After many weeks of promoting Rogue, Sarah Palin's book tour ended today in Alaska.
From the AP:
Sarah Palin has returned to Alaska to end her national "Going Rogue" book tour in her home state.
The former Alaska governor, who gained instant fame with her run last year as the Republican vice presidential candidate, is holding the final book signings at two Air Force bases on Sunday. The events are closed to the public.
Palin was to sign copies of her best-selling memoir at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, then at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks.
The events are the first book signings in Alaska for Palin, who resigned as governor in July, about 17 months before the end of her first term.
Her book, released in November, has sold more than 1 million copies.
I think comparing this book to a career retrospective like the Bill Clinton autobiography is inaccurate.
I'd really like to know how the sales of "The Audacity of Hope" compare with the Palin book; after all they were both written at the same point in the author's career.
Oddly, you can't get this info off Wikipedia; I suspect the answer to the question is politically incorrect.
“Going Rogue,” the newly released memoir by Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan governor and Republican nominee for vice president, sold 469,000 copies in its first week of release, according sales figures released Wednesday by Nielsen BookScan. That made “Going Rogue” the top-selling book of the week on Nielsen BookScan’s chart, putting it ahead of new releases from authors like James Patterson (whose novel “I, Alex Cross” was No. 2) and Stephen King (whose novel “Under the Dome” placed at No. 3), as well as Dan Brown’s best-selling potboiler “The Lost Symbol.” Ms. Palin’s book also pulled the second-best first-week sales of any memoir by a current or past president, or vice presidential or presidential contender, Nielsen SoundScan said. The No. 1 book on that list, “My Life” by Bill Clinton, sold 606,000 copies in its first week of release in 2004; at No. 3 is Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “Living History,” which sold 440,000 copies when it was first released in 2003.
I work at a show in Lake of the Ozarks called the Main Street Music Hall. We do impersonations of many different artists and celebrities. I was asked to impersonate "Sarah Palin" at a local rally, and it was shocking to me how many people thought I was really her! I was latter asked to make appearances as Sarah (and give speeches) 6 more additional times not including the nightly show of the Main Street Music Hall. Unlike Tina Fey, I truly liked and admired her and have many things in common with Sarah. Our political opinions and faith are very much in line, She and I both like to hunt and have 5 children. When my daughter and I saw the announcement of John [McCain's] running mate we looked at each other and she said "mom that could be you!"
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday night that the attacks on Sarah Palin, his former vice presidential running mate, are unlike anything he has ever seen.
“I’m entertained and sometimes a little angry when I see this constant, vicious attacks by people on the left,” McCain said of Palin during an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.
“’I’ve never seen anything like it in all the years that I’ve been in politics,” McCain continued, “the viciousness and the personalization of the attacks on Sarah Palin.”
McCain did not mention that some of the harshest attacks against the former Alaska governor have come from former members of his own presidential campaign – who he has defended to some extent – but did said that he is “very proud” of Palin.
“I'm proud of the job she's doing. And I believe that she will play a major role in the politics in America. Americans like her,” McCain said, “whether the New York Times and others happen to like that or not.”
Certainly there’s a strong anti-egghead bent on the Right, and you’re probably never going to see grassroots conservatives swooning for a purely cerebral candidate — a Adlai Stevenson or Bill Bradley type. But it’s possible for a candidate to have the common touch and to know a thing or two about domestic policy (see Clinton, William Jefferson), and I don’t see any evidence that a conservative politician couldn’t profit from trying to pull off that particular two-step.
For instance, would Sarah Palin lose a single right-wing fan if she suddenly started quoting National Affairs articles in all her speeches? I don’t think so. Or bracket Palin, since she’s so polarizing: Let’s suppose that Huckabee — a smart guy, and a fluent talker — decided to bone up seriously on policy before the 2012 campaign. Which grassroots fans would that cost him, exactly? True, most of Huckabee’s partisans like him more for who he is than what he stands for (a phenomenon that’s hardly unique to conservatives), but surely he could pick up a few more adherents by out-shining your average G.O.P. pol when he talks about, say, health care or entitlement reform. (A lot of people vote in Republican primaries, and for a lot of different reasons — they aren’t all just in it for the anti-elitism.)
Sarah Palin has signed 20,000 copies of "Going Rogue" during her nationwide book tour, a staffer traveling with the former Alaska governor estimates.
Palin will have visited 13 cities and traveled 4,000 miles by the end of Tuesday, with 80 percent of that travel done aboard the "Going Rogue" bus, according to Jason Recher, an adviser to Palin during her vice presidential bid now assisting with book tour logistics. Recher ticked through the statistics while riding the bus to Palin's stop at The Villages retirement community in central Florida.
He said Palin has sold 700,000 copies of her memoir so far.
Sarah Palin impersonator Patsy Gilbert showed up to work the crowd Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at the Barns and Noble book store in Orlando, FL. People lined up early to get a chance to get books signed by Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska who will arrive around 7 p.m. Tuesday night. At 9:30 there were approximately 300 people waiting in line to get a wrist band that will allow them in tonight.
“The advice Dowd gives—such as that she should make serious speeches — and she could have started following that advice at any time. She hasn't.”
Good advice. By making serious speeches I guess Ramesh means something like this example. His esteemed colleague at NRO might even agree.
While the following list of examples are not actual speeches, nonetheless, they are still examples of what I think could be construed as serious policy discussions such as this, this, this, this, this, this, and this. I could give many more examples but I think the list is sufficient to make the point. As far as her “complaining about every perceived unfairness to which she is subjected”, I don’t think she really has. To begin with, the well-documented list of unwarranted attacks on her and her family is far too long and there isn’t enough time in the day for Palin to comment on every attack even if she wanted to. And it seems to me that any discussions of unfairness by Palin have only been the result of being asked questions in interviews to which she has honestly answered.
I have an idea. Ramesh should read Palin’s book and see exactly just how often she actually complains versus her writing about substantive policy issues and her conservative political philosophy. As far as Palin winning the presidency let alone running in 2012, who knows? The election is three years out. And as Ramesh pointed out it isn’t clear that Palin is even interested in creating a campaign. But then again, is she?
On Tuesday, "Going Rogue" was the No. 1 bestseller on both Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. It also was Amazon's No. 1 bestseller in several categories, including biography, history, and non-fiction. And after ordering an initial print run of 1.5 million, Palin's publisher HarperCollins said last week that it ordered an additional million copies.
"I think people want to hear her side of the story," Jim Milliot, the business and news director of Publisher's Weekly, told FoxNews.com. "There's a lot of back and forth about her in the media and they want to know what she's about."
Both online booksellers are offering the book at steep discounts: Amazon has reduced the title by 50 percent from its $28.99 list price to $14.50, while Barnes & Noble is offering it for $17.39.
Even at such discounted prices, HarperCollins has — or soon will — recouped the reported $5 million advance it paid the former governor. "I think it's safe to say this was a good investment for the publisher," says Milliot. Sales of "Going Rogue" will soon break the 1 million mark and even at discounted prices, the publisher will likely make at least $4 per book.
While Palin isn't likely to start collecting royalty checks soon — HarperCollins has to recoup overhead costs including printing, manufacturing and promotion — both publisher and author have reason to rejoice. And political insiders says the sales of "Going Rogue" bode well for Palin, possibly providing her the forum to relaunch her political career.
"This book has allowed her to reclaim her political narrative," says Robert Costa, a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow at the National Review, who has been blogging about Palin's book. "She has reclaimed her own story by writing it."
But the 2012 presidential election is a long way off, and Palin's political ambitions are still up in the air. "It remains to be seen if these sales can be translated into votes," Costa said.
Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) is running against Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican-turned-Democrat, in next year's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. Sestak's playing hardball: He just released a new web video about Specter's Palin connection:
Shrug. I don't think Democrats in the Keystone State will care much about the above. Specter has a lot of liabilities as a Democrat, but his stumping for Palin is not one of them.
Former vice-presidential candidate and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spoke to a crowd gathered at Orange Park Mall before going inside to sign copies of her new book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," for at least 500 people who had lined up Sunday and Monday to get wristbands.
"I know we can't get to everyone and I so apologize. I just want to thank you so much for this encouragement, for your support," Palin said in brief remarks before heading inside.. "Thanks for reading my book Thanks for reading my book, unfiltered — you don't have to go through the media to hear my words. I love that."Her book was released on Nov. 17 and Palin's tour began the next day in Michigan. This is the final day of her promotional book tour, with the stop at Books-A-Million in Orange Park in the morning and an afternoon stop at The Villages, where she was treated like a star during her first campaign stop in Florida in September 2008.
People started lining up outside the Orange Park store at 5 a.m. Sunday to get a wristband to entitle them to meet Palin and get a book autographed.
Why so early? "To support her. She's for us women, she's for our rights, she's for America and I love her," Brenda Singletary said.Many of those in line relaxed on lawnchairs or air mattresses and some passed the time reading the book. Most knew exactly what they were going to say when they met Palin."I'm going to say, 'I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. You go, girl,'" Janice Sleap said.While 1,250 wristbands were to be given out, since the signings at previous stops had taken longer than anticipated, organizers of the Orange Park stop gave out only 700 wristbands and guaranteed that only the first 500 people would get signatures. If time remains, Palin will continue signing books for the rest of the people with wristbands.
The advice Dowd gives—such as that she should make serious speeches and refrain from complaining about every perceived unfairness to which she is subjected—is perfectly good. Very little of it is original: People who wish Palin well have been offering it for nearly a year, and she could have started following that advice at any time. She hasn't.
I see three possibilities. The first is that she has another model in mind for winning the presidency, in which case I think her chances are bleak. The second is that she wants to run in 2012 but has no particular strategy in mind, in which case her chances are still more bleak. The third is that she has no intention of running. Note that this third option is compatible with her being an important voice for the causes she believes in.
I conclude that Palin is highly unlikely to be our next president.
Former Gov. Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue," blames her first legislative director for moves early in her term that helped poison her relationship with state lawmakers. But the ex-aide, John Bitney, calls Palin's account a fabrication and said he wishes his former boss would leave him alone.
"I'm just pilloried right and left and turned into the big bad wolf here for stuff I didn't do," said Bitney, who is now an aide to Valdez Republican Rep. John Harris. "It's like I'm this fictional character that she's decided to make me out to be this sort of incompetent slob."
Palin's lawyer, Tom Van Flein, responded in an e-mail that Bitney and others have been talking about "their perceptions of, and distortions about" Palin for more than a year, since after she was chosen as Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate.
"'Going Rogue' is Sarah Palin's book to set the record straight. It is her right to speak about the events that occurred in her administration and neither Mr. Bitney nor anyone else has the right to stifle that speech," Van Flein said. "The statements in 'Going Rogue' speak for themselves, and it is Sarah Palin's turn to get the truth out there after a year of misrepresentations, half-truths and dissembling by her critics."
A week after its release, Sarah Palin's memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, has seized the nation's hearts and minds with such awesomeness that it may change the nature of political discourse. It sold 300,000 copies on its first day, topping Hilary Clinton's '05 memoir, Living History (200,000), but falling short of Bill Clinton's '04 My Life (400,000). So eager are fans to gobble up Palinian impishness, puckishness and roguery that HarperCollins has upped the first printing from 1.5 mil to 2.5 mil.
Not to undermine Palin's écriture, but she may want to fix a tiny mistake. She attributes the lovely quote used as an epigraph for Chapter 3 to a curious source, John Wooden. (The basketball coach?) The quote - "Our land is everything to us . . . I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives" - is actually from Cheyenne chief John Wooden Leg.
If you like Palin – well go ahead. It’s a free country. But quit saying that “the people” love Sarah Palin.
They don’t. Actually, they quite dislike her. The longer they know her, the more they dislike her. And even more than they dislike her, they do not respect her. That reaction of dislike and disrespect is most concentrated among American women.
Sarah’s constituency is a relatively small cohort of conservative men. I offended a lot of these people last week by suggesting that there was some sexual dynamic at work in the enthusiasm for the politician whom Rush Limbaugh used to describe as “Governor Babe.” So let’s put it this way: Whatever impulse it is that so excites Palin supporters, it is not shared by their wives.
I like how the AP writes "few" non-fiction books have debuted as well. It'd be more accurate to say "one" non-fiction book has, since Clinton's is the only one who has. Although, is it really fair to call his book non-fiction? Has he ever told the truth about anything? I'd say his book is most definitely fiction.
Still, only one American has managed to sell as many books on the first day and first week, and he was a two-term President. Not too shabby. I feel pretty confident that if in 2024 President Palin releases her memoirs after eight years in the WH, she'll beat Clinton's record easily.
RNC chairman Michael Steele defended Sarah Palin today, urging the media to "give the woman a break."
"She's someone who's going to be a part of our political future as a party and that's a good thing," Steele told MSNBC. "I'm excited about it."
Steele's response to Palin resigning as governor:
"I thought it was a smart move for her to make so she can focus on the future and let Alaska focus on its future without her leadership being a distraction to the good people of the state."
On Palin's qualifications to run for national office:
"I'm still mystified by the fact that people look at this woman who was a successful mayor, a successul energy person for Alaska, a successful goevnor, and think she doesn't have the gravitas to do it."
On the media's treatment of Palin:
"Give the woman a break. She's been under an enoromous amount of scrutiny. The disrespect shown to her I don't think we've evern seen in politics before. cCrtainly for a female candidate. And I think people need to check themselves when it comes to Sarah Palin."
What is the single worst sentence in Sarah Palin's Going Rogue? According to Slate's Going Rogueindex, it comes on Page 102: "As the soles of my shoes hit the soft ground, I pushed past the tall cottonwood trees in a euphoric cadence, and meandered through willow branches that the moose munched on." Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times didn't have to read past the first paragraph for her nomination: "I breathed in an autumn bouquet that combined everything small-town America with rugged splashes of the Last Frontier."
These sentences have the markings of what might be called the high Palin style (her writing, as opposed to her speeches): multiple references to local flora and fauna, heavy use of PSAT vocabulary, slightly defensive tone, difficult-to-parse meaning.
Sarah Palin appears well on her way to becoming a million-selling author.
"Going Rogue" sold 700,000 copies — a number that includes pre-orders — in its first week of release, according to a publishing official close to the former Alaska governor. The official was not authorized to release the sales figure and asked not to be identified.
Palin's memoir came out Nov. 17 with a first printing of 1.5 million copies. On Friday, publisher HarperCollins announced that the printing would be increased to 2.5 million.
Few nonfiction books have debuted so well. In 2004, Bill Clinton's "My Life" sold more than 900,000 copies in its first week.
While today I would not support a Palin candidacy, here are five suggestions that would go a long way toward winning her more converts:
— Quality over quantity. You don't need to "tweet" quite so much. You don't need to be at countless rallies and photo ops. Instead, seek out substantive platforms where you can relate to people in a thoughtful, measured way. Appear on Sunday shows every now and then, sit down with Charlie Rose and editorial boards, and give serious speeches on your approach to the world in the 21st century.
— Hope and fear. To be elected president, a candidate has to understand voters' fears but appeal to their hopes. Ronald Reagan (and Bill Clinton) knew this very well. To do this more comprehensively, I would suggest traveling more to better get a handle on where the voters are on topics related to finances, faith, race, etc. Get out of the bubble of high-profile events. Go to the inner cities, the suburbs and small towns where folks are trying to live their lives through great anxiety. And don't go to talk about yourself, but to listen to others.
Sarah Palin drew a crowd of over 4,000 on Monday to her book signing at Fort Bragg, though the former Alaska governor kept her appearance from turning into the kind of "political platform" that some military officials were concerned about.
Palin did not give a speech during her three-hour stop at the North Carolina Army base, apparently living up to her pledge to tone down the event after Fort Bragg officials expressed concern that the visit could prompt grandstanding against the Obama administration.
"It was just a peaceful crowd — orderly, no one making any strange comments that I know of," a Fort Bragg official told FoxNews.com. The official said close to 4,500 people showed up, many braving the cold and rain as they waited for hours to meet the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. The official said about 500 people had to be turned away when Palin had to leave.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin promised to limit her enthusiasm during her visit today to the home of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and Green Berets.
About a dozen people camped out at the Fort Bragg store where Palin planned to sign copies of her new memoir.
Rosemary Haney, 63, of Fayetteville, whose husband spent 26 years in the military, arrived nearly 24 hours before Palin’s scheduled appearance. Haney hopes Palin will run for president in 2012.
"I think she’ll run and I think she’ll get it," Haney said. "She’s what we need for the country."
Defense Department regulations limit the appearances of politicians but the Army agreed to let Palin on post because she is not campaigning, said Col. Billy Buckner.
"She fell into a little bit of a gray area," Buckner said. "She’s not a political figure per se, but she certainly carries a tremendous amount of interest and influence across the country."
Army spokesmen said Palin will not make a speech, pose for photos, or personalize notes in the books.
The Army has worried Palin’s appearance would prompt political grandstanding against President Barack Obama. That fear initially led post commanders to limit news organizations interested in covering Palin’s appearance, though the restrictions were later dropped.
Fort Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum told WTVD that sales of Palin’s book at the post store have been weak so far.
Depending, of course, on which recent set of numbers you peruse and how the questions are phrased, 307 days into his allotted 1,461, the 44th president's approval rating among Americans has slid to 49% or 48%, showing no popularity bounce from his many happy trips, foreign and domestic.
Riding the wave of immense publicity and symbiotic media interest over her new book, "Going Rogue," and the accompanying promotional tour, Palin's favorable ratings are now at 43%, according to ABC. That's up from 40% in July.
Most recent media attention has focused on the 60% who say she's unqualified to become president. Her unfavorable rating is 52%, down from 53%, which still doesn't ignite a lot of optimism for Palin lovers.
Can’t wait to meet our troops – and all those who love the U.S. Armed Forces – today at Ft. Bragg. Read my book’s dedication page. The book is for these Patriots who fight for freedom. They deserve our support and our government’s unwavering commitment to equipping them for victory.
The book tour is beyond all expectations. This feels like the time when a team comes together, gearing up before a major competition to show unity and supply strength and encouragement to each team member equally, regardless of the team member’s role or title.
On this tour I hear the grave concerns Americans have for our children’s future. I also feel the hope so many of you want to cling to – hope for those on Capitol Hill to see the light, hope for politicians to be humble enough to acknowledge that growing the federal government isn’t the answer to our economic challenges, hope that it won’t take another terrorist strike to wake us up to continued threats by those who hate America and our allies.
At every stop on this tour I see Americans coming together to say, “Enough. We love our country too much to just sit down and shut up while politicians take us for a ride. We shall be heard.”
We see a united team.
Now, I want to give you more hope: We are Americans. Anything is possible in America. Anyone can make a positive difference. You don’t need a title or a political position or a pedigree. We can take our country back from those who think growing national debt will grow prosperity for us, the little guys. We can take it back from those who think shrinking military power will make the homeland safer for us, the little guys.
We can take it back because we’re fired up, and we’re all about telling our government to listen to us, trust us, get back on our side… or politicians: you’re fired.
Plunging our country deeper and deeper in debt; borrowing billions from foreign countries; relying on foreign nations to supply us with energy; talking about sanctions against dangerous regimes but not following through; hesitating to surge aggressively to stop terrorist strongholds from growing; allowing government to take over health care, banks, the auto industry, and who knows what else they’ve got up their sleeves... it’s all too much and we’ve had enough.
Ronald Reagan knew it took a united team to right the wrongs of Washington. He told his team in essence, “Gentlemen and Ladies, I hate inflation; I hate taxes; I hate terrorists. Do something about it.”
America, you’re doing something about it! Thank you for standing up and speaking out. Thank you for holding on to hope, for loving America so passionately and supporting our troops who fight for freedom. Keep the faith!
MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) — Sarah Palin on Sunday dined and prayed with the Rev. Billy Graham, who has counseled presidents and other politicians for decades.
Graham had never met Palin, who is scheduled to stop at Fort Bragg in eastern North Carolina on Monday to promote her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and members of her family flew into Asheville in the western part of the state, then went to Graham's mountaintop home in nearby Montreat for dinner.
Billy Graham said it was an honor having Palin in his home to join his family for dinner and that they took the opportunity to pray together.
"I, like many people, have been impressed with her strong commitment to her faith, to family and love of country," he said in a statement. "I appreciated hearing her speak of her own spiritual journey and her life in Alaska."
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — When tickets to see Sarah Palin in Michigan ran out, people drove to her appearance here, three hours away.
Thousands had lined up overnight, starting nearly 24 hours before she was to begin signing books, camping out in 39-degree weather for a moment with the woman many see as the great conservative hope, a role model, “one of us.”
They brought their sleeping bags, their children, homemade chocolate Cheerios bars, and balloons to twist into animal shapes and hats for the crowd. And they brought their anger — about bailouts, jobs and health care.
John McCain, buttonholed on the sidelines of a security forum in Halifax, says that he liked "Going Rogue" and that the internal tensions were nothing unusual:
"I enjoyed the book and she and I are dear friends. I talked to her on the phone yesterday. We got along fine," said McCain....
"In campaigns there's always tension," McCain said. "Outside of combat, it's the most tense situation. There's always differences that arise, but it's no big deal."
I think Republicans would be crazy to rule [Sarah Palin] out at this point. The reason Barack Obama is losing independents is because of this unprecedented government intervention into the economy—huge deficits, bailouts, government ownership of industry. You look at her record, and what comes through very clearly is, she is on the side of free markets. You look at her speech in Hong Kong. She talks about the roots of this crisis—the government roots: encouraging housing investment, easy-money credit policies at the Fed. Even going back to her debate with Joe Biden, she talked about individual responsibility and people not borrowing more than they can afford. So I think, in terms of the issues, she is meeting exactly not just the political moment, but really the need of our society right now for somebody to say "enough government."
As I read all these harsh reviews of the Palin book, one thing constantly leaps out at me: Don't these people get that this is an autobiography? I've read a couple of hundred pages of the book, and I'm enjoying it for what it is, because I understand the format. I'm not looking to read "Palin's Policies and Politics" or "Palin's Presidential Plans" or anything else; It's an AUTOBIOGRAPHY. At worse it can be called self serving, but isn't that kind of implied? How many autobiographies do you know that aren't self serving, at least a tiny bit? Am I somehow wrong on this?
Sarah Palin, who will sign books Monday at Fort Bragg, plans a stopover in Montreat today to have dinner with 91-year-old Billy Graham and his son, Franklin Graham, who issued the invitation.
"He just saw that she was going to be in the area and he said to come by," said Jeremy Blume, a spokesman for Franklin Graham. Former Alaska Gov. Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, will fly into Asheville this afternoon, Blume said, and then go to Billy Graham's mountaintop home in Montreat for dinner.
The Charlotte-born evangelist has never met Palin, who is now on a national book tour promoting her new memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." But Graham's oldest daughter, Gigi told the Observer last year that he commented to her that Palin was "mighty pretty."
1:22 p.m.: Palin finished signing books and boarded the bus with her family and handlers. She shook a few hands and waved but didn't address the crowd. Some admirers chanted, "Run, Sarah, run."
Barnes & Noble is closed but will reopen to shoppers at 2 p.m.
1:14 p.m.: With more than 1,000 people lined up outside the Valley View Barnes & Noble Sunday, the Panera Bread restaurant across the parking lot braced for a surge.
The store added five extra workers on each shift and ordered 40 percent more food for the day, said Russell Kidd, regional manager.
This Panera's up about 30 percent in sales today, with "quite a chunk" of customers coming from the Palin signing, he said.
Almost every table was full in the restaurant at 1 p.m.
The restaurant opened an hour earlier than usual, at 6:30 a.m.
"We figured there might be some people in line who'd want hot coffee or hot chocolate," Kidd said. Today would have been his day off, he added, but he came in specially to handle the Palin fans.
All that emerges, however, is one constant refrain. It is all about Good Sarah, who is always right, and the Bad Old Boys – even, gosh darn it, some Republicans – always out to frustrate and denigrate her. That was the case in Wasilla and Juneau, which she likens to Washington, DC, as if she could reform it by her will alone (fat chance, as Mr Obama is discovering). It was so in spades on the campaign with John McCain and again back in Alaska after the election, prompting her, she says, to quit the governorship in frustration. More likely, she was not going to stay down on the farm after seeing Paree.
The score settling with the BOBs (and some girls) around McCain and in the national media may have Washington a-twitter but it is actually one of the most boring passages in the 400 pages. Her nemeses, Schmidt, Davis, the Wallaces and many more, are just campaign apparatchiks. If they win elections and get into government, they may properly command attention (Carville with Clinton, Rove with Bush, Axelrod with Obama) but to focus all ire on them simply becomes irritating.
One thousand people from Alabama and other southeastern states got pink wristbands from a Colonial Brookwood Village bookstore today so they can get former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palinto sign copies of her book "Going Rogue" for them on Monday.
Hundreds of others were turned away or left after realizing they wouldn't get one of the limited number of wristbands at the Books-A-Million store. Homewood police estimated about 1,800 people lined up for wristbands.
Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, will begin signing copies of her book at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Some people had camped outside the bookstore since early Saturday evening to guarantee a place in line.
Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate, will begin signing his book of Christmas stories at 3 p.m. today at the same store. The 400 tickets that were handed out beginning Saturday for that signing also were all gone.
Shortly before Palin’s arrival, the legions of fans were joined by foes.
About a dozen protesters showed up about 5:30 p.m. and quickly assembled on a grassy area facing Hylan Drive. As soon as they arrived, they got immediate reaction from other people in the crowd. Some yelled at them to “go home” and said, “This is our day!”
One man carrying a sign saying “Don’t ever come back to Rochester” sparked a chorus of boos and chants of “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!”
By 7 p.m., the group of protesters had grown to about 40. Police at the scene said there have been no fights or arrests.
Sarah Palin is the Empress-Queen of the screaming-for-screaming’s sake generation. The people who dismiss her book Going Rogue as the petty, vindictive meanderings of a preening paranoiac with the IQ of a celery stalk completely miss the book’s significance, because in some ways it’s really a revolutionary and innovative piece of literature.
Palin — and there’s just no way to deny this — is a supremely gifted politician. She has staked out, as her own personal political turf, the entire landscape of incoherent white American resentment. In this area she leaves even Rush Limbaugh in the dust.
The reason for that is that poor Rush is an anachronism, in the sense that his whole schtick revolves around talking about real political issues. And real political issues are boring.
