Headline missed point of speech

I often hear of bias in the media and discount the assertion. After reading The Lima News' front page headline and account of Gov. Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention, I believe that bias is alive and well.

As an educator, I teach my students to use exact language. I also teach students the front page of a newspaper is for objective journalism, unlike the editorial page where writers may offer their opinions.

As a reader I take exception to "Palin mocks Obama." Mock means "to treat with contempt or ridicule." Jeer or scoff are listed as synonyms for mock. The implication of this headline is that Palin treated Sen. Barack Obama with ridicule or perhaps mimicked his speech patterns. Palin simply listed facts:

• Obama views a larger federal government as a good thing while one of the tenets of the Republican Party is to decrease the size of government.

• Obama was a community organizer and Palin was a mayor. Palin made a debatable statement that she has had responsibilities and, that as a community organizer, Obama has not.

• Finally, Palin referred to the statement Obama made last spring when he disparaged people in small towns who "cling to their religion and guns." Palin has every right to challenge Obama's statement, which offends me and many other Americans of faith.

The nature of the headline should be to summarize the main point or theme of the speech. This headline in no way summarizes the many important points that Palin made. Instead, it slants the story casting a dark shadow on a bright speech.