Rumor of the Week: A second Palin home in Arizona (Updated)

Welcome to Rancho Espejismo*
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The more fanciful of the lastest crop of Sarah Palin rumors seem to originate in Arizona. The state Democrat Party recently tried to raise some money by claiming that Gov. Palin would move to The Canyon State and run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring John Kyl. If you liked that one, you're going to love this one:

Has Sarah Palin bought a house in north Scottsdale?

For months, rumors have circulated in Arizona political circles that the former Alaska governor and possible 2012 presidential contender either was shopping for homes in Scottsdale or had already bought one.

A just-closed deal on a secluded luxury home in far north Scottsdale might fit the bill, and talk has begun that this may be the one. It's an 8,000-square-foot, dark-brown stucco home with a guard gate that can keep unwanted visitors away. It has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a six-car garage, a swimming pool and spa, and a full basement with a home theater, billiards room and wine cellar.

Safari Investments LLC paid $1.695 million cash for the home in a deal that appears designed to cloak the identity of a high-profile buyer.

[...]

Alan Kierman, an attorney with the Phoenix law firm of Mack Drucker & Watson, is listed on property records as the contact for Safari Investments. Asked point blank by The Arizona Republic if Palin and her husband Todd Palin bought the north Scottsdale house through the company, Kierman said he had no comment.

[...]

Requests seeking comment from Palin or her aides made Friday and Saturday through her political action committee, SarahPAC, were not successful.

This highly speculative article, mind you, is not from some blogger who's been out in the desert sun with his iPad too long, but from The Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper. Perhaps it was just a mirage. Really, just because Bristol bought a house in Maricopa, doesn't mean that Todd and Sarah have to buy one too. From what we hear, there's plenty of room at her place to put Mom and Dad up when they have business in Arizona. Besides, Bristol is spending a lot of time in Los Angeles these days, so the parents would have the place to themselves.

It must really be a slow news day in Arizona for the old Republic (est. 1890) to go there. Based on nothing but pure conjecture after an anonymous buyer purchases an upscale property in Scottsdale, two reporters with apparently nothing better to do try to link that real estate transaction to the Palins. It makes us wonder what they're teaching at the Connect The Invisible Dots School of Journalism these days. Whatever happened to having two confirmed sources before running with a story? That must have gotten discarded along with reporting known facts fairly and non-passionately.

*That's Spanish for "mirage"

Updates...

1. Jennifer Parks of Phoenix television station KNXV reports:

Saturday outside a North Scottsdale home speculated to be the new property belonging to Sarah Palin, a black SUV with Alaska plates pulled up and asked our ABC15 crew to leave the area immediately.

The driver wouldn't comment on whether Palin plans to move in so she can set up shop for a possible 2012 presidential run.

2. From SarahNet and Palin Twibe via Twitter:

via SarahNet.net Video: Was Sarah Palin was IN Arizona Last Week? We post, you decide. http://dlvr.it/SdlSz #palin

3. Looks like the real estate deal is the Palins for real.

- JP