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Welcome author Geoffrey Dunn, and Host Phil Munger/EdwardTeller, Progressive Alaska.
[As a courtesy to our guests, please keep comments to the book. Please take other conversations to a previous thread. - bev]
Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power
EdwardTeller, Host:
Geoffrey Dunn chose the lies of Sarah Palin as the title of what is certainly the best adversarial political biography yet of this deeply divisive figure because those lies and their role in what she has become are central. The fact that he managed to keep the rate of lies – by my count – down to around three per page, showed remarkable restraint on his part, though. Part of the reason is that he had a larger story to tell. He tells it well. The lies touch upon everything she has done, and he keenly weaves them into the book’s narrative.
Dunn divides the book into a prologue and four parts. The prologue describes the continuity of her falsehoods and their uses, from her beginnings to the present. The four parts, in turn, concentrate on her ascension in Alaska, from Wasilla to Juneau; the 2008 national campaign as John McCain’s running mate in a presidential contest; her return to Alaska until the July 2009 resignation; and her national presence over the past 20 months, as a unique sort of new wave political grifter who combines televangelism, celebrity cult social media presence and radical right-wing hate subtexts in unique ways.
In a recent interview in the San Francisco Chronicle by his long-time friend Gloria Nieto, Dunn describes the book’s odyssey:
When I first envisioned my book–in the fall and winter after the 2008 presidential campaign–I saw it being sort of a boutique political history of Alaska, focusing on Palin and the way in which Alaska politics are isolated from the larger American body politic and how that isolation played into Palin’s favor in securing her nomination.
Remember, at that time, everyone assumed that Palin would go back to Alaska, serve out her term as governor, and probably run for re-election as governor in 2010. That was going to be the end of my book–Palin’s re-election campaign for governor. At some point along the way I realized she wasn’t going to run for re-election. I was receiving lots of signals from people close to her and in the Alaska legislature. She clearly hated being governor after she returned from the presidential campaign. When she quit, I wrote a piece about how this freed her to establish a national platform. And that’s precisely what she did.
So my book changed substantially. It grew into a massive political biography that still examines the dynamic between Alaska and American politics, but which also exposes Palin’s “pathology of deceit,” as I call it, and the dysfunction that follows her wherever she goes–from her first days as mayor in Wasilla through the 2008 presidential campaign to her return as governor to her haphazard “run” for the GOP nomination in 2012.
Dunn’s descriptions of a few key events are the best I’ve read. The picture he paints of the preparations for her speech at the 2008 Republican Convention, and how the McCain campaign staff reacted, is vivid, three-dimensional. Here he describes the point in that speech where the crowd started eating out of her hands:
Palin was working the crowd, pulling everyone from the edges. Whatever nervousness she may have had at the beginning was long gone, her confidence soaring. She was headed toward the basket, headed for a breakaway layup. “Well, I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment,” she declared with dripping sarcasm. “And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some of the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.” She was greeted by a chorus of empathetic boos that extended into waves. She let it play out like a pro. Many in the audience broke out into a chant of “Shame on you!” directed at the media pit and at the networks, and in particular, at PBS commentator Gwen Ifill (one of the few African Americans in the sea of white faces at the Xcel Center). Palin watched over the moment of choreographed mayhem in delighted approval.
Shortly after the convention speech, the McCain camp and Palin were ahead of Barack Obama in the polls. It was the high point of Palin’s political career. Geoffrey Dunn’s absorbing account of the long, bumpy, downward ride for Palin since that September day makes for riveting reading. His description of the rambling end of Palin’s July 3, 2009 resignation announcement aptly brings back the sports metaphor to describe the bizarre farce many of us watched:
Palin concluded with a seemingly endless string of catchphrases and cliches. She mixed sports metaphors a final time and praised herself for having “enough common sense to acknowledge when conditions have drastically changed and we are willing to call an audible and pass the ball when it’s time so the team can win.” It was starting to get painful. Palin was playing both basketball and football at the same time. She struggled for a final, closing cliche. “Take the words of General MacArthur,” she concluded. “‘We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction.’”
Advancing in another direction. That was a perfect way to describe Sarah Palin’s entire political career.
For me, some of the strongest elements of Dunn’s story are his capsule portraits of people whose paths have crossed Palin’s: Wasilla mayor and early Palin mentor, John Stein; Alaska blogger, Jeanne Devon; McCain campaign stalwart Steve Schmidt; and many others.
For Firedoglake readers familiar with the food and fuel crisis on the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers in the winter of 2008-2009, where our readers helped raise thousands of dollars to fly Dennis Zaki to Emmonak to get the word out to CNN and other media, his compellingly sympathetic portrait of Emmonak elder Nick Tucker will touch heartstrings. Dunn’s well disposed and contextual look at Andree McLeod, the Republican who has led the continuing Alaska-based assault against Palin’s ethical shortcomings, may be the most detailed and nuanced written about that dedicated activist.
The Lies of Sarah Palin takes us right up through Palin’s post-Tucson shooting public relations debacle. His description of how her subsequent “blood libel” comment about her “targets” meme awfully wounded and coarsened the national discourse in the wake of the tragedy is quite damning.
The lies just keep getting uglier and uglier.
Dunn’s achievement is to tie together his immense amount of research into a finely wrought work that is fair to a succession of people from all across the political spectrum, all of whom had to deal with, for better or worse, the most intensely dishonest and divisive political personality in recent American history.
Usually for worse.
Geoffrey, Welcome to the Lake.
ET, Welcome back and thank you for Hosting today’s Book Salon.
Very happy to be here!
Good afternoon Geoff and welcome to FDL this afternoon.
Good afternoon ET!
Geoff, how did you manage to clean your brain out after having to delve through the Palin cesspool to write this book?
Are we rolling?
Many of us have pre-ordered your book and are looking forward to reading it. This is my first Book Salon so I’m not sure what to do/think/expect!?!?
I have many great friends and family and met many great people along the way. All clear. All good. The poison is out of my system.
Hi, Bev, Geoffrey.
Got to say – everyone I’ve spoken with or communicated with this past week who has also read The Lies of Sarah Palin is pretty impressed.
I have no idea what to expect. Vamos a ver. Thanks for ordering. It is released officially on Tuesday.
Stay on topic, be respectful of others and refresh your screen every so often and you should be good to go
Hi Mr. Dunn, welcome to the Lake
*waves to ET*
She seems past her prime for national politics (I hope)
How did such a pathological liar get so far in such a public career?
Mr. Dunn, thank you for writing what we’ve been waiting for, real investigative journalism. What are you able to tell us today?
I’m happy to hear that Edward. I’ve only had the chance to speak to a couple of people who’ve read it. So I’m very happy to hear.
One person who read it was a senior McCain aid. He likened it to Moby Dick, and that palin was my Ahab. I didn’t let the comment go to my head, but their pathologies and obssions are similar.
well from your description it is a very thorough work!
Mr. Dunn,
Where are you going on your book tour and how can we find it?
I do feel that she is past her half-life, as it were. The stars all aligned perfectly for her. I describe how that happened in my book…
Did you send Sarah an advance copy? *just a little snark*
One of the most interesting things about Geoffrey’s book is how he contextualizes Palin in Alaska and in the local area – Wasilla. His insights into our kinky, often bizarre political landscape show a lot about how she got as far as she did here. But he’s quite critical of some of the shortcomings in the way the Alaska press has handled her falsehoods and bullshit.
The tour is a work in progress. It’s beginning in California on May 25th. I will have a web site up soon to keep people abreast of the tour.
Hi Geoffrey, Was it easy or hard to get people to talk about Palin, especially in Alaska?
I hope you are able to come to Chicago – I would love to shake your hand.
Yes, I feel that Palin got away with a lot in Alaska. For a lot of reasons. And there’s myth going on in AK how she didn’t turn “bad” until Aug of 2008. I shall and do call bullshit to that lie.
More like she is the Great White Fail.
Chicago is one of my favorite cites. I will have a website up shortly once the book hits the streets. The guy who was my filmmaking partner for nearly 30 years is from Chi-town. I will be there!
Hi Geoffrey –
I cannot find one thing to like about that woman. In all the time you were researching the book, did you ever find anything to like?
I cannot believe how many educated, well-informed, politically-active people say, “Yeah, so what, she won’t get elected,” etc.
lol…Yes. Palin lacks Ahabs determination and grit. She is a quitter and fraud. To be polite.
So is she a psychopath, sociopath, double high authoritarian she lies to get what she wants then disregards what she says when she is found out.
That makes her amoral, power hungry and well… lazy she does not care enough to think of a good lie.
I am friends with a woman who graduated with Sarah who has told me on several occasions that one of your sources from that era of her life basically lied to you about their childhood. She sounded incredibly hurt that someone would destroy what was a charming life in Alaska. I’ve actually heard this from several people.
I can’t wait to read your book. It seems that you and Joe McGinnis, both writers, are doing what the investigative journalists should have done long time ago and that’s some real reporting.
Hello Mr. Dunn and thanks for being here. I look forward to meeting you when you come to California.
Had Palin played her cards right–and she is incapapble of doing that–she had a pretty decent shot of winning the GOP nomination. People can deny that all they want. But it’s true. Someone can look up how many Repugs don’t believe that Obama is a US citizen. She plays to that crowd.
I’ve had several people confirm the stories. I stand by my version. But the real stories and behavior there’s no question about. None whatsoever. Her behavior on the campign trail in 2008 was disgraceful.
Are the people in Alaska still afraid of Sarah and Toad?
Geoffrey is right on that, and his dissection of Palin’s first term as Wasilla mayor leaves no doubt that the template for what she has become to so many was there from 1995-96.
Some here at the book salon may not be aware that I live in Wasilla and know well over half the Alaskans he covers, and a few of the Outsiders.
Geoffrey was, as I wrote in the intro, fair to all he covers in the book, whether they were (or are) Palin supporters or not.
Geoffrey, do you think that Sarah Palin is a dangerous person, and if so, why?
Joe is a great guy and I look forward to reading his book, too. Part of the problem is with 24/7 news cycles many of the stories don’t get looked at in-depth.
Why did the people who created her National Persona ditch her? Before she became VP McCain was getting very small crowds then before anyone at the Lake really knew anything about her she was bringing in huge crowds of what would later be Birthers and Tea Baggers its like somebody flipped a switch.
She came from nowhere but even before the political junkies on the blogs could really evaluate her the Loons on the Right all knew she was one of them?
Just who arranged for Evitia to speak before a packed house every night?
Hi Patrick — Yes I do. In the aftermath of Tucscon, Palin got a pass. The mainstream media said wai, she’s NOT directly responsible. And she wasn’t. But she was and has been a key figure in creating an atmosphere of violence and hate in this country. And that is very very dangerous. It’s why I wrote the book. And it’s what I conclude with. She is NOT a joke.
Were you able to get many people to go on the record?
I’m grateful Sarah was unable to play her cards right. I remember watching her at the Republican Convention, saying “Darn, we’re in trouble!” Please use your imagination to change some of the words to what I really said!
Mr Dunn, Do you have a Twitter account right now?… or has your publicist suggested that to you to use? It could be VERY effective in getting out details about Book signings and Updates. Also those of us on Twitter can help spread the word.
I am not doubting your work at all. My friend did confront the woman who spoke with you on Sarah’s childhood and said woman couldnt defend herself at all. I read the excerpt of this interview online and will need to read it in more context.
Sarah Palin did NOT come out of nowhere. That’s a myth. The right picked up on her as a possible VP candidate very early on. She is there creation. I document that in my book.
Almost all of my sources are on the record. I developed my sources. And many many are Republicans. Just sayin’…
It is worse than that. The Palins aren’t here very often these days. But the movement that spawned her in the Mat-Su Valley has become more openly racist, more potentially dangerous, since her ascension to unsubtly veiled white racist and evangelical icon in late 2008.
I have Black friends in the local area who have lived here for 10 to 30 years who just recently have decided they need to move to Anchorage.
I spoke to too many people in Wasilla with too many stories who drew a similar portrait of the young Sarah and Chuck Heath. And the dots connect. They do. But I will leave it to my readers to draw their own conclusions.
Why?
My kids tell me that Twitter is for kids…Thnk you. If you want to help with that, contact publicity at Macmillan and they’ll get it to me. I am a Luddite. I am good with a fish knife — far better than Sarah ever was — but I’m not so keen on the new media.
I’m familiar with a cruise to Alaska with some right-wingers who became enamored with her. Is that when her national potential started, or was it before that?
I’ve always thought she was a very dangerous person, but I wonder if you think she has the brain power to pull off a run for President or will she self destruct?
Honestly, she HATED the ethics complaints. They drove her crazy. All the challenges drove her nuts. When I discovered that she had lifted material from a Newt Gingrich speech, I found out her minions really went after me. And it had an effect of silencing me with some mainstream media outlets. But I would not remain silenced.
What drives that woman? Plain old-fashioned narcissism?
It played a significant role. But it started will before that. Brickley started his Palin for VP campaign well before that.
She has already self-destructed. Her response to the tragedy in Tucson finished her.
Hey if I missed any questions, give me the number or repost.
Interesting comment. Do you have a link to the on-line interview?
Palin just scored higher in a national opinion poll than any of the other GOP possibles for 2012 on foreign policy, of all things. Does anyone have a clue as to why that might be?
Here she is yesterday, serving fresh word salad on Obama’s handling of the economy:
Did you put any of Creepy Chuck Heath’s Idaho background in this book?
Who in the right was promoting her for the VP slot?
I think that Palin suffers from serious delusions of grandeur. Those who surround her have always been almost cult-like in their devotion. Very frightening.
I read the Google-book preview pages of your book and was so glad I had pre-ordered your book. I got my public library to buy one too. Can hardly wait to read it.
What do you think SP’s response to your book will be?
Her followers at c4p WORSHIP her – they spend their days voting multiple times in polls (so she will “win”) and they call themselves “barbarians.”
They are ready and able to do her “dirty work,” and they are more delusional and frightening than sarah herself.
Do you receive threats from the cult of sarah?
It appears as though she thinks she has superior intellect to people like, say, Barack Obama. Can she be that deluded?
Kristol and several others took up her VP campaign in a very big way. Limbaugh. You can still go to Brickley’s website. It’s fascinating:
http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/
I think I remember you telling a story about how ‘ sharp ‘ your daughter is with the new technology like Twitter. You could just have her post what you needed. Just a thought. We will all help spread the news for you.Not a problem.
Thanks. And thanks for getting the Library. I have no idea — nor do I care — what Palin’s response to me will be. The Republican Party has driven her from the table. And many GOP bigwigs are reading my book. They will drive her from the party. She will be a fringe figure at best come the 2012 election.
I hope you’ll be coming to Washington, D.C., to meet with some of us Members of the Lamestream Media (semi-ret.)!
Not sure. There are still 30 million who would vote for her, no?
My daughter simply cannot stand dealing with Palin. I’m gonna have to lay that on someone else:-)
A number of things about Palin’s life story don’t add up. One is that she was brought up Catholic, but became an evangelical Christian, which is not typical for people of that faith. Another is her academic record–multiple schools, none of them first-tier, in states that aren’t exactly close together–over a period of much more than four years.
The campaign in the media, here in Alaska and nationally, to discredit you for even giving Prof. Brad Scharlott’s theories a hearing, reminded me of the pushback against you for bringing out her poaching from Gingrich’s preserve.
This is how they operate. They go on the offensive and attack anyone who dares to tell the truth…it’s not just Palin but her supporters I can’t stand.
He does, and he gives Heath’s background new detail and interesting context. I’ll let Geoffrey tell the story.
Hey, look, I’m a member of the lamestream. I started working for a daily when I was 18 — one that had won a Pulitzer prize — and I have written for dailies and weeklies for 38 years. But the new configuration of the media is very problematic. And it’s in part why Palin has survived. And why there was a huge vacuum for Alaska bloggers to fill.
Maybe we can get Geoffrey to autograph a copy for me to deliver to the Wasilla library.
“They will drive her from the party. She will be a fringe figure at best come the 2012 election.”
Music to my ears! Thank you for that reassurance – I will now sleep better.
I know she is her own worst enemy, and the more she screeches, the more her ratings drop. But the anti-intellectualism in America is shocking.
Correct. Bingo. I cover that all in my book. I was leaked an application and resume that she filled out in 1996 to serve as a police dispatcher in Palmer. Think about that!
And nothing adds up there, either. And let me ask why didn’t the AK media track that down. It was available and no one looked at it.
She seems very able to tap into any form of unrest or dissatisfaction. It makes no differnce whether there is any truth, logic or rationality to her rantings, as many will sign on and find a release for their own hate or wing nut feelings. A lie can become a truth quickly for her or you just don’t understand.
Does your book describe her her Trig pregnancy as a hoax? Or do we have to wait until Tuesday to learn that?
Geoffrey… Any opinion on whether or not the emails to be released on May 31st will be revealing any new info.
I have to think that some of them will verify and back up what you have written in your book.Like a second source.
Sarah ( and all her friends she put in place in Gov)and Gov Parnell have had a long time to go thru and redact anything incriminating to themselves.
We can do anything! Happy to. And we can get Howard Bess to autograph a couple of his books, too.
So who created her? Who got her those crowds when the McCain campaign couldn’t was having problems filling a highschool gym any idea why they choose to create her?
Will Sarah run for President yes the polls say she is doing bad among regular Republican voters but in the GOP Primary Fundy voters dominate I think she can win the GOP nomination in several states. After all just who excites a crowd like Sarah and is running for President Trump, I don’t see Fundy voters going for a guy divorced how many times? Who was once pro choice.
Unless Michelle Bachman runs I don’t see any GOPer running who can excite a GOP crowd like Sarah does its an Emotional event a Hateapolosa if you will.
If Sarah does not run will her voters stay home? Are Sarah’s supporters feeling like the GOP establishment is pushing Sarah out?
The Palmer PD dispatcher job app that Geoffrey uncovered is fascinating. She perjured herself BIGTIME on it. It is sworn and notarized, IIRC. Why couldn’t the Anchorage Daily News, for instance have uncovered this a decade or so ago?
You just gave me multiple reasons to get your book and read it ASAP. Thanks, and good luck!
I’m gonna steal a line from Joe McGinniss who calls himself a Trignostic. I suppose that describes me, too.
I explained my full position on Trig here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-palin-trig-birth-2011-4
I am troubled by WHAT WE KNOW. That is troubling enough. Maybe more so.
But NOTHING will surprise me about what more we discover about her. Nothing. She is a pathological liar. She recently lied about the weather.
The meme in the media, in the aftermath of coverage of her attempts to pressure the Wasilla librarian back in 1996 and 1997, was that she did not have the books she asked questions about removed from the library. Yet when Max Blumenthal and I went into the library to see if they had the books in question, they said they no longer carried them, because they didn’t have the space. Yet Max photographed their three complete sets of the “Left Behind” series of end-times novels.
Geoffrey describes how the local fundies just steal books they don’t like so nobody can check them out.
Love your handle. I use it in the book. The center will not hold, mere anarchy is loosed up the world…
1. Sara still has a hold on the pirate wing of the GOP.
2. She is threatening a third-party candidacy. I don’t put it past her.
3. The GOP establishment despises her.
I was leaked a very troubling document from New Hampshire, October 2008. Sarah went rogue on the party. They know it. They want nothing to do with her.
If you are a Trignostic, how do you explain the very-flat-profile photos just weeks before Trig’s “birth”?
Ed — something I’ve always wondered about – it’s obvious that Sarah and Todd can make things uncomfortable for people who stand up to them or who criticize them, but is there any evidence that she and Todd have actually caused anyone harm, physical or ?
Yes. The whole way the censorship issue got framed was a lie.
Someone once said — I forget who — is that the easiest way to censor a book is not to fund it on the library budget. She’s not fooling anyone–except those already fooled.
Palin just scored higher in a national opinion poll than any of the other GOP possibles for 2012 on foreign policy, of all things. Does anyone have a clue as to why that might be?
Lizard brain reaction Sarah sounds tougher than any GOP candidate out there so she wins the Emotional judging Lizard brain vote. Funny none of the GOP men could outbeat Sarah in that contest. This is very interesting news she could run if the GOP field is that weak after all who can beat her in the GOP primaries dominated by Fundies?
Why hasn’t the GOP come out stronger to take her down?
She would be absolutely crazy not to run third party. The chance to attack both sides. The money it would bring her.
I second Toby’s question (#87). Did you find any connection between SP and the fire/death of Dar the former NICU nurse?
I’ve also seen photos that aren’t flat. I’ve had people close to her tell me that she was definitely pregnant; others have told me just the opposite. The closest thing that’s come to proof is the letter her doctor wrote. But she’s got a lot of friggin gall to call Obama on his birth certificate and then not provide one for Trig. But I simply don’t know. And I do not trust her. But that’s not “proof.”
Ding!
If the GOP despises her, won’t they destroy her if she runs as a third-party candidate? I might actually root for Karl Rove!
It’s good to know the GOP mainstream dispises her but still, Fox News pays her. Do the Kochs support her?
The R field is full of douche bags. Pathological liar is a necessary condition for POTUS.
They’ve come out very strongly against her. We just haven’t seen it. But Karl Rove’s slapdown of her was very hard. And a signal. These guys “signal.” Kristol has just signaled. And Palin has a whole new foreign policy team in place this week. She’s a joke. A dangerous joke.
Mr. Dunn
Did you watch the GOP debate? Herman Cain didn’t say much but he did use some of Sarah’s key phrases like “commensense solutions”. Luntz had a focus group who acted like they had never heard of Cain, and afterwords most said they would vote for him. I’m afraid Sarah will get some traction and will have a bigger platform to spread her hate.
Thanks for the name compliment. Ok Sarah lies what is the truth forget what she will say to get elected. What does she really want to do if she gets power what issues is she passionate about…and what will she do to get what she wants based on her past pattern?
But that is how they can get her out – - pay her off.
lol…little did I ever think that I would become friends with one of Rove’s operatives…but I won’t so much root for Rove as try to forge a progressive response to what Palin represents.
I often wonder about Dar. Did you find anything linking her to the church fire?
Geoffrey deals with this issue as well as anyone could expect. He’s more charitable about Palin’s wild ride scenario than I have been. I’ve become more and more convinced that if Palin truly bore Trig, it was in spite of her strenuous and unrelenting efforts, between finding out he was special needs and the birth, to kill Trig in the womb.
Geoffrey, do you investigate her ties with the dominionist evangelicals? I am convinced that someone like James Dobson or Franklin Graham were in the background long before McCain did his google search and failed to vet her in any way. What a shock it must have been to McCain when he learned so many things about her after-the-fact!
The more they want her out, the more she’s in.
If she runs a third party she’ll be hurting the republicans. They better stop her now because she’s already done much damage.
Yes I watched some of it. But it was like watching a minor league baseball game. Fun if you’re there, but nothing of real significance.
Here’s my favorite Palin chart by the way. Let’s take a break for a second and let my shoulder rest. Take a look at this chart:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/13/fav-palin_n_725513.html
No, I didn’t.
Right PCG – Geoffrey, how much do you think McCain REALLY knew about Palin?
She HATES the GOP. She hates AK’s GOP and she HATES the national GOP. Take that in. Understand that dynamic. People have a hard time grasping that.
How is Palin dealing with the republicans behind the scenes? Is she threatening them with a 3rd party run?
Geoffrey, has there been any response from the Palinistas to the book so far?
Glo
That’s exactly why she’ll run. IMHO.
Even in the intense speed-up of a 24/7 news cycle, it just isn’t… all that long ago that $arah ran for Veep. The GOP is stuck with her. They can’t embrace her, they can’t publicly scrape their shoe soles to get rid of her.
$arah applied to be a POLICE DISPATCHER?! Wasn’t that while she was in the city council?
Do you explore any connection between Dr CBJ’s specialty and Palin family issues? I have thought that her reason for perping the hoax* was some darker reason than merely unwed teen pregnancy. To say it simply: Is there any history of child abuse in the Palin family?
__________
*because I see the flat-profile photos as proof, while the very-pregnant photos would be VERY easy to fake, and not by photoshopping, by merely putting on a fake belly
McCain knew nothing about Palin. Zip. Nada niente. I think one of the best chapters in my book, is Chapter 3. It’s the first full account of how she got picked.
McCain wanted Lieberman. His aides–mostly Rick Davis–didn’t do a proper vet.
End of story. They lied about the vet.
Do you really think she is more AIP?
Yo glo. They’re not making me feel like Sally Fields, if that’s what you mean…
Palin talked about death panels but didn’t she endorse that Governor in AZ who cut state funding for transplant patients and ended up killing I think 3 people before she put the funding back?
Is the Press, Rove’s people, us anyone going after Sarah’s actual record on policy and endorsements? I mean the I am not a witch lady alone would have ended most political careers.
Is Sarah still backing her endorsements?
One thing Geoffrey is able to describe in detail is that on the day after McCain selected Palin, the Obama campaign was better informed about her shortcomings than was the McCain camp. Obama’s inner circle had a number of Alaskans and former Alaskans, some of whom had worked on the 2006 Tony Knowles campaign. Knowles’ people turned their oppo files on Palin over to Obama immediately. They alone contained far more info than McCain’s people had on her on day one.
Let me say this, when palin ran for Mayor of Wasilla, her platform fit with the AIP and the AIP types (Ak Independence Party) supported her.
Todd joined the AIP on THREE separate occasions. It has a real presence in AK. She springs from that tradition, just like Joe Miller did. It gets you about 33 percent of the vote in AK.
Whoa! Now that’s a surprise that she hates the GOP because without them where would she be. Ungrateful witch is what she is!
Just wonder what kind of rumblings are coming from AK, law suits? Bad publicity, hissy fits in public?
Geoffrey — first thanks for taking so much of your time writing your book. I for one appreciate it.
I’d like to know if you think that Palin might run as a third party candidate and if she does could she win?
Thanks, Phil. I found that very interesting. And the Knowles folks made their info available to McCain instantaneously. And to me:-)
While you are taking a rest, Mr. Dunn, I want to thank you and ET and FDL for doing this. It is really THRILLING to be able to address these questions to you. Thank you!
SP has never been one to show a lot of gratitude.
Phil, let me have a momentary dialogue with you. Are you with me?
Do you have any idea what’s going on with the Alaska State Troopers serving the Wasilla Police Department with a search warrant?
BTW, Geoffrey, Syrin is e-mailing me that she is reading the book salon from her iPhone on a 4-wheeler somewhere in the Alaska bush north of Talkeetna, if I get it right.
[Syrin is one of the conservative Wasilla area Republicans who was dead set against Palin from way back. Geoffrey's portrait of Syrin is another example of how he reached everywhere for detail and truth about the lies.]
breathing…:-)
my buddy just called…he told me to post this:
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Sarah-Palin-Untold-Relentless/dp/0312601867/
Geoffrey…is there an Explanation as to WHY she has been able to develop this strong meme( LIE)that she is a X-ian and all the Evangelicals support her. Someone behinds the scenes must have been using Rove-type tactics to put THAT out there.She doesn’t ACT like a Christian.
Just this week I listened to her in an interview with Hugh Hewitt on the radio BEFORE the election.
She said back then that she does NOT belong to any Church. Someone has sold them this LIE and repeated it over and over..?
This was the interview.
http://talkradiotoolbar.com/talkblog/?p=1737
Hi to Syrin!
Geoffrey ( and ET too if you have an opinion) which lie of Sarah Palin’s do you believe is the worst and/or most likely to end her career and do you think the Republicans know how to use it to help bring it?
Mr. Dunn, I’m fairly disappointed to hear you say that you’ve seen photos of Palin flat, and photos of Palin not flat, thus you are a “Trignostic”.
HINT: the flat photos are what counts. They are an incontrovertible and absolute veto of Palin’s outlandish story.
Any non-pregnant woman can make herself look pregnant, but it does not work the other way around.
-Lidia17
Did you investigate anything about Dar Miller’s death? Why the fire investigator’s report was never released? She lived within 1 mile of the Palins. She had been a NICU nurse for 15 years before becoming a Hospice nurse. The news reports of her death are highly questionable.
Hi Kathleen — I think Palin MAY run as a Third Party candidate. She cannot win.
Now I say that…and look, if the economy is in the tank, if we are still in three wars, it’s possible that politics as we know it in the US will be over. But I cannot see Palin waging an effective candidacy.
Phil…are you there?
If this is an inappropriate question, please tell me, ok? Do you have an opinion on Levi’s book that you might share?
Absolutely.
I’m not so sure.We have friend at a local Starbucks who you would be hard put to tell but she had a beautiful baby girl, small but healthy.
You are not the first person I’ve disappointed in my life. You don’t disappoint me. I respect the fact that you have a different opinion. But when you are able to prove it to me, beyond doubt, then I will come to a different conclusion.
And BTW, there is much new, never before info in the book about the pregnancy. and about her. I frame it differently than it’s ever been framed. So be it.
Phil, do you remember the Gross article in Vanity Fair?
If her loyal voters feel the same way and Sarah doesn’t run or is even worse forced from the ticket then the fundies might stay home if even 7% of them stay home then nobodies polls about the GOP primaries will work this election everything will be up in the air.
Also given how weak the GOP field for President is unemployment is around 10% but no GOPer beats Obama well Sarah’s voters were the most likely to show up at the polls take Sarah away then what ever interest they had in the GOP primary fades.
Are there any polls on the intensity of support GOP candidates have? Sarah should e at the top of that poll.
That said, it sounds like your book has a lot of background and context that will help those who haven’t been tracking Palin’s misadventures in detail. I hope that even the most die-hard followers of the Alaskan blogs and those seeking to expose Palin will find new material.
Ah – the shopping spree?
We’ll get to the shopping spree.
What I meant was the point he made about NONE of Palin’s early advisers being anywhere near here today.
None.
She simply cannot maintain relationship.
Franklin Graham recently said he didn’t think Sarah will run. They seem to be quite close and he may know something that we don’t or maybe Sarah is lying to him.
A lot of the rats HAVE jumped ship.
I still tend to think her real thing is money and, if that’s what it takes, then the GOP bosses can buy her off. It will be interesting though to watch this play out.
None of the people from her 2006 gubernatorial campaign are anywhere around.
They were all tossed under the bus: Bailey, Bitney, et al.
I’m certainly looking forward to your analysis. I remain critical of how you phrased your “Trignostic” statement earlier.
Seeing a picture of Jesus on a piece of toast doesn’t make me a believer; that’s “just how I’m wired” (wink). Even though I can’t “prove without a doubt” that Jesus didn’t put his picture there.
You do what you gotta do, obviously. I’m aware your burden of proof may be different from that of mere observers like myself.
The only person who knows if Sarah is running is Sarah and perhaps Todd. And they might now know.
I KNOW you are not a psychiatrist, but what is your impression that she suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder?
There are a few exceptions, but that certainly could be called the rule.
She’s still got Kristen Cole, who I saw the other day when I took my tux to the cleaners.
Every time I click on links like that, it informs me, “You ordered this title on November 30, 2009.” Good thing Amazon looks after me, or I’d be giving Mr. FedEx a hernia on Tuesday!
Please clarify if your friend was slim and 5’3, 5’11, or obese. I have a friend who is obese & could not tell the difference when she was or was not pregnant.
You haven’t yet answered (1) did she ever harm anyone, like Dar Miller? (2) how do explain the flat-profile photo? (3) Any connection between CBJ’s specialty and the Palin family?
Look, she is STILL RUNNING…or trying to position herself for a run. She is still raising money. She still has a rag-tag team together. The other numbers I like to look at are these:
http://sports.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/Politics/US-Presidential-ElectionPolitics/US-Presidential-Election-t110000608
The British betting line.
LOL – I’m 58, spayed, and I STILL look pregnant!
I’m going to repeat my ? from 135 because you seem to be answering later questions:
135
Geoffrey ( and ET too if you have an opinion) which lie of Sarah Palin’s do you believe is the worst and/or most likely to end her career and do you think the Republicans know how to use it to help bring it?
If she cannot maintain relationships then why do you think it is that she is still married to Todd?
No she is 5 3 and sort of skinny. I didn’t know she was pregnant until she literally poked out her belly one day to show me. She showed but not much.
Lydia – I have decided to pretend I BELIEVE Sarah about her wild ride with Trig. WHY? Because her OWN words are FAR MORE DAMNING than a faked pregnancy – WHO flies through the air for over 10 hours (with layover) while leaking fluid and having contractions? SHE tells this outlandish story (in her book and on a radio show) – ABSURD! It will SINK her WORSE than the “real” story IMO. Covering up for an unwed teen is forgivable – but ENDANGERING her fetus is NOT.
But she calls herself a Republican I do not doubt that you are right but what is her problem with Republicans are they not far right enough for her?
These guys have to be right or they get killed.
She used to be 7/2, ahead of Romney. She has fallen because of HERSELF. She is self-destructive. She’s a fraud. A Liar. Mean-spirited. Vengeful. To be candid, that’s the same portrait of her drawn by her former sycophant, Frank Bailey. We are describing the same person. And Joe McGinniss will de scribing the same person.
But she is going down.
http://sports.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/Politics/US-Presidential-ElectionPolitics/US-Presidential-Election-t110000608
So do I.
Did you learn anything of the stalker, the kid from Pennsylvania, while writing your book? It’s a strange story for sure.
I guess after all the hard work everyone has done trying to bring Palin down, there’s some kind of justice in the fact that she will bring herself down. Karma.
Look, the GOP elite OPPOSED her in Alaska. Still do. Always will. After she went rogue — she betrayed McCain — the GOP establishment honestly thought she was crazy– a threat to American democracy. In my book, I cite all the GOP figures who oppose her, from Rove to Penny Noonan. She’s toast.
A better question might: “do you think she was ever officially married to Todd?’
She can work up a full-throated denial to divorce rumors (remember that brou-ha-ha involving Gryphen?) that much more easily if she were never actually married.
The shopping spree. My mother — who will be 96 in two weeks — likes to say, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.
Your comment reminded me of the Palin Deceptions website that went dormant because of legal threats from the Palin camp against the website owner, Audrey. The last primary post on that site was August, 2009. The threats must have been taken very seriously because Audrey had been quite tenacious in her investigation.
That works, too! ;-)
I cite an AK Trooper who says that whenever Sarah traveled, she always went shopping. Didn’t want to meet people, go to museums, see the countryside. Always.
And when she just went to India, what did she do?
Shallow is as shallow does.
I am counting on her self destruction as a back up if money isn’t enough to take her out. But then you’re right who knows what another year will bring us.
I was going to ask Geoffrey the same question.
Her boldest lie was to tell the entire country in 2008 that we had started building a gas pipeline that she was responsible for creating. It still doesn’t exist and probably never will.
Her most dangerous lie continues to be that of framing herself as anything other than a batshit crazy Xianist nut who would be putty in the hands of people like the Koch Bros.
Look, there’s something missing here: SP doesn’t have to get the most votes to “win.” She wins by running and fucking over her enemies — and making money.
She is definitely “self-destructive, a fraud, a liar, mean-spirited, and vengeful.” That’s why she’ll run.
Thanks. They have gone after me, too. And others.
I am a cancer survivor. My doctors already did to me what the Palinbots would like to do. I am immune to their threats.
Well if you HAVE a bulked-up body, could you have a photo taken, known date, known others in the photo, with a very flat profile? Of you?
I’m keeping after this because I find it to be a logical impossibility. And no one who defends SP’s pregnancy EVER addresses how a 7-mo PG woman can be flat 5 weeks before a 6+ pound baby??
To Geoffrey,
Up in comment 45, Edward Teller said the following regarding fear of the Palins:
“It is worse than that. The Palins aren’t here very often these days. But the movement that spawned her in the Mat-Su Valley has become more openly racist, more potentially dangerous, since her ascension to unsubtly veiled white racist and evangelical icon in late 2008.
I have Black friends in the local area who have lived here for 10 to 30 years who just recently have decided they need to move to Anchorage.”
One of my big concerns about Palin is her whipping up thinly veiled racism, and it is one reason I am concerned as long as she retains a public platform. Edward mentions her racist side in this comment. I am wondering if your book covers more about this side of Palin?
I can’t wait to read your book. Seriously, I’m in tears thinking that she could possibly finally go down. After all the ups and downs and icebergs and this-time-for-sures, I’m afraid to get my hopes up. I have NEVER felt this way about anyone before, and I hope I never do again.
This is off topic but there were NEVER any legal threats made against Audrey. Threats to disclose her identity? Yes. But no legal threats. Another internet myth I am afraid.
I quote someone in the book who called her “batshit crazy.” My editor asked if that was a common perception in AK. I told him their must be a lot of batshit in AK, because I heard it everywhere.
Geoffrey-
I just finished the book the other day and I want to say, very nicely done. Well documented, and eminently fair. My thinking is that based upon all of the destruction Sarah left behind her in Alaska, over the past three or four years, will inevitably lead to her Gov. emails being released within the next year which should do irreparable damage to both her and her husband.
Any thoughts?
There were never any legal threats made to Audrey or to any other “Trig Truther”, your information is not correct, I am afraid. Audrey stopped blogging because the right-wingers discovered her identity, but this had nothing to do with any “legal threats.” Now let’s get back to the subject of Geoffrey’s book.
Good point. Sarah palin will do what’s best for her–not what’s best for the GOP or the country.
Think about her response this week to Bin Laden. I fear for my kids what her response might lead to. She does not give a shit about anything bu herself.
Now you’ve said something troubling. If the Kochs back her they can support her candidacy all the way just by themsleves.
Did you research whether she actually graduated from college?
I’ll emphasize again how thoroughly researched Geoffrey’s political biography is. Not only did he interview a huge number of people, the bibliography is 18 pages long.
What surprised you the most about Sarah Palin while writing your book?
I think that my book, the Bailey book, and all the coming emails — and rumor is that Bailey may release his — is going to have an impact on her. The Joe will get her in the fall.
But her core supporters are going to believe her, no matter what she says. She simply lies all the time. And they continue to believe her. It’s a cult of personality and a cult of celebrity. There is no denying that.
And, having had many battles with the State of AK over emails, I’m sorry, there is going to be a lot missing from what they release. They are still covering for her. There is a culture of corruption in AK politics. Sorry. there is.
I’ve conducted extensive research on Sarah Palin and numerous psychiatric diagnoses and feel Histrionic Personality Disorder best fits.
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/histrionic-personality-disorder
Mr. Dunn, I think someone earlier asked who you thought was behind Mrs. Palin’s rise.
To what extent did forces inside Alaska help her along, versus national or trans-national forces? Are these forces the same, different, parallel?
Do you go into this much in your book?
Yes, they can, and that is troubling…
The GOP and fascists like Palin should be very thankful that Americans don’t know more history. If enough people were familiar with the writings of no one other than Izzy Stone people like Palin wouldn’t be able to sow their lies as widely as they do.
The Corporate wing of the GOP has plenty of cash to swing betting averages. I don’t doubt she is self destructive. I have so much trouble telling where the lies end and what she would really do if elected. But I am quite sure she can win several GOP Primary states if she runs.
I am quite sure that she is dangerous.
The right-wing Evangelical conservative movement provided their support. The planets aligned. They prevented Lieberman from being selected. And they had been promoting Palin. So they helped establish her presence. Then she became an instant celebrity. That celebrity had and has cache. But she has burnt several bridges, most recently with Scheunemann and the neo-cons. She’s gonna burn out Roger Ailes soon enough.
How much longer will she last on Fox?
Izzy Stone was an early hero of mine, and his spirit, along with others, helped to guide me.
I’m going to just jump in here quickly, not having read your book but having read comments up to #188.
My impression was always that Palin was not in it for power, but for the money, but I am rethinking my position in light of what has been said here.
Hates the national GOP? Very interesting. She can’t win a GOP primary, and I don’t really see her gearing up to try.
But running as an Independent (call it the American Christian Fascist Party) does not require a primary, just a bundle of money and name recognition.
George Wallace won five states and 10 million popular votes, if memory serves. Could she be another Wallace?
Yes, I absolutely agree that Histrionic fits better than Narcissistic. Thanks.
Thank you for the correction. I haven’t been on that site since it went dark so I must have missed the details on why it would no longer be kept current.
And if she ever got elected….. ? It’s just a black hole. Even the Kochs would lose control then. That may be the best reason the money people in the GOP have to pass her by,but who knows?
Thank god. We are so lucky that she insists on being an asshole.
As they say in Tijuana, vamos a ver.
She can win some primaries. Definitely. Many perhaps. She may be doing a rope-a-dope and waiting for the likes of Newt and Pawlenty and Huckabee to all fall out. She is loved by the conservative party faithful who embraced her at the convention.
— until all the talking heads @ FAUX wince as openly in her presence as does O’Reilly.
I’m old enough to remember the Wallace campaign. Palin has more national juice than Wallace. A broader base. It will largely depend on who the GOP runs. Romney cannot hold that wing of the party together. He cannot. So more will be revealed.
Some of us find the medical letter SP released to contain many indications that it was forged or altered. CBJ’s total silence is one key indicator. Were you able to talk to CBJ, and what is your take on the medical letter?
Bingo. Bil has had enough of her. Beck is gone. That leaves her Van Susteren and Hannity. They will ALWAYS support her. But when will Ailes get sick of her?
You are choosing not to respond to these questions, right?
(1) did she ever harm anyone, like Dar Miller?
(2) how do you explain the flat-profile photo?
(3) Any connection between CBJ’s specialty and the Palin family?
No. No response to CBJ. Sorry.
Let me say that I was greatly influenced by a post of Phil’s quite some time ago. Maybe he can find the link.
He talked about CBJ. He said he could put this to rest. But she hasn’t. I suspect she is under legal threat.
{{shudder}} – What if Palin had finished her term as Governor, studied history/political science/geography/religion/etc., took elocution lessons and had someone to pull her fashion sense together…yes, we are so lucky that she insists on being an asshole!
Do you know who watches Trig and the other kids while Sarah is busy promoting herself?
Good point, Amy1. Aside from visual abnormalities in the letter, it wasn’t written at all professionally, and focused on Trig rather than Palin herself (which to me was a clue that who wrote it had Trig on the brain, though I cannot prove that!). I find it impossible to believe that it is authentic.
All statements emanating from the Palin camp have a “Tell-tale Heart” quality about them.
She has inadvertently revealed many of her truths (such as having been pregnant “only a month”).
Can she really operate an organization that can win a GOP primary in a big state (Illinois, Texas, New York, California, Florida, etc.)? My impression from the McCain campaign was that she was too ornery to do what the campaign staff tells her, and not smart enough (practically nobody is) to make all the decisions herself. That she could easily win a small state like South Carolina, but would not be viable in a big campaign.
There’s a bit of Izzy in the book, a hint of Hunter Thompson’s Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail from 1972. But you’re not HST, nor is anyone. The book stands on its own merits.
You’re right that the allegedly forthcoming e-mails from the state of Alaska – about 20 months overdue! – will be heavily redacted. No doubt, the statute of limitations will have just run out regarding some of the revelations.
A narrow miss — for us.
And what about Dar Miller’s death: any connection to SP there?
Uh, “choosing” is not correct, so you have lost me already.
You are choosing not to respond to these questions, right?
(1) did she ever harm anyone, like Dar Miller?
I don’t know. No proof. Show me the proof.
(2) how do you explain the flat-profile photo?
What photo. Provide a link. I’ve seen several photos. And I have interviewed two-dozen people who were with her those final months.
(3) Any connection between CBJ’s specialty and the Palin family?
I don’t know.
Geoffrey… there are many of us here now who read and comment on the Politicalgates blog and are asking questions.
As of Tuesday your book will be available to the general public and a LOT of people will be pouring over it then. And asking various questions on the blog.
I won’t speak for Patrick and Kathleen but it would take a very good guess that at some point the topic of your book will be a blog post.People will have more questions as people dig thru it.
Would you be open to stopping by the blog so we could ask further additional questions… as we get into the book?
{Like how Brad Scharlott has stopped by after his paper was posted in the Business Insider ]
And that’s my point. Had she done a modicum worth of work, she would have had the nomination sewn up.
She has cost herself a shot at the presidency.
Here’s the post. It is from February 2010. I saw CBJ at the state fair last August, but we just sort of waved and shouted “Hi,” as I was manning the Alaska Democrats’ booth alone and could see Joe Miller coming toward me from the opposite direction.
I’m not sure if I’m doing this correctly. But here goes! Geoffrey and Edward: One of the many things that has piqued my curiosity is the fact that even in the staged photo shoots, Sarah doesn’t seem to go out of her way to interact with Trig or hold him. I am thinking of the Mother’s Day spread last year. In every shot she was holding Tripp and either looking down on and speaking at her supposed baby. I’ve seen other photos as well or clips from the TV show where there seems to be little to no effort to show her as the loving and involved mother of this special needs child that she claims she is. Did she simply give up on “affecting” the role of loving mother? I find her ambivalence to the poor child palpable. But I’m wondering if either of you have any thoughts or other interpretations on this. Thank you!
I’ve already been asked a bunch of questions for tomorrow and once I recover from this typing orgy I will be answering them as well.
I’m not sure if I’m doing this correctly. But here goes! Geoffrey and Edward: One of the many things that has piqued my curiosity is the fact that even in the staged photo shoots, Sarah doesn’t seem to go out of her way to interact with Trig or hold him. I am thinking of the Mother’s Day spread last year. In every shot she was holding Tripp and either looking down on and speaking at her supposed baby. I’ve seen other photos as well or clips from the TV show where there seems to be little to no effort to show her as the loving and involved mother of this special needs child that she claims she is. Did she simply give up on “affecting” the role of loving mother? I find her ambivalence to the poor child palpable. But I’m wondering if either of you have any thoughts or other interpretations on this. Thank you!
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0fcQ5EM7gafd9
I suppose the obvious next question would be: did she treat all her kids like that?
I’m sorry. I’m not going to “interpret” that behavior. We can all interpret that. I have pored over 40,000 pages of documents, interviewed more than 200 people, and I am drawing my narrative from that material…not my interpretation of photos. I will leave that to the rest of you.
I’ve seen her handle TriG like a loaf of week-old bread, and I’ve seen her cuddle him. It depends on what Palin thinks she needs from TriG, more than anything else.
I would guess that she has done some serious damage to Bristol, being the oldest daughter. My heart hurts when I see what Bristol has done to her face.
I just went to the photo. Sorry, that one doesn’t prove it to me. I wouldn’t bet my finger on it, and as someone who has lost plenty of body parts, I don’t say that lightly.
And I am also going to say this, that from this point on, I’ll let you Trig experts handle the Trig questions elsewhere. Honestly, I find the focus on Trig to be a great benefit to Palin, in the end, politically.
Hi Laura,
Good question and I am also interested in this. But I think you need to go to the bottom of the page and that is where you can make a new comment. You ended up replying to my comment number 183, asking about Palin whipping up racism, and if that is covered in the book. I was referencing a comment Edward made at number 45
I am new here too and haven’t quite gotten the commenting mechanics down. :-)
Agreed.
Oo, there’s more tomorrow? Thank you for this Geoffrey and thanks for hosting ET. I pre-ordered and now I can’t wait to get it!
This photo:
http://palingates.blogspot.com/2011/05/sarah-palin-misleading-pregnancy.html
And this series of photos:
http://palingates.blogspot.com/search/label/babygate%20review?updated-max=2011-04-17T18%3A30%3A00%2B02%3A00&max-results=20
Agree. The narcissist doesn’t care what the baby needs, it what she needs from him.
My last question, Mr. Dunn: Have you ever known, as an an acquaintance or family member, a person who you recognized as having an anti-social personality disorder?
(I have, which is why Palin is more transparent to me than to some other people. Proof that would stand up in court or no, certain among us just know how their games are played.) Oh, and the fact that it is “beyond the pale” only makes it more, not less, characteristic, despite whether you think this plays into Palin-supporters’ hands. Palin does not reason like a normal person, so whether her assertions are to be taken seriously or not by normal people does not enter into her calculations. That the media keeps refusing to “go there” is to her advantage, certainly, but that is THEIR pathology, not Mrs. Palin’s.
I’m late to the party, so I apologize if you covered this.
What, if any, blowback do you expect to get from the Palin camp? I have to assume she’s going to Twitter and Facebook out all sorts of screeching hysteria…which should prove to be lots of fun, actually.
How difficult was it for you to write this book?
Geoffrey, do you know anything about a serious legal investigation into the Matanuska Maid Dairy scandal/Dairygate?
Now you’ve lost me. Tough on this end to follow everything.
“You ended up replying to my comment number 183, asking about Palin whipping up racism, and if that is covered in the book.”
Yes, it’s covered in the book. Closely. And Palin clearly played with racial fire in the last month of the campaign by going after Rev Wright an her comments about Obama not being like us. I view this as a crucial moment in American history.
Palin was the first major political figure from a major political party to give body to those racist energies since George Wallace (who was originally a Democrat). Much of Palin’s juice is based on racism.
I have serious doubts that Sarah Palin actually graduated from college.
http://palingates.blogspot.com/2010/08/sarah-palins-crazy-college-daze.html
If she had graduated with a degree in Journalism, her tassel color would be Crimson. If she graduated with a degree in Communication Studies (laughable), her tassel color would be White.
The picture shows a Yellow tassel, suspiciously what her sister Molly would have received as a dental hygienist.
Do you think she legitimately graduated with a degree?
I’m doing an interview at palingates that should come out tomorrow. Unfortunately, I’m stuck on this Palin beat for a while. And I am happy to do more.
Getting back on track: One of the strengths of this book is that Geoffrey has covered Palin’s entire life better than anyone else so far, yet it is a campaign book on a level with the best of them from Theodore White, Joe McGinniss and Hunter Thompson to Heilemann and Halperin.
Oh Oh, raising hand again! Do you know the identity of “Young Trigg” who modified Sarah Palin’s Wikipedia site in August 2008?
Yes, I’ll second that question. I bet SP will come after you, one way or another, like you havn’t got your facts right, another example of lame stream media.
As we come to the end of this lively Book Salon,
Geoffrey, Thank you for stopping by the Lake and spending the afternoon with us discussing your new book and Sarah Palin.
ET, Thank you very much for Hosting this great Book Salon.
Everyone, If you would like more information:
Geoffrey’s book and Santa Cruz Wiki
ET’s website – Progressive Alaska
Tomorrow’s FDL Book Salon will be:
Tad Daley – Apocalypse Now
Hosted by Valerie Plame Wilson and Ambassador Joe Wilson
Thanks all,
Have a great evening!
I spoke to an official in Idaho who said she had a degree. But she clearly lied about her college record on an application for a job in Palmer.
Here’s my challenge to Sarah: I’ll release my college record if you release yours.
It is likely to include all her children; not limited to Trig. Individuals with Histrionic Personality Disorder rarely show concern for others. When they do it is fake/shallow. They have difficulty forming lasting relationships.
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/histrionic-personality-disorder
No.
When are you coming back up to Alaska?
I think you mean politicalgates………not palingates. :-)
Geoffrey, I am sorry – LauraNovak had accidentally replied to my question number 183, which is about Palin’s thinly veiled racist appeals. I was replying to her, trying to send her in the right direction. My original question was number 183, and in regard to a comment Edward made.
Here is my original question:
To Geoffrey,
Up in comment 45, Edward Teller said the following regarding fear of the Palins:
“It is worse than that. The Palins aren’t here very often these days. But the movement that spawned her in the Mat-Su Valley has become more openly racist, more potentially dangerous, since her ascension to unsubtly veiled white racist and evangelical icon in late 2008.
I have Black friends in the local area who have lived here for 10 to 30 years who just recently have decided they need to move to Anchorage.”
One of my big concerns about Palin is her whipping up thinly veiled racism, and it is one reason I am concerned as long as she retains a public platform. Edward mentions her racist side in this comment. I am wondering if your book covers more about this side of Palin?
Thanks Bev! Lively is the word. Had I typed this fast my book would have come out sooner:-)
I need a massage!
In your opinion what do you think is in the future for Palin? If the GOP want her out what do you think she’ll do to keep herself in the spotlight?
Is she herself a racist, or is it just pandering to the neo-Confederate demographic?
Sorry if we’re all over the place trying to get all of our questions answered – we have been waiting so long for someone to take us seriously. I have pre-ordered your book as have most of the others I know here. Thank you for everything you have done.
Thanks, just saw you followed up. Much appreciated! I have preordered and am looking forward to getting your book.
Yes it does. And I agree with Edward/Phil. Completely. I experience it outside.
just got home from work (2nd job). are we still open for business here?
I think her star is falling. But she is tenacious, so i don’t count her out.
Pole dancing at the GOP convention is a possibility, I suppose…
And Geoffrey, I hope to meet you in Chicago. Jan
Beerfart, we are getting close to emptying the keg.
Thanks.
Mr. Dunn: Can you please take a look at #248 before you leave?
I guess so. I haven’t read all the comments so i’m sorry if this has been asked. but i didn’t want to me geoffrey:
what ever become of the clothes in the hold of the plane?
Not to the extent it might have been. But – again – the book has an important message along these same lines, and the evidence we all saw of the way she was energized by the racism at some of the fall 2008 campaign rallies is very well covered in The Lies of Sarah Palin.
Before I close, I see that I missed a comment by phil about her foreign policy. Palin has clearly positioned herself as the anti-Obama. Her foreign policy is opportunistic, without any form of moral compass or doctrine, and based only on what will generate her publicity. She has changed foreign policy advisers now thrice.
Some are probably still in her closet. Some got dispersed. And some went unaccounted.
The larger question is why did the RNC pay her legal bills?
*miss geoffrey
Great discussion. Great book. Thanks much.
Geoffrey, thank you for your time. We look forward to hearing from you at Politicalgates.
So I am assuming we are going off the air:
The book will be available in stores on Tuesday and on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Sarah-Palin-Untold-Relentless/dp/0312601867/
Thanks. Thanks to Phil and Bev and everyone else!
emptywheel is upstairs!
Grey-Bearded Osama Watching Videos of His Youth
We’re being relegated down the stream as another essay goes to the top at firedoglake. But you’re welcome to stay as long as you can, should people have more questions. John Dean set a record, by staying here answering questions all night.
This was a WONDERFUL idea! Thank you Geoffrey, and to Phil and Bev. My book is already pre-ordered, I can hardly wait! In fact, if I don’t get it on Tuesday, I may have to go to the bookstore and buy another one!
Thanks for doing this Geoffrey and to Phil also, too! Can’t wait to read the book now.
Thanks to all involved setting up this forum! I can hardly wait for Tuesday for my pre-ordered book to arrive.
The book really sounds like a foundational text on Palin, with some very interesting new revelations like the police dispatcher application. It also sounds like the AK press has spent years ignoring much they should have reported on. Geoffrey, I am glad you are getting more of that info out to the public.
Can you hear the sound of my evil Snidley Whiplash laugh?? Thanks for that info!
This is Archivist1000 I was reading this transcript and post #75 caught my eye … Sarah was 10 yrs old in 1974; that was the season ( I beleive) that in one episode, Mary was ‘busted’ for a ‘little lie’ on her resume. The little lie? She was short a few credits and hadn’t REALLY graduated from College.
Maybe Bree from ‘Desperate Housewives’ wasn’t the FIRST TV character Sarah copied? Just saying!
Mary Hartman?
From the year I’m guessing Mary Tyler Moore.
… who can turn the world on with her smile? …
In re. the book: “The Lies of Sarah Palin”… So MANY politicians lie, even about their background and other things that are easily checked… What makes you think that the generally in-attentive public is going to be stricken in particular by “The Lies of Sarah Palin”?? Are we burned out? Incapable of sorting out fact from fiction? Do we (both journalists and citizens) no longer care?
We’ve seen Palin supporters bend over backwards to justify Palin’s lies, but also Bush’s lies and Obama’s lies. Is uncovering the truth these days even in anyone’s interest? It would seem not; rather, an annoyance.
I bought my mother a copy of “Family of Secrets” and she said “I don’t need to read that” and (as I happened to have put it on the floor) she gave it a little kick with her foot.
Thank you for writing this book. Hopefully it will help people in the Lower 48 (and Hawaii) understand what Alaskans learned the hard way.
No lie too small to tell.
Palin is P.A.T.H.O.L.O.G.I.C.A.L.
Sorry to have missed this, let me please add my thanks for this wonderful book that shows us how integral to her political personality are the lies of Sarah Palin. Without them, there is no Thrilla from Wasilla. It’s really great work and I recommend it: despite the wee likelihood she’ll run for President next year, Sarah Palin isn’t going anywhere. She’s going to be part of our polity or celebri-universe for decades. Read this book to learn how untruth is part of her persona.
Thank you, ET, for hosting.
Thanks, Teddy. And thanks to all who participated. That’s on behalf of Geoffrey, too, who is now outside, working in his garden near Santa Cruz.
Mary Ingals, Little House on the Prairie?
Mary Richards, of the Mary TYler Moore show.
Didn’t every little girl watch her?
After years of working for Lou, Mary got busted for her little white lie — a few credits short of a Degree.
————- yes, I know that Sarah has pic of herself in her cap and gown, BUT, the actual degree isn’t conferred that day, it’s a ceremony.
Just saying ….
It does seem likely that Sarah would have watched Mary Tyler Moore, especially with her broadcast journalism dreams. As far as why she may not have graduated, it seems she’s often taking shortcuts, and may not have liked being a small fish in a big pond off away from her home town.
I am frankly skeptical that she graduated when she says she did. She may have completed credits much later by distance learning or “life experience” credits, so that she finally can honestly say she has a degree. I’d really like to see transcripts to see what grades she had and when her degree, if any, was actually earned.
Sarah burnt Ailes over her “blood libel” response to the Giffords shooting. Ailes told her to lie low.
I did a bit of research for a friend regarding Alex Jones. Apparently he is definitely NOT a fan of paYlin and rails against her for her support of Rick Perry in TX. If she can’t even corral the TP/NWO crazies, what chance does she have of getting enough votes to sustain her in any race, including the human race.
Excellent book salon. Many thanks to Mr. Dunn and to EdwardTeller for hosting and keeping the questions focused. I think the Trig birth story has such legs because it fits Mr. Dunn’s thesis about what a grossly irresponsible lying liar is Ms. Palin.
The serial obfuscations about Trig’s birth are not the sort of behavior any rational politician or mature adult and parent would ever have engaged in. None of it. Zip. Nada. It’s not even a close call. Which means Palin either intentionally endangered her child (and herself) or she is less mature than a 7th grader.
No woman with a smidgeon of concern for her own or her child’s health would have flown to Texas that late in her pregnancy. If she had, it would have been with the knowledge and on the advice of her physician – good luck with that one. It would also have been on a private plane – no airline would have responsibly allowed her to fly that late. If she had, her husband, staff and security detail would have had a plan worked out, home and Texas-based Ob-Gyn and hospital details sorted out, the lot. Apart from that behavior being what one expects of an experienced mother, it’s what one expects from a competent CEO.
No one with any maturity or judgment would have stayed in Texas that long. No one would have flown home after leaking amniotic fluid. Ms. Palin didn’t tell the airlines because none of them would have let her board an aircraft in such a condition. No physician would have advised her it was OK to make such an extended commercial flight – two of them – either that late in pregnancy or after starting to leak amniotic fluid. That Todd allowed her to fly in that condition – after having been through four earlier births and knowing Trig would need special care from the get go – says he’s less mature and more irresponsible than his wife. What a pair.
Given the facts she claims happened, Sarah Palin committed child endangerment. That Trig didn’t fall off the balcony, so to speak, just means that luck intervened to stop reckless behavior from causing personal injury. That mitigates punishment; it doesn’t excuse the endangerment. Take those facts to any state prosecutor whom Palin would hire and a woman who so endangered her child would be up on charges, along with her husband. If she were less prominent, the airline she abused would consider putting her on their own watch or no-fly list. The long drive home from Anchorage is another reckless act.
There seem to be three likely explanations for the facts as Palin states them. She’s lying, and those aren’t the facts, but they produce reactions she can profit from. She’s not lying. Either she is as breathlessly reckless as a troubled, addictive teen, or she intentionally endangered her child. None of those represent behavior acceptable in any competent executive, public official or public commentator. It is the behavior of a performance artist, heedless of any concern but her own reflection in the well and the money and prominence her outrageous behavior can generate before she gets old and wrinkly.
As Mr. Dunn makes clear, it is Sarah Palin who has kept the Trig birth drama center stage, not bloggers. The press, on the other hand, are as irresponsible as Todd. Reporters gave her a criticism-free pass by using the “wild ride” characterization, as if she were hanging on to a coin operated bull in a Ft. Worth bar. They should, instead, have described it as the grossly irresponsible behavior it plainly was.
I know I created d a sense of doubt, but I don’t understand how some people (I hope theyre all named) voice strong negative opinions of Sarah Heath and Chuck, yet many many others considered the Heath house their second home. There are people still living in Wasilla who stand beside the family and ignore the hateful sentiment tossed their way. It just confuses me. I want to trust people, but because several people have been caught lying about Sarah and her family (private and publicly) trust is becoming elusive. That is all.
I think Mr. Dunn makes clear that Ms. Palin’s familiarity with the truth and what would generally be regarded as responsible behavior is tenuous, at best. One or a handful of other lies about her don’t change that.
Her kids don’t have problems forming relationships though. And Sarah still has close friends from years and years ago. I think it’s her former political allies who left, which she did address in an email already released. Politics is a murky thing.Hard to determine who to trust. Obviously she was too trusting of the wrong people.
I think people forgive lies relatively easily because lying is simply part of human nature. Plus, it’s expected for politicians to blow smoke of America’s rear.
The slightest of inquiry into the political friends Ms. Palin used to have reveals predatory behavior on her part, not that “she was too trusting of the wrong people.” Personal loyalty is admirable, but it can lead to blindness as readily as narcissism.
People sometimes forgive well-intentioned lies that cause no lasting harm, but mature adults are wary ever afterwards of the liar. People who lie about fundamentals, and do so blithely and persistently, may be tolerated; they are not trusted or freely given control over the lives and well-being of others. Those who trust such personalities not to lie them, because they are sure they are the exception who won’t be lied to, may be wrestling with their own demons.
EOF,
She does seem to have a loose relationship with the truth
This comment is worthy of being on the book’s dust jacket.
This is a continuous theme of yours on many blogs that reveal Palin information. Whenever more of the truth regarding Palin is revealed, you repeat this tired little message on any blog that will allow it. You discuss how you know other sources who can dispute what a specific source told Dunn. It is a sad and desperate attempt since you have no clue what you are trying to refute nor can you provide any proof of anything you claim. You are persistent, however.