Feinstein wrote crib notes on her hand for '90 debate

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Liberals have been going all Alinsky on Sarah Palin for writing a few words on her hand for her speech last Saturday to the National Tea Party Convention and the Q&A session which followed it. Now it has been revealed that one of the left's most beloved "progressive" icons did the same thing for her 1990 gubernatorial debate against Pete Wilson. The major differences are that under the rules of the debate, the use of crib notes was against the rules, and Feinstein, unlike Palin, tride to hide what she had in, or rather on, her hand. In a Santa Barbara Independent op-ed, Jerry Roberts -- no fan of Gov. Palin by any means -- spilled the beans:

Veteran California political scribes recalled, however, that now-senior Senator Dianne Feinstein pulled the same stunt during a crucial debate when she unsuccessfully ran for governor against Pete Wilson. Back in October 1990, Feinstein and Wilson had their one-and-only debate of the campaign; nervous before the statewide televised event, DiFi scrawled three words — “growth, education, choice” on her palm in blue marker, to remind her of the policy themes she wanted to sound.

Her action technically violated a ground rule, on which the campaigns had agreed, against bringing notes to the podium. When reporters challenged her about it after the debate, Feinstein hid her hand behind her back, said, “I’m not going to show you,” and walked away.

Her bizarre reaction only fed the story for several days; an L.A. TV station showed blown-up pictures of her scrawled hand, and the Wilson campaign paid for a computer-enhanced picture that they circulated to the press corps. It was a superficial issue, but it helped the Republican candidate advance the notion that his Democratic rival — the first woman to win a major party nomination for governor — was too unknown to trust in the job. Whether or not the handwriting flap was a factor, Wilson beat Feinstein in November.

Jeff Boulier, commenting on a post at Althouse, provides what appears to be corroboration of Roberts' report:

"Article ID: Q0030360
Published on October 15, 1990, The Washington Times{PUBLICATION2}

No Headline

S=NEW STORY

Never mind the lips or hips; read her hand

First it was a Republican president from California who was getting advice from a San Francisco astrologer; now it's a Democratic candidate for governor from San Francisco who's into palm reading.

Dianne Feinstein was caught red-handed reading a palm - her own - during yesterday's televised debate with her GOP rival, Sen. Pete Wilson. Republicans claimed this was a violation of the [debate rules]"

Wednesday in a comment on the Left's attempt to gin up a scandal out of nothing, we asked what is obviously a rhetorical question:

"How many times have deranged leftists let their pettiness and blood lust to destroy Sarah Palin make them end up looking like the nasty fools they are?"

Leftists never bother to check facts because they don't care one whit about the truth. For them, it's all about smearing Gov. Palin. When the mud they throw at her is proven to be distortion, exaggeration or just downright lies, they simply grab another handful and fling it. But the naked hypocrisy of the Left has once again been exposed for all the world to see. It will eventually be the magic bullet with which they do themselves in for good.

- JP