The libs will do anything they can to get the Palins at every opportunity.
IMO, they pushed this story to take the heat off of their beloved odumbo leader. His popularity due to his recent launch against ISIL, (note not ISIS) didn’t sit well with the non-libs so they needed another diversion.
I think you have hit on a key point. Their champion turned out to be just an epic fail. So they try to turn the attention of the not-so-bright segment to someone else.