Quote of the Day (November 30, 2009)

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Pat Muir:

"There was only one guy there who was openly anti-Palin. He was wearing an Obama shirt and carrying an Obama sign. People pretty much ignored him."

- JP

A fund for the families of the four fallen police officers

Sarah Palin tweeted Sunday night:

"While in Washington State today my heart goes out to the WA police officers gunned down so tragically&senslessly. God comfort the families."

The immediate families of the fallen include their spouses and a total of nine children. The Lakewood Police Independent Guild (website here) is raising money for the four families:

Lakewood Police Independent Guild
PO Box 99579
Lakewood, WA 98499

h/t: Dan Riehl

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mentions, Part 12

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More quintessential quotes...

Andrew Malcolm:

"Everybody thinks 2012 when they think of Palin, who last week pushed Oprah's show to its highest ratings in nearly three years. Remember, though, in 2012 the first hurdles a rehabbed candidate Palin would face are her own party's primaries, where diligent conservatives conscientiously come out to play. If she somehow mobilized Iowa's white evangelicals as Mike Huckabee did to win the 2008 season-opening caucus, many bets would be off about her unelectability. Right now, Palin holds 65% approval among white evangelical Protestants, not a bad place to start, if she decides to."

Mike Farmer:

"The D.C. power players hate what Sarah Palin represents -- a diverse public outside D.C. fighting against state power... Statism and power are what the Washington D.C. political class is protecting, and anyone from the "collective" across America who rises to challenge statism will be attacked. Sarah Palin's appeal is that she empowers ordinary people against a powerful, over-reaching and impersonal state. This, the political class can't have."

Michelle Malkin:

"In Michigan, [Nora] O’Donnell smugly noted that Palin’s fans were 'largely white — almost no minorities in this crowd.' [Chris] Matthews parroted the line, assailing the 'white crowd.' [Joan] Walsh likened the gathering to a 'paranoid tea party.' Matthews hammered away at the 'monochromatic' scene. Ahem. Check out the masthead of MSNBC TV, 'The Place for Politics.' Wear sunglasses and SPF 30 lotion. You’ll need protection from the blinding white glare..."

James Freeman:

"I think Republicans would be crazy to rule her 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.'"

Bob Lonsberry:

"They must really be afraid of Sarah Palin... That’s the politics of personal destruction. That’s the left doing everything it can to destroy a person who threatens it. The liberals in Washington and in the media know that they might not be able to beat her at the ballot box, so they need to beat her now, by poisoning the public mind against her, by defining her as a buffoon. Before people come to know her, the liberals have to destroy her.... And the bottom line is that Sarah Palin, in her character and values, is more like America than any other current national politician – certainly more than the president. And that scares the liberals. So they are trying to destroy her through mockery."

Wild Thing:

"Sarah Palin at a book signing where... Andrea Mitchell was in the crowd of people and was being held back by police, but she still was able to ask a couple of questions. Later Andrea Mitchell had to acknowledge that there were 1500 people VERY early in line... Sometimes there is news that just makes one feel good. This is one little item that makes up for the deep disgust and sadness at the moronic attacks on Sarah Palin... I will never forget the look on Mitchell's face when she announced Sarah was the VP choice. I am no doctor, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn express last night, and if that wasn't the look of discomfort from some sort of 'personal exam' I don't know what is. Andrea Mitchell knows in her heart and soul this is the real deal, and it kills her."

Alan Dowd:

"She’s clearly laying the groundwork for her own White House run. Leaving the governor’s office has freed her to stay connected with the conservative base, sharpen her policy positions as well as how she presents them, work the speaking circuit, raise money and write a book. For Palin... these latter three are interconnected. Her book deal has already garnered a healthy chunk of change, and she is reportedly commanding six figures per speech. Good for her. I hope she makes her case well. And if she makes a run for the Republican nomination, I hope she gets a fair shake. If a summertime USAToday/Gallup poll is any indication, she will."

Matthew Dowd:

"It is definitely a possibility that Palin could be elected president of the United States... America is... politically divided and polarized, and Palin benefits from this dynamic. While Democrats love Obama, Republicans look on him with real disfavor. The gap between Obama's approval rating among Democrats and among Republicans is nearly 70 percentage points -- a higher partisan divide than either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush experienced. Obama's agenda and actions this year, and some mistakes, have solidified this divide... Polls show that Palin's favorability numbers are a mirror image of those of Obama... Granted, independent voters have significant reservations about her capability to be president, and this would be a hurdle in the general election. But to win the Republican nomination, Palin needs only to get enough support from the base to win early key states. Already, in nearly every poll today, she has a level of support that makes her a viable primary candidate."

Maria Vitale:

"'Is she dangerous?' The headline blared from 'Entertainment Tonight' and referred to hockey mom-turned-political star Sarah Palin. The theme was repeated in a fundraising e-mail from the Democratic National Committee. What exactly is so dangerous about a woman who, at the present time, holds no political office and has none of the visible trappings of national power? Palin poses a threat to the status quo because she is a woman with high name recognition who dares to go against the abortion establishment. She is pro-life to the core, both in word and in deed. And, even though Roe v. Wade has been on the books now for close to 37 years, she is the woman who could bring it down."

The Augusta Chronicle:

"Liberal talking heads love to paint Palin as politically divisive. Pardon? What's she done that's so divisive? Support traditional American values? Since when is that a problem?... In Mediaworld, the media fret over Palin being somehow divisive as a potential political candidate. But when polls indicate actual division -- numbers showing that half the country is against Obama and his policies -- the same media never think to use the 'D' word."

Anthony Bialy:

"Palin should pattern herself after a role model who spent eight total years in government before he won the top job... Ronald Reagan’s chief strength was offering a broad vision as opposed to being a long-time policy wonk. Underlings within the administration can address technical details. It’s the president’s job to make unbelievably bold statements on freedom’s behalf such as, 'Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall.' She thankfully possesses a similarly clear vision, as displayed in both her Republican Convention speech and each of her Facebook posts. Also, she’s obviously willing to flaunt her independence. That fact is best shown by the title of a new book you may have heard that she’s authored."

Rachel Campos-Duffy:

"Certainly one thing the feminist establishment never anticipated was Todd Palin. The new evolved husband was not supposed to be a blue-collar, snowmobiling commercial fisherman. He was supposed to be an ivy educated, New York Times-reading liberal. Their great hope was Bill Clinton, but he let them down. However, his stellar abortion rights creds granted him a pass after Monica and the feminists set the stage for him to redeem himself during Hillary’s long-awaited presidential campaign. But poor Bill couldn’t help upstaging Hillary, and his narcissistic rantings cost her dearly in a razor thin primary. The 'First Dude' of the most macho state in our union, on the other hand, coolly stands in the background supporting his successful wife without a trace of resentment or envy."

Dennis Campbell:

"No one seems to rile up the character assassins of the Left more than Palin. They attack her, her husband, and her children. She is shamelessly ridiculed and slandered even though the values she espouses are those of the majority of Americans... During her recent appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity's program, she was lucid and composed, and had the kind of common sense liberals so desperately lack. For instance, her assessment of the Ft. Hood massacre: An act of terrorism. It is an assessment that Liberals simply cannot bring themselves to make, no matter what the evidence. Without a doubt Palin terrorizes them the way no one else does."

Keith Burgess-Jackson:

"Conservatives in this country crave a leader who defends their values, criticizes progressives, and isn't afraid of a fight. The more Palin speaks, the more she endears herself to ordinary Americans. Let the progressive elites vilify her; all it does is show how mainstream she is."

Lori Calabrese:

"Many voters have already formed an opinion about the former governor, but Palin's popularity numbers have boosted in national polls in recent months... It is too early to say who will prevail as the 2012 GOP presidential candidate, but with the sales of her memoir and her growing popularity, Palin is using the opportunity to speak out on her views on President Obama and what she would do if she was in charge... 'She brings out a different crowd,' Salem Republican Party Chairman Greg Habeeb told the Roanoke Times. 'She taps into something that the Republican Party really needs to tap into.'"

- JP

The Virginian: Chattering Debra Saunders Doesn't Get It

Just like his namesake, who exposed the various posers and snake oil salesmen who dropped in on Shiloh Ranch in Medicine Bow, blogging's The Viginian turns a Klieg light on Debra Saunders, and we can clearly see that she's a Republican Lite drinker:

Deb Saunders writes for Townhall.com and the San Francisco Chronicle. Neither fish nor fowl nor good red meat, Deb reflects the Republicanism that lost the 2008 election. You can tell how her column on Palin’s book, “Going Rogue,” is going to turn out by her opening paragraph, referring to Sarah Palin as having been

“...plucked from her Little House on the Tundra to serve as John McCain's running mate and turned into a national caricature.”

Actually Deb, she was occupying the Governor's chair in Alaska. But I guess that viewed from San Francisco you can't tell the difference.

[...]

Palin is 'parading herself as the far right’s favorite victim!' That’s what San Fran Deb thinks of Palin’s supporters. The ones who came out in the tens of thousands to see her when John McCain could not fill a living room. She’s not a 'serious politician.' She’s not wooing skeptics. No, all she’s doing is connecting with the people of the country who don’t live in San Francisco but live in places like Grand Rapids and who stand in line for a day in the freezing cold to get her to autograph her book.

The Virginian's full point-by-point take down of Saunders' lamestream attempt to diss Sarah Palin is here. 

- JP

Republicans say Sarah Palin best reflects their core values

Results of a Washington Post poll released Monday show that Republicans believe that Sarah Palin, more than any other GOP leader, best reflects the core values of the party, according to CNN's Political Ticker:

18 percent of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say the former Alaska governor best reflects core GOP values. In second place, 5 points back, is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, last year's Republican presidential nominee, followed by former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee at 7 percent, former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney at 6 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 4 percent and conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh at 2 percent. Other current Republican leaders were picked by 1 percent or less of those questioned in the poll.

Palin also tops the list of potential 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls. According to the poll, 17 percent of Republican voters say they'd back last year's GOP vice presidential nominee if their state's caucus or primary were being held today, with Huckabee at 10 percent, Romney at 9 percent and McCain with 2 percent support. Huckabee, Palin and Romney have topped most national surveys of the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Nearly fifty percent of the Republicans questioned think Sarah Palin's effect on the party has been a good one, with only 20 percent saying she's had a negative effect and about 30 percent saying she hasn't made a difference either way. An overwhelming 90 percent said that the media have treated her unfairly.

The poll internals are here.

- JP

New Lefty Outrage: Gasp, Sarah Palin Flies in Planes!

-By Warner Todd Huston
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Al Gore flies all across the world destroying the environment with his travels so that he can sell the fantasy of globaloney. Hundreds of government officials will be crisscrossing the globe flying to Copenhagen to "save the planet" at the upcoming Climate Conference this December. All are adding to what leftists call global warming and they are adding more in just the month of December alone with their efforts than any common citizen would in their entire lifetime.

So, what is the lefty outrage du jour? Is it that these so-called environmentalists are hypocrites? Nope. The newest outrage from the left is that Sarah Palin dares to fly from city to city during her whirlwind book tour.

I know. The nerve of her, eh?

At issue with Joey McGinniss' "shocking" expose is the bus that Palin has been using to get from one location to the next in the local areas during her book tour, but has flown the longer distances. Why is this such an outrage? Because Palin said this about her book tour when it began:

“I’ll post our progress from the road.”

According to McGinniss this proves that Palin is a liar about using the buss to cross the country on her book tour. Since she has at times been flying, apparently, McGinniss thinks that the "from the road" part of her post makes her a liar despite that it is quite common vernacular to use that phrase when discussing travel. Who says "from the air" when they are talking about traveling?

McGinniss then goes on to ask all sorts of "probing" questions about the flights. He wants to know who is paying for the flights, if she has anyone else on these planes with her, if she'll continue to fly, if she… well, let's just say he has a lot of questions.

And let's remind this left-wing hack that none of the answers to these questions are any of his business! Sarah Palin is a private individual dealing with a private business. She is not working for the taxpayers and her bills are paid for out of the profits of her book sales and/or the company that is publishing the work. Sarah Palin has absolutely no responsibility to answer to some twit in the press about her expenses.

If she wants to fly 20 different private jets to fly to 20 different cities, it is none of Joey McGinniss' business.

If Sarah Palin wants to drive 20 busses where ever she wants to ride them it is none of Joey McGinniss' business.

If Sarah Palin wants to ride a horse and buggy to every book stop it is none of Joey McGinniss' business.

Joey McGinniss has a tempest in a teapot all revved up and ready to outrage his extremist, left-wing buddies, to be sure, but he definitely has nothing of any note to write about. Must be a slow news day to be pushing this falderal.

But I guess it shouldn't be surprising. Joey McGinniss has been trying to get at Sarah since she debuted on the national scene. So, one wonders, how many books has Joey McGinniss' name sold?

-WTH

Warner Todd Huston is editor of Publius' Forum and is a contributor to a number of other websites

First Update: Joshua Livestro and Doug Brady have more at C4P, including a very good breakdown on the distances between some of the stops on the first leg of the Going Rogue tour. When it made sense to fly (long distances between stops), Sarah Palin flew. When it made sense to ride the bus (shorter distances between stops), she stayed on the bus. Well, duh!

Only one very small nit to pick. The jet former Gov. Palin flew on is an entirely different plane from the aircraft she boarded for her trip to Asheville for her meeting and dinner with the Grahams. The latter was not a jet (at least not a "pure" jet), but a smaller turboprop which Franklin Graham dispatched to bring her from Roanoke to Asheville and back. Since her visit was at Billy Graham's request, it is entirely appropriate that the Grahams furinshed her transportation.

The leftist Palin-haters are going to have to wake up and realize that she is no longer governor of Alaska and therefore is now immune to their Cloward-Pliven crap. They can't file any more bogus complaints against her.

Second Update: HarperCollins spokesperson Tina Andreadis informed lefty blogger Greg Sargent that Sarah Palin had taken only three plane trips, that her plane travel was been minimal and only, as we pointed out previously, for logistical reasons. The publisher, not Palin, scheduled the plane trips and also paid for them. Other than the three flights, Sarah Palin's book signing travel was indeed done on the tour bus.

Palin-haters make themselves look petty, mean and desperately stupid again. End of story.

Third Update: Palin Responds to media madness over her travel and lodging.

- JP

Seattle Times: Fans flock to Palin book signing in Tri-Cities

A crowd of nearly 2,300 people lined up outside Hastings bookstore in Richland, WA for Sarah Palin's appearance to sign copies of her book "Going Rogue":



This video is from the Seattle Times. The Times story is here. More, including photo galleries, at the Tri-City Herald.

More: An after action report on the Richland book signing from a blogger who was there can be found here.

- JP

David Solway: Redeeming Sarah

David Solway, author of The Big Lie and Hear O Israel, sounds off at Pajamas Media with Redeeming Sarah:

"Her greatest weakness during the electoral run was not what she stood for, or her personal aura, or her knowledge — or lack of same — of foreign affairs, but an ingrained naiveté about the extent of the unmitigated hatred and disdain with which many liberal Americans and almost the entirety of the liberal-left media greeted her candidacy."

[...]

"Such bewilderment, I believe, was a function of her essential good nature, her moral dignity, and her natural optimism. These are attributes that would by no means handicap her in her dealings with actual and potential enemies of the country she obviously loves and is sworn to defend — no Michelle-like resentment of America in her bones..."

[...]

"Palin is surely wiser now that she has been put through the domestic wringer. And when compared to her major political opponents, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, she comes across as prime presidential material indeed. The gaffes committed by the president and his hobbling mate during their pre-election speeches defy credulity and betoken not only the sort of “shallowness” that [Rick] Moran accuses Palin of, but suggest an ignorance so profound and entrenched as should have disqualified them immediately from running for office."

[...]

"Further, as has been often pointed out, Palin has actual hands-on experience of what it means to govern; Obama was a short-stint senator who voted “present.” Palin’s record as a mayor and governor is squarely in the public domain and is undeniably impressive; Obama’s CV remains largely sequestered in sealed archives and nobody quite knows what a “community organizer” really does. Palin has genuine accomplishments to her credit; Obama is a cryptograph, who is, in addition, devoid of any notable achievements."

The unabridged original is definitely worth the read.

- JP

Sarah Para Bellum: Be afraid, Alinskyites. Be very afraid.

This outstanding artwork is by Dale, and the original appears on his Out of Order blog. We're grateful to Dale for granting us permission to publish Sarah Para Bellum. Notice the book at Sarah's feet...


© Dale, Daletoons. Used with permission.

- JP

'She's a combination of Annie Oakley and Margaret Thatcher'

Interesting perspective on Sarah Palin from across the pond by a panel of mostly lefties. Michael Gove, Member of Parliament, describes Sarah Palin in this BBC roundtable discussion, as "a combination of Annie Oakley and Margaret Thatcher."

BBC Reports, Part 1:




BBC Reports, Part 2:



h/t: Choo Yew Ming

- JP

Palin to Obama: Let's fight the War on Terror to win

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Sarah Palin used her Facebook Notes page Sunday night to send a message to President Obama:

If We're In It, Let's Win It

As Thanksgiving festivities wind down we contemplate all we have to be thankful for as free Americans! We head into the Christmas season wishing for leadership in Washington that reflects our commitment to the values and ideals that have built the freest and most prosperous and generous nation on earth.

Heading into December and Tuesday’s announcement of our nation’s strategy in Afghanistan, I ask the President to reassure us that the administration is in this War on Terror to win.

And I’ll pass along the following from Harold B. Estes, a 95-year-old member of the Greatest Generation: “I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you’re the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you’re not in this fight to win, then get out.”

Thank you, Mr. President. Please tell us on Tuesday that America is in it to win.

- Sarah Palin

PS: You can read Mr. Estes' complete letter here.

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 29, 2009)

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Anthony Bialy:

"Her foes confuse clarity with idiocy. Let them keep spectacularly misunderstanding her, especially because they despise her for more than her 'You betcha' manner. Namely, she’s both successful and admired in crimson states, which provokes endless infuriation among shrill leftists. Only abortion-embracing, male-despising, womyn-spelling females are supposed to climb as high as she has, a fact which will happily grate on them eternally."

- JP

Dan Calabrese: Sarah Palin, never the insider

Dan Calabrese, in an op-ed published in the Marysville, CA Appeal Democrat, says Sarah Palin's approach to governing puts her at odds with the political insiders:

Palin not only has a keen grasp of the details of governing and budgeting, she also understands the political difficulties inherent in making government responsive. Many of her antagonists at the national level scoffed at the notion that her experience in Wasilla was of any value. Quite the contrary, local government is where a public official's decisions have the most direct impact on the electorate. It's where you really have to understand the ins and outs of what you're doing.

[...]

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of governing, Palin is one of the most substantive politicians to arrive on the scene in quite some time. And when it comes to having the intestinal fortitude necessary keep the interests of the people at the top of the agenda, I can't think of a single person anywhere in politics who is Palin's equal.

If you disagree with Palin's philosophy of governing because you are a political liberal, that's fine. But if you're an honest person, stop trying to pretend she's some sort of good-looking moron.

The more you read about Palin's experience in governing, the more you understand why the national political establishments of both parties hope to smother her political career in its crib. She knows how to govern — better than most of them do, in fact. She just won't do it the way they do it, and that scares the crap out of them.

It's often said that municipal and county governing is the most difficult of all levels of public service. If you make an unpopular decision, you won't just hear about it in letters or e-mails. Unhappy constituents will ring your doorbell and give you a piece of their minds right on your own doorstep. Even worse, a constituent who is angry with you may just happen to be one of your kids' teachers or a deacon in your church. You run into the people you serve at the grocery market and the post office. It helps to keep one grounded, as it has kept Sarah Palin grounded.

The sort of attitude many legislators have displayed toward the common folk, especially during town hall meetings and TEA party demonstrations on the Hill, wouldn't get these Congress critters very far in places like Wasilla, Alaska or Bryan, Texas. Our elected representatives inside the Beltway seem to have forgotten who they are supposed to be working for and whose money it is that they are so recklessly spending. And this is what people mean when they say, "Sarah Palin is one of us." They know that she hasn't forgotten where she came from or who she was serving when she was a council member, a mayor and even a governor.

More: Dan Riehl's take is here.

- JP

Huckabee: A 2012 run is "less than likely"

On "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace today, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said it is "less than likely" he will run for President in 2012:



Des Moines Conservative Examiner Kevin Hall says that if Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa Caucus, doesn't enter the GOP presidential race, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney will become the immediate front runners. From our perspective, former Governor Palin would gain more from a Huckabee decision to stay out of the fray. Most of Iowa's social conservatives would then support Palin in the state's GOP caucuses.

But Hall thinks Huckabee may just be acting coy. He believes the FOX News talk show host will indeed throw his hat into the ring, regardless of Huckabee's comments to the contrary:

Huckabee is wildly popular with social conservatives in Iowa. He is viewed favorably by 70 percent of Iowa Republicans, according to a Des Moines Register poll released last weekend. Only Sarah Palin comes close to Huckabee's popularity in the Hawkeye State. The former Arkansas governor is also the leader in a nationwide Gallup poll.

Still, there are a number of conservatives who wouldn't be on board with Huckabee if he does decide to run, as Hall points out:

Despite his popularity, there is a large group of conservatives who view Huckabee as RINO. His history of raising taxes, subsidizing illegal immigrants, and soft foreign policy stances seem more in line with Democrats. Also, if Palin runs, she would cut deeply into Huckabee's base.

With conservatives split on Huckabee and the possibility of Sarah Palin entering the race, it doesn't appear that he will be able to get Republicans to unite behind him, something he cites as a precondition for getting involved in the race. Only time will tell if Mike Huckabee will change his tune once the campaign begins to ramp up. It's still early yet.

Update: Hall may change his mind about Huckabee running again after reading this by Michelle Malkin.

- JP

Leftists and their 5K hate run against Sarah Palin

Vindictive. Mean spirited. Itching for payback. Are we describing Sarah Palin's Going Rogue memoir? No, even though her detractors have used those terms and more to paint former Gov. Palin, we are describing them. There are many things the Palin-haters will never forgive the object of their venomous hatred for -- her conservatism, being pro-life in both word and deed, her physical and spiritual beauty, being happily married and the mother of five, the way she connects with everyday Americans and more -- but her most unforgivable sin against them is that she escaped from their trap.

The forces of Palin's personal destruction, you see, thought they had her cornered in the governor's office in Anchorage. Due to a loophole in Alaska's ethics laws, they were able to file baseless ethics complaint after baseless ethics complaint against her, wasting state administrative resources, running up Palin's personal debt to her attorneys and surrounding her with a cloud of suspicion. The last thing they expected her to do was resign her office. But that she did, refusing to play their game. And in the very act of resigning, she liberated herself to even more effectively fight them and their false god who resides in the White House. Though it didn't seem so at the time to both her critics and even some of her supporters, it was a smart move by the Arctic Fox. But it angered her enemies all the more. "How dare she not stand still while we cast stones at her!"

With Sarah Palin free from their snares, those who sought to hunt her down and destroy her could only cry, "Quitter!" like the spoiled children they are. Even though they and everyone else has come to realize that the former governor is now more powerful than she would ever been had they simply left her alone in the political wilds of the Alaska governorship, they continue to shout, "Quitter!" and clutch at any straw they can grab to try to reinforce it. Sometimes it requires stretching beyond the abilities of imaginary superheroes like Mr. Fantastic.

Such is the case with the Thanksgiving Day 5K run in Washington State, as Dan Riehl points out:

The Atlantic seems intent on milking randy Andy for all he's worth, even if his latest amounts to yet one more unfounded false smear of Sarah Palin. I can't recall a pundit other than Sullivan so willing to throw away any credibility they may have once had in such a misguided effort to try and smear someone. Even Dan Rather was fired before he could go this far.

By linking Wonkett's 27 seconds of edited video, both try and smear Palin as a quitter who dropped out of a race and also believes Thanksgiving traditions are simply too much work for her. Neither assertion is based upon any truth. And it's especially pathetic given how much of her own time Palin actually invested to help the Red Cross raise a significant amount of money, while she met and greeted people all throughout a 5k race.

By using the holiday event to slam Sarah, the Palinophobes demonstrate to God and everybody else that their small minds are so consumed with denigrating Sarah Palin at any cost, they missed the entire point of the event and her participation in it. Mrs. Palin wasn't their to race any of the other participants. This was not an Olympic contest, but a charity event. She was there to help promote the event and raise money for the Red Cross. And raise money for them she did, helping them take in a record amount.

The Palinophobes need to learn the true meaning of charity. It's about giving freely of your own bounty to those who are in need without being ordered or coerced into doing so. To them, charity means a government handout of the taxpayers' money. And a charity event is merely another stone for them to pick up and throw at a good person. The more they do this sort of thing, the more disgusted independents and Democrats of good character are deserting them and coming to Sarah Palin's defense.

- JP

Sleepless east of Seattle

They began lining up at 10 o'clock Saturday morning outside the Richland Hastings store in eastern Washington State. Sarah Palin, whom they had come to see and whose signature they hoped to get inside the covers of their copies of Going Rogue, wasn't scheduled to be there until noon the following day. It's scene that has been repeated at every stop on on the eastern leg of her book tour, and it all begins anew in the West today.

The Seattle Times reports:

By 9:30 Saturday night, some 250 of the faithful were camped outside the store, sitting in lawn chairs, covering themselves with blankets and sleeping bags, warming up with portable propane heaters.

"She stands for what we stand for, which is greatly lacking in Seattle," said Debi Danielson, 54, of Yakima. "Only in Seattle can you come up with a government that has the idea that they know how to do everything."

Identify yourself as being from west of the Cascades — specifically, that liberal city by Elliott Bay — and you will be told in no uncertain terms why they love Sarah here.

Danielson was here with her husband, Dale Danielson, 55, a craftsman who works for the Bureau of Reclamation, doing stuff like fixing fish screens. Also accompanying them was Debi Danielson's mom, Vi Grauman, 80.

"The state should be chopped in half," said the husband, about the eastside/westside political split.

Debi Danielson described the crowd patiently waiting outside in the cold.

"We're conservative. We won't leave a mess like liberals do," she said. "Ever seen the parks after they leave? All garbage."

More here.

- JP

C. Edmund Wright: Hating Sarah

At American Thinker, C. Edmund Wright observes that Sarah Palin doesn't simply appeal to the (conservative) base. Much more than that, he says, The Arctic Fox is someone who can make the base appeal to America.

Recognizing that quality in the former Alaska governor, the political left and its trained media attack dogs hate her for it, and they are engaged in an obsessive campaign to destroy her. Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS) has, at least in the world that liberals and the media live in, gone pandemic:

The persistence and even growth of Palin's popularity and impact on the national discussion now makes unavoidable the reality of the elitists' worst fear: that there are more of us than there are of them. And we now realize it.

As many have correctly pointed out, the pundits' vitriol and patronizing comments smack of a hatred and anger that only thinly veils the real emotion underlying their irrational behavior: Fear. Part of it is fear that she will indeed hold public office again. But it goes even deeper than that.

It is an increasing awareness that Palin's impact is much more than a strong advocacy of conservatism as a sound political philosophy. These people are now finding it hard to escape the reality that her life is a compelling and real advocacy of conservatism as a powerful life philosophy. Life trumps politics.

And once the casual voter has related to Palin's life philosophy as something that is true, practical and worth adopting, they are dead to liberalism forever. They will never again believe in "the electability" of moderates like McCain and never again fall prey to a "clean articulate black man" with a good tele-prompter.

Read the full Wright diagnosis of the Liberal-Media Complex's full-blown Stage II PDS affliction at American Thinker.

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 28, 2009)

*
Michael van der Galien:

"The more [Tina] Brown et al insult Palin, the more conservatives... will rise up to defend her. Ironically, Leftists are actually uniting the Right by continuing their smear campaign. When push comes to shove, the Left really is the Right’s best friend."

- JP

Ibbetson: Should we make rogue vogue?

In a CFP op-ed Paul Ibbetson tackles the question, "Should we make rogue vogue?" Here's just a portion :

"The questions of fundamental importance are whether or not the Palin philosophy of following conservative values outweighs political prestige and party? If doing what you feel is right is worth losing title and station, if placing God and family before the well-embraced public sentiment of moral relativism and political expediency, is it worth the pain? Is it not good enough to simply do what is right, despite tomorrows poll rating? Is it worth it to go rogue? I must admit, I was among the many that questioned Palin’s decision to step down from the position as Governor of Alaska. The thought of 'finish what you start,' was heavy in my mind, in combination with the fact that I knew liberals, the same liberals who were heaping fraudulent law suits on her and the state of Alaska, would later attack her for stepping down. My second point is now coming to fruition; however, I may have been wrong to believe that Sarah Palin failed to finish what she had started. In fact, she may be in roguish fashion illuminating the fact that conservative values have validity alone, and only find certain limited facilitation through the political process. The echo of Palin’s gubernatorial step-down surely also reflects the Republican Party’s ultimate need for conservatives and not vice versa. If any of these ideals are true, and I believe they are, then it is worth saying that gold, glory, governorships and dare I say, even presidencies, should be the fruits of this scarce righteous mentality. These ideals have become almost foreign today, and most certainly could be termed rogue."

The complete essay can be perused at Canada Free Press.

- JP

Liberals slam Sarah Palin's book, but refuse to read it

In a post on Intellectual Conservative's IC Blog, Aaron Goldstein tells the story of what happened when he and his roomie went to the roomie's home for the holidays. Surrounded by liberals, Goldstein says conversation around the table soon turned to politics and then more specifically to Sarah Palin:

Sure enough the Palin bashing could be put off no longer. I momentarily retreated from the room only to return with a copy of Going Rogue which I had just completed on the bus en route to Hartford. I didn't need to say a word. The book itself was provocation enough. My roomie's father (who works for a TV station in Hartford) asked me if I actually bought the book while his mother insisted that Palin didn't write a word of it. Those gathered at the table began shooting out questions they didn't want answered. They asked why Palin should be considered for higher office but didn't want to hear her accomplishments in Alaska.

I challenged them to read the book but none of them would. What are they so afraid of? Hey, I read Obama's The Audacity of Hope. But so much for the liberal capacity for openmindedness. They accused Palin of racism and homophobia, and I challenged them to cite me examples. Naturally, they couldn't come up with any examples of her own behavior other than to say that she appealed to white people and that her rhetoric was "divisive." Whatever that means?

The best anyone could come up with was the alleged behavior of some people at Palin's rallies. I countered that the Secret Service had debunked that anyone had threatened to kill Obama at the Palin rally in Pennsylvania last October. The fellow who formerly worked for Dean contended that people at the townhalls had compared Obama to Hitler. I reminded him that Bush had been compared to Hitler for eight years. He wisely ceded my point.

Golstein's experience reminds us of how Ana Marie Cox, assigned by the Washington Post to review Going Rogue, admitted in her Palin-bashing review that she didn't even bother to read the entire book! Moonbattery nailed it:

"Pretty typical for a lefty. They already know their opinions, don't annoy them with facts or expect them to actually investigate the things they bash. (And I would reckon the truth is she only skimmed the first 150 pp and completely blew off the rest) Showing another typical leftist trait --- complete lack of self-awareness --- the blogger who achieved 'fame' by writing a blog consisting of nothing but sexual innuendos about political figures accuses Palin of being 'all flash and no substance.'"

 Oh well, at least liberals are consistent about one thing: By their words and their deeds, they have proved that they are the last people on earth who should presume to pontificate about "substance." All they have are the talking points they get from the corrupt DNC and conspiracy freaks of Andrew Sullivan's caliber.  

- JP

'Going Rogue' debuts at #1 on NY Times Bestseller list

Sarah Palin's Going Rogue made its debut on the NY Times Bestseller list this week at number in hardcover nonfiction. We can almost hear the Times' elitist liberal editors and columnists, who have been lambasting the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate for fifteen straight months, gnashing their teeth.

Former Governor Palin's memoir is listed ahead of other conservative volumes such as Glenn Beck's Arguing with Idiots (#4), Bill O'Reilly's A Bold Fresh Piece Of Humanity (#14) and Mark Levin's Liberty and Tyranny (#22).  The highest-ranked liberal books on the list are Ted Kennedy's True Compass (#11) and Obama campaign guru David Plouffe's The Audacity To Win (#16).

- JP

Product Review: 2010 Sarah Palin Wall Calendar

Cafe Press, which has made no small fortune off of political stuff from buttons to t-shirts, is offering what it calls "The Definitive Sarah Palin 2010 Wall Calendar" through its many outlets. We are still trying to figure out what exactly the calendar is supposed to be "definitive" of.

The familiar offical state photo from Sarah Palin's time as governor of Alaska adorns the cover, and the shot of Sarah, sans Kawasakis posing with Todd's Super Cub float plane from the Vogue spread was chosen for December. None of the photos selected for the calendar are anything we haven't seen before, and -- the Vogue photo excepted -- they obviously were not selected to present the best Sarah Palin shots that were available, but apparently the easiest ones to obtain legally (i.e., least expensive to license).

Although Don Surber opines that it "looks authorized," at $19.95 retail, this calendar doesn't seem to us to be much of a bargain. But those who absolutely must have every bit of Sarah Palin memorabilia on the market will buy it without batting an eye.

For Christmas gift shopping, we would rather invest our money in Sarah Palin's book, which can be bought for less money than the calendar. Going Rogue is, in our opinion, much more definitive of Sarah Palin than this or any calendar. And it will be a much more thoughtful and substantive gift to put under the tree.

- JP

Canadian "Comic" FAIL

From Mediaite:

During a book signing event in Columbus, Ohio, Canadian Comedian Mary Walsh ambushed Palin with camera crew and microphone to seek her thoughts on the Canadian health care system (and ostensibly embarrass her as well.)

While the event security detail prevented a meaningful interview, Palin did provide some basic comments consistent with her conservative position. While many websites are now presenting this video clip as evidence of her naivete, the video actually acquits Palin quite well, and makes the comedian look far more foolish than her target. Perhaps more stunning is that this clip has received a lot of play on numerous news sites, despite the fact it comes from a comedy show.

Dan Riehl agrees. 

And so we. After watching the clip, we have to wonder if Mary Walsh, whom we've never heard of, is really a "comic" as the story suggests. Aren't comics supposed to be funny? Walsh comes off as just another leftist tool. Her claim that "every word" in Going Rogue "is a lie" only demonstrates how unhinged she is, while Sarah Palin, as Mediaite says, did nothing more than express the opinion she was asked for.

That a number of nutroots blogs and liberal media outlets are trying to graft legs onto this torso of a non-story only reveals their desperation. All of the Wyle E. Coyote attempts by the Left to rain on Sarah Palin's book tour amount to a collective FAIL. Not an EPIC FAIL, but a FAIL nonetheless.

Update: At Big Hollywood, John Nolte's take:

"She was kind to this woman … twice. In the feeding frenzy of a book tour, America’s favorite Hockey Mom didn’t blow off or pretend not to hear someone who looked like she might be lucky to have a cable access show, she gave her a serious, thoughtful soundbyte…"

"Leftist snobs laugh because in their cruel little pompous bubble no one would dream of taking a moment to talk to the Marg Delahuntys of the world..."

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 27, 2009)

*
Susan Martinuk:

"What is it about Palin that sets [liberals'] hair on fire and inspires such irrational anger? Her pro-life views and her pro-life choice. I've said it before--they're utterly confused by a woman who gives birth to a child with a genetic defect and kills a moose to put meat in the freezer. They want a woman in Washington who will kill a defective child and fight to the death to save the life of a moose in the forest."

- JP

Post-Thanksgving Rogue Blog Tour

Let's go dashing through the snow on a tour of some Palin and Palin-friendly blogs:

Shane Vander Hart has a review of Going Rogue at Caffeinated Thoughts.

Doug Brady has a nice recap of the stops on the pre-Thanksgiving leg of the Going Rogue Book Tour at C4P.

Sarah Palin Sounds Like Someone You'd Like To Follow, but Barack Obama... not so much, opines Bill at Governor Sarah Palin for President 2012.

Clifton B sees Sarah Palin's approval ratings meeting President Obama's and predicts that her positives will surpass his at Another Black Conservative.

Ron Devito has a six-part after action report on Sarah Palin's book tour stop in Rochester at Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Accomplishments.

The Rabid Left is foaming at its collective mouth on their unhinged nutroots blogs, sneering that Sarah Palin ran in, but did not finish, a 5K run Thursday. Dan Riehl calls them out for missing the point that it was a charity run, and Mrs. Palin helped them raise a record amount of money for the Red Cross, at Riehl World View.

BOTUS (BlackBerry of the United States) speaks at The LOTUS (Laptop of the United States).

Peter Andrew, a Bill Johnson supporter, says Sarah Palin is needed in Kentucky, at Conservative American.

Lisa Graas urges her readers to join Sarah in supporting our troops. A good way to do this is to purchase a copy of "The Warrior Song." She says the proceeds go to Armed Forces Relief Trust. We think that there is probably someone one your Christmas list for whom it would be the perfect gift. Find out more at the Palin Twibe Blog.

At or near the top of every leftist's hate list you'll find Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and TEA Party people. Shannon Bell says put them all together, and watch the libs go hypercritical, at The Admonition.

Dana has discovered a new strain of Palin Derangement Syndrome -- an Anti-Palin Angry Libertarian Disorder (APALD?) -- which gets a thorough examination at Palin Drone.

Smitty shoots down Rick Moran's high-horse hissing at Palin people at The Other McCain. Good shootin', pard.

Denise was at the Going Rogue book signing in Roanoke, and she blogs about it at Sarah's Web Brigade.

ML Welz comments on nancy Morgan's woodshedding of Joy Behar and George Lopez, plus she's got the best evah sendup of the infamous Newsweek cover, at Republican Catholics.

UFFDA talks about the Palin Tag Team at God, Guts, & Sarah Palin.

Liz likes the way the Arctic Fox has outmaneuvered the media hounds, at Half Baked Sourdough.

marieacole contrasts the transparency of Sarah Palin's Alaska administration with the lack of the same from President Obama at Our New Cornerstone – Sarah Palin.

Sally Quinn has a column titled "On Faith." Isn't that sort of like a column titled "On Human Liberty" written by the Castro brothers? Pundette has a Sunday School lesson for Sally at Pundit & Pundette.

Janet passes along a great Christmas card idea at Sarah Palin in 2012.

The American Thinker essay "The Wilding of Sarah Palin" inspired Morgan to think about castes and to blog about them, at House of Eratosthenes.

- JP

Barone: Palin running even with Obama?

Michael Barone, in his Beltway Confidential column in the Friday Washington Examiner, looks at recent polling results from Rasmussen. With a 3 percent margin of error, the poll essentially shows Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin each tied with President Obama in head to head matchups:

"I don’t think these numbers are anything like a reliable indicator of how the 2012 election cycle will unfold; they’re more like a referendum on Obama today, and not a particularly complimentary one. But it’s interesting that three Republican politicians, each with his or her own liabilities, are still running about even with Obama."

 What seems most significant to us about the more recent polls is that the trend shows Obama in decline and Sarah Palin on the rise. There are many political variables which can change between now and 2012, but it's interesting to track the numbers along the way. The critical variable among them, in our opinion, is what the unemployment picture will look like when campaigning begins in earnest for the 2012 elections. If it is still in double digits, the president will be in a world of hurt.

- JP

Satire! The People's Cube fact checks 'Going Rogue'

Gotta love these guys...

I have begun to do an unbiased FACT-CHECK of it for the good of the Party.

The results so far.

The first sentence.......

"It was the Alaska State Fair, August 2008."

LIES........Where is the proof??????? Does she produce a ticket or a torn receipt? A program, a picture showing she was there? NO SHE DOES NOT. She says it was the Alaska State fair, but offers no proof just another example how this witch from Wasilla plays fast and lose with the facts. This blight on humanity can't even write the first sentence without fibbing.

And If that sounds to you only slightly more absurd than some of the actual reviews of Sarah Palin's memoir in the liberal media, then you get the point.

- JP 

Food Flingers of the Deranged, Palin-hatin' Left

The Going Rogue egg-throwing incident is finally getting some attention beyond the realm of the Sarah Palin blogging community. It was described in detail last week by Kristina at Inspiration Sarah and by Adrienne at Motivation Truth, both whom are Bloggers for Sarah Palin.

The attack of the deranged Palin-hater is the subject of a post today on Say Anything, in which it is noted that the perp managed to avoid prosecution by paying for the copies of Rogue that he ruined with his runny eggs:

And another “freedom loving” leftie who cannot stand for anyone else’s point of view to be heard, ends up supporting Sarah through buying her book? Fantastic! But, just how deranged do you have to be, to show up someplace to throw eggs at someone, find out they are no longer there and throw the eggs anyway??? Another competent child of the Left!

But, with people throwing pies at Ann Coulter and throwing eggs at (figuratively) Sarah Palin…what’s with the Left and foodfights?

Anyone who has tried to feed strained peas and carrots to a baby can answer that one...

- JP

Going Rogue: Number One With A Bullet

Before "Radio & Records" and other competing industry magazines, the business of music and music radio had but one industry bible -- "Billboard" magazine. Billboard's Hot 100 chart was the be-all and end-all which told program directors which records were hot and which were not. The magazine used an icon -- which came to be known as a "bullet" -- to designate those records that had entered the charts in a high position, risen rapidly in the charts, and/or was considered to have the potential for further rapid advancement up the list. Any record that was "number one with a bullet" was the stuff of the music business' precious metals -- gold and platinum.

Although the book business is not directly comparable to the music industry, the extraordinary sales performance of her memoir makes it safe to say that Sarah Palin's Going Rogue is the book world's version of "number one with a bullet":

According to figures released yesterday by The New York Times, Palin’s memoir, Going Rogue, sold 469,000 copies in its first week of release. That makes the book number one on Nielsen BookScan’s bestseller’s chart. Palin’s book lands on the chart ahead of I, Alex Cross by James Patterson, Under the Dome by Stephen King, and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, which ranked number two, three, and four respectively. HarperCollins, the publisher of Going Rogue, has stated that the book actually sold 700,000 copies in its first week of release. The publisher explained the higher sales figure by stating that Nielsen BookScan doesn’t keep a record of sales from mass market retailers such as Walmart and Sam’s Club. If the 700,000 figure is accurate, that places Palin’s memoir ahead of Living History, the 2003 memoir by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A HarperCollins rep travelling on the book tour bus with former Gov. Palin has said that the memoir sold 300,000 copies on the first day that book stores were allowed to put it on the shelves. The first printing of the book called for a run of 1.5 million copies. last week, HarperCollins has announced a second printing of another one million copies.

Examiner Jeff Barbour says that Going Rogue is such a success story that more than a few political analysts have opined that it may provide Sarah Palin with the means to relaunch her political career. From our point of view, that is exactly what she is doing.

More from NielsenWire, Wilson Research Strategies and Bloomberg.com.

- JP

Alicia Colon on The Importance of Sarah Palin

Alicia Colon, author of a biography of Cindy McCain, has written an opinion piece on the importance of Sarah Palin, published by the Irish Examiner. A few excerpts:

Mrs. Palin is proof positive that a woman can have it all without sacrificing her core principles and moral integrity. She's a beautiful person with a dreamy supportive husband and the mother of five who refused to abort her Down Syndrome child, unlike so many of her female critics. All in all, that makes her a dangerous post-feminist example.

This disconnect from Middle America is what drives the insane misreading of Mrs. Palin by a fanatically ignorant liberal elite. Everything that she's done makes perfect sense to anyone not blinded by intense resentment. It's most interesting reading the comments on articles in leftwing blogs such as Salon.com that surprisingly dare to defend her. Disappointed readers make a point of calling Mrs. Palin a coward for leaving her term as governor midstream, but they're off-target. They choose to ignore that Alaska was being inundated with frivolous lawsuits against her.

They also dismiss the dire state of our country, which has been going downhill ever since Barack Obama was elected, and that the only way to stop our slide into socialism is for people to get their facts outside the mainstream media. There's no way Mrs. Palin could have used her growing political influence effectively while remaining in office. Freed from the restrictions of public service, she's been able to tour the country and support causes and candidates that reflect her principles.

Other critical comments charge that Mrs. Palin is in it for the money, promoting her book from state to state, but they too miss the mark. Gee, isn't that how Bill and Hillary Clinton attained their multi-millionaire status? Al Gore became the first climate-change billionaire, thanks to his discredited film, "An Inconvenient Truth," but no one on the left's complaining.

The full article is here.

- JP

Jack Cashill: Dueling Narratives

In an American Thinker multi-book review, Jack Cashill contrasts Barack Obama's Dreams for my Father and The Audacity of Hope with Sarah Palin's Going Rogue:

How the literary/media establishment would respond to the respective memoirs of these two political figures would reveal far less about the authenticity, honesty, and literary quality of the tales the authors told than it would about the collective mindset of that establishment.

[...]

The story told in Dreams will become a huge bestseller in the wake of the 2004 convention. The lofty, lyrical style of the book will seal the Ivy-educated Obama's reputation as a genius, and its much-celebrated narrative would serve as a foundational myth for Obama's ascent to the White House.

Said NEA chairman Rocco Landesman just last month, reiterating the accepted wisdom of the chattering classes, "This is the first president that actually writes his own books since Teddy Roosevelt and arguably the first to write them really well since Lincoln."

The establishment will not be so kind to Palin. In the week of Going Rogue's release, the New York Times house conservative David Brooks will call her "a joke." Dick Cavett, the Norma Desmond of TV talk, will dismiss her as a "know-nothing." Ex-con Dem fundraiser Martha Stewart will brand Palin "a dangerous person." And literally thousands of lesser liberal lights will deride her as "stupid," an "idiot," or a "moron" (8.5 million Google hits and counting for "Palin" "moron").

In that same week, Chris Matthews was worrying out loud that Obama was "too darned intellectual," and author Michael Eric Dyson was celebrating Obama's "sexy brilliance." But while the Associated Press was sending a platoon of reporters to fact-check Palin's book, neither the AP nor any other media outlet dared check either Dreams or Audacity of Hope.

They likely feared what they would find -- namely that Obama's genius depends solely on his willingness to lie about it. "I've written two books," Obama told a crowd of teachers in Virginia last year. "I actually wrote them myself." He did no such thing. He had massive help with both books.

Although the prose of Dreams is often lyrical, it is not Obama's. As I have argued in these pages, and as Christopher Andersen has confirmed, Obama's gifted friend Bill Ayers gussied up the rough outlines of Obama's life and imposed upon them the mythic dimensions of Homer's Odyssey. To accomplish this, the authors invented any number of incidents, many of which are easily disproved. For a serious seeker of facts, Dreams is Sutter Creek in 1848.

In Going Rogue, by contrast, Palin does not shy from crediting Lynn Vincent for "her indispensable help in getting the words on paper." And yet the story is told honestly and sincerely in Palin's voice. There is no artifice, no postmodern mumbo-jumbo, and not a sentence in the book that Palin could not have written herself.

Read Cashill's full review at American Thinker.

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 26, 2009)

*
The Roanoke Star-Sentinel:

"Palin brings out an extra measure of passion both in her supporters and detractors alike — and for her book tour, the supporters are showing up in huge numbers. Whether they would show up at the voting booth to pull the lever for a Palin for President Ticket remains to be seen but judging from the scene in Roanoke on Sunday there are a lot of people who would like nothing better than to do just that."

- JP

Palin Tea Party Convention Keynote Confirmed

Tea Party Nation has been saying that it was a done deal, and Sarah Palin's spokesperson has confirmed it. The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate will deliver the keynote address at the the First National Tea Party Convention, according to CNN's Political Ticker:

The group also announced that Rep. Michele Bachmann will be speaking at the gathering as well. The Minnesota Republican has become a hero among many in the conservative movement. A representative for Bachmann confirms her speaking role.

The event could focus the political spotlight on both women. Bachmann has become a rising star, her ascent fueled in part by major support from Tea Party activists. For Palin - currently taking a brief Thanksgiving break from a national tour for her new book, "Going Rogue: An American Life" - serving as headliner at a tea party convention could increase speculation that she is weighing a run for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

Tea Party Nation's Judson Phillips says that the organization is working to sign up more high-profile political figures for the convention, which will meet February 4-6 in Nashville, Tennessee.

- JP

Rove's Rogue Rave Review

On Fox News' "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren, Karl Rove gave Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue a rave review, saying, "It's certainly a good read... It's a very good book":



h/t: Andrew Malcolm

- JP

Sarah Palin Was Right #21: David Warren on Climategate

*
No sooner had John McCain announced that Sarah Palin would be his running mate, the Democrat opposition research machine shifted into overdrive. They intrepid diggers thought they had struck gold in an Palin interview for the September, 2008 issue of NewsMax. In that discussion, the then-governor of Alaska, said that she did not believe climate change is caused by human behavior:

“A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made,” Palin said in the interview, which was posted online Friday.

AGW (Anthropogenic global warming) true believers are convinced that the earth is warming and that change in the climate is the result of human activity on the planet. AGW skeptics, however, argue that the earth has experienced alternating cycles of warming and cooling, both prior to and after the dawn of man. The warming and cooling, they say, can be attributed to variations in the sun's activity as the earth orbits around its star.

For more than a year the AGW true believers (i.e., most all liberals, Democrats and Palin-haters) have ridiculed former Gov. Palin and anyone else who doesn't adhere to their beliefs. Skeptics have long claimed that the "science" used by the true believers is in reality "junk science," and the data AGW proponents have relied upon to push their theories has been manipulate. Recent events tend to give credence to the skeptics and to vindicate Sarah Palin:

A computer hacker in England has done the world a service by making available a huge quantity of evidence for the way in which "human-induced global warming" claims have been advanced over the years.

By releasing into the Internet about a thousand internal e-mails from the servers of the Climate Research Unit in the University of East Anglia -- in some respects the international clearing house for climate change "science" -- he has (or they have) put observers in a position to see that claims of conspiracy and fraud were not unreasonable.

More generally, we have been given the materials with which to obtain an insight into how all modern science works when vast amounts of public funding is at stake and when the vested interests associated with various "progressive" causes require a particular scientific result.

There is little doubt that the e-mails were real. Even so warmist a true-believer as George Monbiot led his column in the Guardian yesterday with: "It's no use pretending this isn't a major blow. The e-mails extracted ... could scarcely be more damaging. I am now convinced that they are genuine, and I'm dismayed and deeply shaken by them."

[...]

Nigel Lawson (a.k.a. Baron Lawson of Blaby), the former British chancellor of the exchequer, who is among prominent persons demanding a full and open public inquiry, summarized the content of the e-mails in this way:

"Astonishingly, what appears, at least at first blush, to have emerged is that (a) the scientists have been manipulating the raw temperature figures to show a relentlessly rising global warming trend; (b) they have consistently refused outsiders access to the raw data; (c) the scientists have been trying to avoid freedom of information requests; and (d) they have been discussing ways to prevent papers by dissenting scientists being published in learned journals."

Why would they cook the data? Just follow the money. AGW has been a big money maker. Just ask Al Gore.

- JP

Palin, “Rogue Runners” help promote 5K charity event

Kristin Kraemer reports for the Tri-Cities Herald that Sarah Palin and two dozen of her family members ran this morning in the Turkey Trot, a charity event in Washington State benefiting the Red Cross:

Cheers erupted along the Columbia River this morning as Sarah Palin and her large family of “Rogue Runners” approached the start line for the annual Turkey Trot.

Both fun run participants and spectators who’d been waiting more than an hour in the bitter cold for a glimpse of the former Republican vice-presidential candidate rushed to snap her picture with cameras and cell phones.

Palin, pushing a double jogger stroller, smiled and shook hands as she moved through the crowd, saying “We’ll be in the back.” There, the former Alaska governor and best-selling author signed baseballs, T-shirts and copies of Going Rogue while hugging excited supporters.

[...]

Palin walked up to the start line at 8:43 a.m. and people began clapping and cheering as word quickly spread that she had arrived.

She sported an orange T-shirt with the words, “Alaska Grown.” The couple dozen family and friends that joined her wore the same shirt or a white one with “Rogue Runners, A Proud Family” over a picture of Palin.

Kraemer's full story is here.

- JP

Tri-City Herald On Sarah Palin's Arrival

Sarah Palin arrived in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State last night, and and the local newspaper was there to cover it:

Moments after arriving by private jet Wednesday evening from Orlando, Fla., she told reporters, "It's kind of surreal. But it's really good to be back in the Tri-Cities to reconnect with the roots."

The former Alaska governor's last visit with family here was about a year ago, she said during an impromptu news conference as she held her son Trig and her daughter Piper stood next to her.

"I like the summer here," she said.

Her husband Todd, she added, stayed at home "fixing the roof."

"I need to call him," said Palin, who plans to be in the Tri-Cities through Sunday. She said she's thankful for the safe return of her son Track from Iraq and also for those who serve the country so others can enjoy their freedom and ideals.

She said she is looking forward to spending time with relatives in the Tri-Cities. "I like the wonderful chaos of the family (at Thanksgiving)," she said.

The Herald took lots of photographs of former Gov. Palin's arrival, and they can be viewed in this photo gallery.

- JP

Michael Goodwin: Reversal of Fortune

In mid-November of 2008, recalls the New York Post's Michael Goodwin in his latest column, Brarack Obama was on top of the political world, while it appeared that Sarah Palin political future was destined to be buried six feet beneath its surface:

What a difference a year makes. And the winds of change are still gaining speed.

Obama's fall from grace has been dramatic as he pushes unpopular policies from a health-care overhaul to 9/11 terror trials in New York. His approval is below 50 percent, and the man who rode the wave of public anger is now the focus of it. Even deep-blue states like New Jersey are falling out of love.

He has redivided the nation he promised to unite, and those who strongly oppose him outnumber those firmly in his corner. Independents and moderate Democrats are jumping ship, having concluded he was not honest about promises to govern from the center.

Even more surprising, Palin is the darling of discontent. Her book, Going Rogue, is a publishing sensation, selling 600,000 copies in two days. Thousands of people camp out overnight to buy the book and get her autograph.

She's becoming the phenomenon Obama was a year ago.

While Obama has aligned himself with the left wing of his party, Goodwin says, everyday Americans identify with Palin. No wonder independents are running from Obama as fast as their buyers' remorse will carry them.

Despite this reversal of fortune, Goodwin still doesn't consider Sarah Palin to be a viable contender for her party's presidential nomination. While he acknowledges her Phoenix-like rise, he remains among that group of pundits who underestimate The Arctic Fox. Others know better.

Not to worry, Palinistas. Like Ronald Reagan before her, Sarah Palin gains political power for precisely this reason. The more she is underestimated, the more political power she accrues.

- JP

Do they really want to go there?

The latest talking point making the rounds on the hysterical anti-Palin blogs is that Sarah Palin supporters are unimformed.

Uninformed? Do they really want to go there?



- JP

Quote of the Day (November 25, 2009)

*
bk:

"Sarah Palin was unfit for office because the NRC rents some clothes for her; Michelle gets compared to Jackie O. for wearing a dress that wasted thousands of hours of human resources."

- JP

Sarah Palin: We have so much to be thankful for

Sarah Palin has posted a Thanksgiving message on her Facebook Notes page:

Happy Thanksgiving
 
Over three hundred years ago, a group of settlers fleeing religious persecution decided to set a new course for human history in a new frontier. Those early pioneers chose a rocky shoreline to establish their way of life. Centuries later, America continues to set the example of what can come from a free and hardworking people. We truly remain the shining city upon a hill that the colonial leader John Winthrop implored us to be.

What started as a small colony in the territory that would eventually become the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has progressed into the greatest and most prosperous nation in history. Americans remain the freest people on earth because of our cherished Constitution and the system of government it establishes.

We have so much to be thankful for. We should recognize especially the sacrifices made on our behalf by those in uniform. Thousands of Americans will be spending Thanksgiving overseas in combat zones in order to protect our liberty and way of life. We should give thanks to those who willingly put their lives on the line for the rest of us. Where would we be without them?

We are also thankful for what God has granted us. We are truly blessed in America with rich natural resources, plentiful energy sources, fertile land, beautiful cities, and the talented and industrious people we call “our fellow Americans.” We pray that God will continue to bless us.

In his farewell address to the nation, President Reagan reminded us that “all great change in America begins at the dinner table.” Thanksgiving is an opportunity to discuss where we are as a nation at this moment in our history and where we should be heading in order to remain prosperous and free. Take time to discuss these things with each other, and take time to teach the young people in your family about our nation’s history so that they may never forget all that we have to be proud of and thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

- Sarah Palin

- JP

The "Dangerous" Sarah Palin

Just when Jeffrey Jena wondered whether he could find anything to write about for Big Hollywood in this, the relatively slow holiday news stretch of Thanksgiving week, a friend e-mailed him a copy of letter which is a fundraising appeal from Obamunist interest group Organizing for America:

The email, which is basically a fear mongering fund raising letter, has a lie in every line but I just want to highlight one of them. In this e mail, which comes under the imprimatur of BarackObama.com Mitch says this:

Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn. It’s dangerous.

There are three lies right in that one sentence. There are so many things I could pick apart there but let’s start with the most obvious: “It’s dangerous.” Really, Mitch? A conservative woman who disagrees with the President on a book tour is a danger to you? Don’t worry that Iran is about to go nuclear, the President can’t pick an option in Afghanistan, and we are setting moronic legal precedents in dealing with terrorists. Better get the FBI on Sarah Palin tout suite, she may be forming some evil cabal with Ann Coulter and Michelle Bachmann to overthrow the mathematics used by the New York Times bestseller list. Maybe you guys could create some more jobs building a robot? Warning, Will Robinson! Danger! Danger!

So basically the Obamunists -- who have insisted for the past 14 months that Sarah Palin is "dumb as a sack of hammers" -- is now an evil genius of such Rovian guile that she threatens to derail The One's best-laid plan to socialize medicine as we know it?

The Arctic Fox detects the scent of fear which surrounds them. It smells like...


Victory!

- JP

Sarah Palin will run In 5K Thanksgiving charity race

Sarah Palin and about two dozen of her family members will work up appetites for their Thanksgiving meal by participating in a 5K run to benefit the Red Cross, according to an AP report in the Seattle Times:

Heather Filbin with the Benton-Franklin Chapter of the American Red Cross said Wednesday that about 25 Palin relatives had registered for the annual Turkey Trot at Kennewick's Columbia Park.

Family from Washington, Texas and Alaska are gathering for the holidays at the Richland home of Sarah's aunt Katie Johnson. It's something of a small family reunion for the clan and a break for the former governor away from the book tour bus to spend time with family members.

Mrs. Palin will resume the book tour on Sunday, when she will be signing copies of Going Rogue at noon local time at the Hastings book store in Richland. Then it's back on the road again, with book tour stops in Tempe, Arizona and Roswell, New Mexico the next day.

- JP

Rasmussen: Sarah Palin continues to close the gap

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Rasmussen Reports, in a survey taken four months ago, found that in a hypothetical presidential match up between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, the president would win by a six-point margin, 48 percent to 42 percent.

The results of a similar poll conducted November 24 show that Sarah Palin has cut Obama's lead over her by half. Now the president leads by a three-point margin, 46 percent to 43 percent.

That more recent survey by Rasmussen also provides us with a head to head match up on favorables, with Obama being seen favorably by 48 percent of the sample of voters, while Palin is viewed favorably by 46 percent.

Results of a FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll released a week ago also show Sarah Palin's favorability ratings significantly improved over those measured by the same pollster in July.

- JP