has taken the "We don't discuss our patients with the media" approach to these questions.  If indeed they are willing to go on the record now, that is a good thing.

But having said that who accepts "Yes. Everybody here remembers that. Yes, this is where the Palins come -- this is their family hospital." as an answer to the question that Weigel posed?  Was there somebody in the building who was there the day that the Governor gave birth? Why didn't Weigel wait to write his story after he talked to somebody with more information than this clerk? Or did he try, and nobody else would respond?

And while we are on the subject how does Weigel, or anybody, explain why CBJ, who was once a very approachable fixture in Wasilla, is now essentially channeling Greta Garbo? Here is what Phil Munger, the only Alaskan blogger who knows Johnston, recently wrote about this bizarre situation:

CBJ, as she was often called locally, was a very public fixture around Wasilla up to the time of Trig's birth. Our daughter attended ballet with one of CBJ's kids for years, and I often saw CBJ somewhere or another around Wasilla or Anchorage at least once a week for well over a decade. Between the time of Trig's birth - early 2008 - and the issuance of the election eve letter purported to be from her, CBJ was far less evident. Since the letter was issued, CBJ has been unavailable to comment on it or on any other matter related to Trig and Sarah Palin.

(And Phil if you read this feel free to chime in.)

I have developed very little confidence in Weigel's journalistic abilities ever since he misquoted Shannyn Moore, and used that as the basis for attacking Sullivan on the babygate issue. (BTW neither Moore, nor Weigel, has ever publicly corrected that story, which still burns my ass.)

This article also makes mention of strange policy decision which took place at Mat-Su Hospital:

One of the original concerns Sullivan had with the Trig Palin story -- one that's based on an absent fact, and not on innuendo -- was that Mat-Su Regional did not list Trig Palin's birth on its website. There's a portion of the web site, the baby nursery, where newborns are listed. Trig, born on April 18, 2008, is not there. And that's somewhat curious. So: Is every baby born at the hospital listed on the web site?

"No, it's not automatic," said the clerk. "Truth be told, we do take security photos of all the babies, but if the parents want their babies listed on the web site, they can request it. We're really sensitive about it, though. I think the hospital took up the policy not to publish names automatically because of possible baby kidnapping issues."

I would like to point out that Mat-Su made this decision AFTER the birth of Tripp Johnston, and that it remains the ONLY hospital in Alaska to make this strange, and unnecessary, choice. Oh and by the way, there has NEVER been a baby kidnapped from the Mat-Su Hospital.

The fact that something stinks in Wasilla about this birth, should be a scent that even a pathetic excuse for a journalist like Dave Weigel should have the ability to sniff out.

Update: Phil Munger is clearly no fan of Dave Weigel either. Make sure to read what Phil says about the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and how unlikely that it was the Palin "family hospital."

(BTW, and completely off topic, for those who are having trouble leaving comments, I do know about it and have contacted Google.  Other bloggers are having similar difficulties and have complained, so I hope it will be rectified soon.  Until then your best bet is to use a Google account. Apparently THOSE are getting through just fine.  Thank you for your patience.)