Not with a president speaking after the union leader. This wouldn’t have been covered if a president didn’t speak after the union leader. Notice a difference?
It still didn’t have a thing to do with Palin speaking at a Tea Party.
They don’t attract the same people. Both spoke to attract their own side.
Most people didn’t see any of this on TV. They are seeing it all now after the fact.
Which means that with the advent of the internet, it is hard to deflect attention away from anyone anymore.