I’m really beginning to question the motives behind Sarah Palin’s new book,
Going Rogue. Of all the footage I have seen from the book tours, there does not seem to be one person there for Sarah Palin’s “politics”. The general consensus is that most are there to meet the “celebrity”. Has her book really made her that deserving of this “celebrity” status, though? Personally, I think the answer to that question is no, and so does a fellow Huffington Post blogger by the name of Geoffrey Dunn whose recent post, “The First Ten Lies From Going Rogue,” pretty much sums up her entire book.
1. The Cover Byline: Palin didn’t write the book by herself. Most books with known ghostwriters list their co-author’s name on the cover. In this case it was Lynn Vincent (a well-known homophobe). Going Rogue does not.
2. The Subtitle: An American Life. Aside from her infancy, Palin has really spent very little time outside of Alaska, and according to John McCain’s campaign advisors, was shockingly unfamiliar with American geography and American history. “Alaska,” as John McPhee noted in his resplendent Coming Into the Country, “is a foreign country…Its nature is its own.”
3. Going Rogue features Palin’s obsession with Katie Couric and characterizes the CBS anchor as “badgering.” Palin refused to prep for the Couric interview because she was more concerned about her popularity in Alaska than about what was best for the campaign. Was it really badgering to ask what books or periodicals Palin read? Palin further claims that Couric suffered from low self-esteem. In fact, according to those close to Palin, it’s the former governor who suffers from low self-esteem and frequently projects that onto other women.
4. Palin asserts that there was a “jaded aura” around McCain’s political advisors once she entered the campaign. In fact, McCain’s aides bent over backwards to protect Palin and to try to get her up to speed on international affairs. In addition to not knowing whether or not Africa was a continent, according to sources in the McCain campaign, Palin also didn’t understand the difference between England and Great Britain. And much, much more.
5. Palin contends to have been saddled with legal bills of more than $500,000 resulting from what she calls “frivolous” ethics complaints filed against her. The lion’s share of those bills resulted from the ethics complaint she filed against herself in a legal maneuver to sidestep the Troopergate charges being brought against her by the bipartisan Alaska Legislative Council.
6. Palin rather astonishingly claims that she was saddled with $50,000 in bills for the legal fees associated with her vice-presidential vetting. A) She was not vetted; B) A McCain campaign advisor says this is “categorically untrue.”
7. Palin states that she found out only “minutes” before John McCain’s concession speech that she would not be allowed to make remarks of her own introducing McCain. In fact, she had been told at least three times that she would not be allowed to give the speech and kept lying about it in the hopes of creating some last-minute chaos that would allow her to assume the dais.
8. Palin asserts that her effort to award a license for a natural gas transmission line was turning a “pipe dream” into a pipeline. Although she claimed otherwise in her speech at the GOP convention, there is no pipeline. It remains a pipe dream.
9. Palin implies that the McCain campaign intentionally bungled the release of information regarding her daughter Bristol’s pregnancy and refused to let her rewrite it. In fact, the McCain campaign allowed her to rework the draft, but the original version went out accidentally. Palin reportedly accepted the recalcitrant staff member’s apology for the mistake, then when she left, ordered her immediately dismissed of her duties.
10. Palin complains that McCain’s senior advisors, most notably Steve Schmidt, forced her to “stick with the script” they provided her. In fact, Schmidt & Co. were encumbered with the task of keeping Palin from lying and misleading people throughout the campaign, from her well-documented lies about the “Bridge to Nowhere” to her duplicities about her husband Todd’s assocation with the Alaska Independence Party. Palin’s lying to those in the McCain campaign was so troubling to them that they cringed every time she went “off script.”
And that’s just for starters.
This was one of the first posts regarding lies found in her book, and more soon followed:
Palin’s book spreads falsehoods about clean energy legislation
“Going Rogue”: The 18 Biggest Falsehoods In Palin’s Book
“Going Rogue” Fact Check: Palin’s Book Goes Rogue On Some Facts, AP Says
The Prolonging of Palin
And that’s not all. There are also various videos floating around that illustrate my point just as well:
Source: SARAH PALIN BOOK SIGNING – Interviews with Supporters [READ DESCRIPTION]
For some reason I am having trouble embedding this next video, but feel free to click the link — it’s worth a few laughs.
Source: Jon Stewart Explains To Conservative Pundits Why He Doesn’t Like Sarah Palin (VIDEO)
Jon Stewart: “[..] when you peel back the pretty, shooty layers of the Palin onion, there’s no onion. It’s just a conservative boiler plate mad lib: ‘Freedom is good and taxes are–ooh I need an adjective–how about, I don’t know, silly?’ And the worst part it’s a mad lib delivered as though it were the hard-earned wisdom of a life well lived.”
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I’m not really sure what we as intelligent, observant individuals are supposed to think when we watch clips like these or read stories about all the lies found in her book. I mean, I guess I would respect her more if it didn’t seem like she’s just trying, yet again, to play the victim when she really isn’t deserving of the title. And for those who claim it’s just another “Liberal attack on Sarah Palin” with all the lies being pointed out from her book — I feel sorry for you. A lie is a lie, plain and simple. If she expects to place herself in the same crowd as politicians, no matter if it’s “politics as usual” or not, then she is going to be held accountable to the same standards as a “real” politician. And I use “real” because: (1) I do not believe Sarah Palin is an example of one (real OR not), and (2) I do not believe we have any real politicians in office today. We would have to go back quite a long time to find anyone worthy of the title “real”. Her lies are not going to be excusable simply because she’s a “strong”, “real”, “hockey mom”, “down to Earth” “Conservative”.
I do not disagree that she is a strong woman. She seems to be very determined to make a difference, even if the way she goes about attempting this seems kind of confusing sometimes. She is a very real, down to Earth woman who has strong desire to fight for causes she believes in. I respect her as both a parent and as a wife. However, I don’t think that she shows quite the qualifications to run this country. Before all the Conservatives jump on my back, calling me a “Liberal” and all the typical ranting and raving — I don’t think Obama is any better. Personally, my ticket would have contained McCain/Biden for the past election. I think what ruined McCain’s campaign was the fact that he chose a Vice Presidential candidate that he had to spend too much time babysitting. As she proved on countless interviews (Sources included at bottom), she is absolutely clueless when given an interview and allowed to speak her mind.
To sum this all up, surely — surely — the Republican party can find someone more qualified than Sarah Palin to run in 2012 or it will most definitely be a rude awakening for many Conservatives. Don’t waste money on her book until she decides she can write the truth, and not more attempts to play the victim. And a final word on her book — If what she is saying is the truth, why haven’t any McCain campaign members stepped up to support her? It seems to me like most can’t distance themselves anymore than they already have. Well, Mrs. Palin, I can only hope you change my mind by 2012, but as of right now I have to give you a verdict of: Celebrity.
What do YOU think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know, prove me wrong!
Interview Sources: (read transcripts for further laughs)
Palin Sets The Record Straight
Exclusive: Sarah Palin
Exclusive: Sarah Palin Part II
Sarah Palin Speaks Out
Have a wonderful day and hopefully you had a happy Thanksgiving!
Timothy Hawley
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeramiah 29:11
