Sarah Palin at Mall of America

Sarah Palin arrived at the Mall of America in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington on a cold, brilliantly sunny (once the sun rose) December 7. According to Tweets from Mall of America spokesperson Erica Dao, Going Rogue readers began lining up outside the East Entrance to MOA by 4:30 a.m., for the distribution of the autograph-entitling wrist bands at 5:00 a.m. By 1:14 p.m., Dao reported about 1400 at the event.

Palin, with son Trig and "her guy," husband Todd, suddenly appeared out of nowhere about twenty minutes before noon, causing the crowd to cheer and those of us in the media to scramble for a spot on the too-small photography platform for a few seconds of precious "b-roll" and still photos.

Gov. Palin seemed energized by each individual person who shook her hand. She signed each book with gusto and a smile. Many passersby not in the autograph line stopped to gawk and take a few cell phone photos.

Going Rogue: first impressions

One of the first things I noticed about Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue: An American Life, was the picture on the back of the dust cover. It so succinctly sums up Sarah Palin the leader: smiling, confident, with a sheaf of papers and her Blackberry in one hand, her husband Todd at her right hand, leading a group of staffers down a hallway to the 2008 debate with Joe Biden. The men are all smiling, some clapping.

Looking through the two sections of color photos inside the book is almost like looking through a stack of photos with Sarah's handwritten annotations on the back of each one.

The book opens on that fateful day at the 2008 Alaska State Fair when everything changed, then flashes back to Sarah's childhood, growing up, meeting Todd. The early years were sweet, rugged, small town, full of hard work, hard play, love, and Christian faith. Having vacationed for two weeks in 2008 in southern Alaska, I am somewhat familiar with many of the places mentioned: Seward, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Mount McKinley, Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley.

The book is an easy, engaging, and even inspirational read. I'll be making observations occasionally as I work through Chapter 1 and the rest of the book. I hope that you'll join me by adding your own comments.

My Interview with the National Post: The Second Coming of Sarah Palin

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Earlier this week the National Post of Canada contacted me, stated they were doing an article to be published the weekend before Governor Palin's Going Rogue hit bookstores, and asked for an interview. They apparently see this book as her "second coming," the first being her emergence on the national scene during the 2008 election campaign.

Sheldon Alberts asked questions about a variety of topics, including the governor's upcoming book, my initial reaction to her VP nomination, my being in Alaska when she announced her resignation and then transferred power to Sean Parnell, her role in the GOP, and, of course, what I envision for her future.

When asked about 2012, I stated how unconventional, yet politically astute, Governor Palin is:

"If she decides to run in 2012, I think we are going to see something that is going to shock many people," said Adrienne Ross, an English teacher from Hudson, N.Y., and a blogger with Conservatives4Palin.com.

We also spent some time discussing Governor Palin's impact on the special election in the NY 23rd Congressional District with her endorsement of Doug Hoffman over Dede Scozzafava.

Alberts writes:

Her endorsement this month of a rebel Conservative Party candidate over a moderate Republican in an upstate New York congressional race almost single-handedly raised the election to national prominence.

[...]

What is encouraging for Palin supporters, and disturbing to her critics, is that she wielded such influence from a distance. Who needs appearances on Washington's Sunday political talk shows when penning a few short sentences on Facebook will get you on the front page?

While he points out the power the governor possesses to influence important races within the nation (which amounted to arousing an influx of support for a 3rd Party candidate and causing the RINO turncoat candidate to quit) he also exposes the fear Governor Palin conjures up within people on both the Left and the Right. We're seeing a lot of that the last few days as people are scrambling like roaches to kill the book before it kills them.

Fear, yes--and jealousy.

All the attention paid to Ms. Palin is starting to grate on other potential 2012 Republican candidates.

"I'm glad she's getting the props -- I know I'm not nearly as attractive," Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, groused recently.

This, of course, was Huckabee whining this week that she gets more attention because she's more attractive.

At least Huck is honest--and pitiful--enough to state he so desperately wants the governor out of his way.

The article also highlights the absolute stupidity of those on the Left who pretend that her sticking around is good for their cause.

David Plouffe, Barack Obama's former campaign manager, recently described Ms. Palin as the "pied piper" of the GOP, leading a shrinking rump of right-wing Republicans.

"I think she'll be most helpful to the Democratic Party with a high profile. I hope her book tour lasts two years," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

To which Palin supporters say, be careful what you wish for.

"If they didn't view her as a threat, they wouldn't spend so much time on her," Ms. Ross said.

That's no rocket science assessment I made--just common sense.

We really don't know what Governor Palin may be planning for the future, but one thing is for sure, and the National Post knows it: with the publication of Going Rogue and the launch of her book tour, she's got the world's attention--and that's a good thing.

Like other avid supporters who made Ms. Palin's memoir a bestseller before publication, Ms. Ross said she "can't wait" until the book arrives and she'll make the four-hour drive to the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Rochester, N.Y., for a planned Palin appearance on Nov. 21.

"People are excited that we finally get the opportunity to hear her tell her story, without the [media] filter," she said. "There is nothing like getting it from the source."

Read the entire article here.

* NOTE: Actually, Governor Palin is signing books at Borders Books and Music in Rochester, not Barnes and Noble as the article states.

UPDATE: Video Promo of Sarah Palin-Barbara Walters Interview; Oprah Show Promo Added

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com


Yesterday Sarah Palin sat down with Barbara Walters to do an interview that will be aired next week over the course of a few days. ABC reports it will begin with "Good Morning America," "World News," and "Nightline" on Tuesday. The interview can be seen in its entirety on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. EST.

Thanks to C4P, I have a Youtube video to share with you promoting the interview.

UPDATE:

Team Sarah member, Karen in Michigan, directed me to Oprah's promo of Monday's interview with Governor Palin. I hadn't seen it. Thanks, Karen.

Sarah Palin Causes Swine Flu Outbreak, But We Have the Cure

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

As Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue: An American Life, is set to be released on Tuesday, all the king's horses are in a tizzy. Or maybe they're the king's pigs. So fearful of the governor telling her own story and revealing the truth of who she is and what went on during the 2008 campaign, they have amped up their own attack campaign against her. After all, the only way to get rid of a threat is to eliminate it, right?

Let's take a look at a few of these desperate, pitiful attempts to eliminate Sarah Palin.

* The AP illegally obtains a copy of the book and then lies about its contents.

Sarah Palin smacks them down on Facebook.

As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release. And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book. Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it! Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain.

We can't wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first...

- Sarah Palin

* Ann Althouse calls Sarah Palin dumb. C4P colleague, K. Carpenter, calls out Althouse on her own glaring stupidity.

Ms. Althouse, if you wanted to call Governor Palin stupid, perhaps you should have chosen to maybe, umm... not look like such a blithering idiot yourself.

[...]

Of course, all of this comes from Ms. Althouse reading two pages of a 400+ page book. It's always a great idea to write about opinions that you formed by reading less than 0.5% of what you're discussing, isn't it?

Since it's clear that Ms. Althouse doesn't know what she's talking about here, what was the purpose of her writing this post? Perhaps she plans to follow in Kathleen Parker’s footsteps. Calling Governor Palin stupid may actually get her on MSNBC. Yippee!

Read Carpenter's entire Althouse dismemberment here.

* Dick Armey calls Sarah Palin a cheerleader, revealing he is out of touch with everyday Americans and the positive impact Sarah Palin has had on the issues that affect our lives. C4P reader, Sapwolf, issues this reality check.

Dick really (*fill in the blank-ed*) up on TV going after Sarah Palin.

Almost every Tea Partier I've encountered thinks very highly of Sarah Palin. She has been working hard since the election and Dick’s dumb*ss comments hurt the movement, not help it. Quit breaking Reagan’s 11th Commandment.

Without her endorsement in NY-23, Hoffman would have finished third in that race and we never would have won the battle to force Dede out of the race, thereby successfully sending a message to the GOP in NY and DC to not push leftist candidates on us.

Get a clue!

You play right into the statist's hands when you insult or ridicule others on OUR SIDE.

I was starting to think FreedomWorks might be an organization to latch onto, but now I find it's simply a vehicle for Dick Armey to push his insider agenda and probably back Pawlenty, or some other moderate to liberal squish, in the GOP primary for 2012.

We have enough problems with Obama and the Dems trying to turn this country into Venezuela and you people decide to declare war on the ONE bright person who honestly and ferociously fights the statists at the national level while ALL of the other possible POTUS candidates disgrace themselves by not standing up for libertarian and conservative values.

Dick, what the hell were you thinking?

* MSNBC does what it normally does: reveal it has no credibility. It had this multiple choice to weigh:

A. Take the racebaiting angle or B. Opt for sexbaiting.

After a moment of consulting among themselves, no doubt, they chose B. Could it be that they learned something from me after I blasted them for their most ridiculous racebaiting attack on Governor Palin? They still have a thing or two to learn, however, and Newsbusters, The New Agenda, and C4P Editors waste no time teaching them a lesson.

Newsbusters:

The host never admitted or addressed the fact that his network was passing off counterfeit pictures to his viewers. Earlier in the segment, Ratigan displayed an image of Palin in a short, black mini-skirt. This photo is also not real. MSNBC should immediately apologize for presenting such false information.

The New Agenda:

Here we go again… I don’t even know what to say about the video from MSNBC’s Morning Meeting with host Dylan Ratigan. Will the war on Sarah Palin ever end? I’m starting to wonder if they are just trying to wear us all down so we will just stop fighting sexism entirely? Ok! We get it, you hate Sarah Palin! But the war on Palin isn’t really the only point is it? It’s the “sexism is okay if we just don’t like you” war on women that is exhausting. Do I even need to list what is offensive in this video? I’m so tired of pointing out what seems like the obvious, I thought I would ask for your help!

C4P:

He should feel stupid, and the whole MSNBC "news" network should feel stupid. In fact, you should help in making them feel stupid by contacting MSNBC and demanding an apology! MSNBC has been launching false and outright sickening attacks on Sarah Palin since she first arrived on the national scene, and it is time to start calling them out on it.

MSNBC's contact form for Ratigan's show.

Here is Ratigan's twitter account.

Here is Ratigan's Facebook.

Email NBC news here.

Write a letter:

NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112

Highlighted here are just a few of the attacks being carried out by the pigs suffering from what I call "The Real Swine Flu." (Hey, if it looks like a pig, smells like a pig, and wallows in mud like a pig...you get the picture.) The symptoms have only begun to surface. Sarah Palin has driven these people crazy since August 29, 2008, and they are really, really out of their minds now. It's only going to get worse for them next week as she travels, shares her story, and meets the American people during her book tour launch. No worries: those of us who support her--and care about truth--are ready, slaughtering knife sharpened.

(H/T C4P)

Sarah Palin: Oprah on November 16th & Oprah Video

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Sarah Palin is giving her first Going Rogue interview to Oprah Winfrey. This is set to air on Monday, and was taped today.

Via Facebook:

Oprah on November 16th

Willow, Piper, and I are in Chicago and just wanted to let you know that I had a great conversation with Oprah today. We taped the show for Monday, November 16th, and enjoyed it so much that we went way over on time. The rest will air on Oprah.com. Oprah was very hospitable and gracious, and her audience was full of warm, energized and (no doubt) curious viewers.

- Sarah Palin

The book comes out Tuesday, the 17th.

Oprah Winfrey discussed her interview with Governor Palin, to be aired this coming Monday (H/T Daniel at C4P):

Sarah Palin: Road Trip! Book Tour Announcement

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Sarah Palin announces via Facebook that she has big plans for promoting her book, Going Rogue: An American Life.

Road Trip! Book Tour Announcement

I am very, very excited about the upcoming road trip for my book. It will be an honor to meet as many of you as possible!

“Going Rogue” publisher HarperCollins is working hard to schedule book signings across the nation, and we’ll be announcing the locations in the next day or two. I’ve decided to travel to cities outside of the typical book tour venues, and I hope to cover as much of the country as I can.

We’re in the process of arranging interviews with local and national media. An interview with Oprah Winfrey is already scheduled, and I’m also hoping to have the opportunity to talk with Bill O’Reilly, Barbara Walters, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Tammy Bruce, and others, including local Alaska personalities Bob & Mark and Eddie Burke. (Variety is the spice of life!)

Can’t wait to hit the road. Can’t wait to see you!

- Sarah Palin

Palin Coming to Des Moines?

By Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts

Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION sent out the following press release last night:

IFPC ACTION GOING ROGUE?

10/27/09 Pleasant Hill, IA – In response to media inquiries, Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION President Chuck Hurley responded today to questions concerning a potential appearance by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at an upcoming IFPC Action event.

According to Hurley, “We have reached out to Governor Palin through both official and informal channels and extended an invitation for her to keynote our annual fundraising event.” He went on to say, “We are not yet ready to confirm the specifics, but are hopeful that all the details can be worked out for her to come.”

IFPC Action began soliciting financial support for the event this week in anticipation of the Governor’s potential visit. Responding to questions raised by preliminary fundraising for the event, Hurley said the event, scheduled for November 21st, would be “on a much larger scale than our banquet last November,” and that “we are preparing now to make sure the Governor’s visit is a huge success should she accept our invitation.”

IFPC Action welcomed Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on his first trip to Iowa when he spoke at last year’s event. Previous IFPC Action speakers include Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

Should Palin accept the invitation, her appearance at the IFPC Action event would mark her first trip to Iowa since she traveled the state as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee.

This would be an incredibly good move for her to make. While this would be sweet, and I would try to make sure I attend the event – it isn’t confirmed. So I would encourage everybody not to assume that she is coming. When Meg Stapleton, her personal spokesperson, says so… then you can bank on it.

The Iowa Republican notes the irony if she does in fact attend:

Palin’s appearance would occur just across the street from the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson Jackson Dinner, which will be held at Hy-Vee Hall. The Iowa Family Policy Center was originally scheduled to hold its event at Hy-Vee Hall, but IFPC was asked to relocate once the Iowa Democratic Party confirmed Vice President Biden as its keynote speaker. As a consolation, the Iowa Events Center reportedly offered IFPC Action the 16,000 seat Wells Fargo Arena at a greatly reduced rate.

Who do you think would have more in attendance? Palin? You betcha.

Shane Vander Hart (who lives in the Des Moines area and would be super-thrilled to have Palin visit) is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts. Feel free to follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook.

Editor's Note:

Word came this afternoon that Meghan Stapleton had issued a statement that it would be "incredibly difficult" for Sarah to attend this event because of her book tour and requests from over 1000 groups for her time. Although a definitive "no" was not given, it doesn't look good for this particular event.

Author Shane Vanderhart has additional updates on his site. It looks like IFPC had to issue the press release because CNN had intercepted an e-mail from another group that was fundraising to help pay the speaker's fee for this event.

Saving a Spot for Sarah

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

This is a story that is sure to make you smile at the end, originating from Life in 3D.

A woman came in last night looking for a book by some feminist author that I had never heard of before, no big surprise there. So, I look it up in our search engine and the computer says that we might have it in the store. MIGHT have it, not WILL. So I tell her that I can check our inventory and see if it’s there and show her the section it would be in.

“No, that’s fine, I’ll find it myself. I’m going to look around a bit first”

Ten minutes later, as I’m showing another customer to 1984 I run across her in Literature looking around and she barges in to the conversation I’m having with my customer and sneers “Where is the section on Women’s rights?”

I tell her again “It’s upstairs and I’ll be happy to take you to it as soon as I am done here.”

“No, I can find it myself.” Note the lack of a ‘thank you’.

Eventually the customer accepts help, but she is complaining on the way to the section, talking all kinds of junk about how:

...the women’s studies section should be near the front of the store because it’s so important and how this author’s book should be on display because she’s doing a signing tour in California right now and she’s a NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST!!

She becomes even more disgruntled when she gets to the section because the book is nowhere to be found. According to her, the book deserves the place of honor in the store because it is the book!

You just have to love the employee's response:

“Well, ma’am, we were going to but we’re saving that spot for Sarah Palin.”

Like I said, you just have to love it!

That employee has one request, and I'll post it here, for after that exchange he deserves it:

Now all I can ask for is a signed copy of “Going Rogue” with the inscription “Instinct, Thanks for saving me a spot – Sarah”

I really hope Instinct gets his wish granted.

Read the entire article here.

(H/T munchnstuf)

Is Going On Oprah Going Rogue for Palin?

By Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts

I never thought I’d be blogging about Oprah.

It was reported yesterday that Oprah will be the first interview that Governor Sarah Palin does for her new book Going Rogue: An American Life, and that program will air on November 16th.  Watching the O’Reilly Factor tonight, Bill O’Reilly was talking with Dennis Miller.  Miller doesn’t seem to to think that this signifies “going rogue,” but rather “playing the game.”

I disagree.  I think the opportunity to appear on Oprah’s show will give her a venue to be able to share her positions and message with a major demographic – suburban women.  If she runs for President in 2012 she’ll need to reach out to this group.  If she doesn’t run and would rather champion conservative causes and candidate – this is still a group she needs to reach out to.

Appearing on Oprah’s show also helps sell books, and it also sends a message that being snubbed by Oprah during the campaign is water under the bridge.  It could also make for an interesting interview as AllahPundit at Hot Air notes:

Obvious topics for discussion: Death panels, women in politics, and quitting as governor. Less obvious but no less intriguing: Oprah’s decision not to have her on during the campaign and whether it was fair to accuse The One on the trail of palling around with terrorists. If she gets that question and turns it around on Oprah by wondering why she had the integrity to quit Rev. Wright’s crazy church when our fearless leader didn’t, I might endorse her on the spot.

I don’t see the interview getting incredibly wonky… I just don’t see that with Oprah.  I think it will be an intriguing interview regardless the direction it takes.  It will mark the first time I watch Oprah in years.  That in itself is a remarkable feat.

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts.  Feel free to follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.

HarperCollins: Only One Version of Going Rogue

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

(H/T PalinUpdates on Twitter)

FYI: In case you heard and believed the rumor that there would be a separate Christian version of Going Rogue, U.S. News and World Report cleared that up yesterday in "No Separate Christian Version of Sarah Palin Memoir Planned," by Dan Gilgoff.

News reports that Sarah Palin is planning a separate Christian version of her forthcoming memoir, Going Rogue, are false, according to her publisher, HarperCollins. The reports were so widely circulated that they appear to have caused confusion at Zondervan, a Christian publisher owned by HarperCollins, where the director of publicity said yesterday that a special Christian edition of the book had been planned but was scrapped because of the expedited timetable for the book's release.

Reports about a special Christian edition of Palin's memoir included a long Vanity Fair profile on Palin last summer, which said that her memoir was to be published "not only by HarperCollins but also in a special edition by Zondervan, the Bible-publishing house, that may include supplemental material on faith."

[...]

In an interview yesterday, Zondervan publicity director Karen Campbell said that a separate Christian edition had been planned but that "when the release date was moved up, they left it as the same version."

In an E-mail message today, Campbell said she misspoke. "Zondervan never planned on publishing a separate Christian edition of Going Rogue with supplemental material," she said. "From what I understand, it was misreporting."

All that Governor Palin intends to share will be found in Going Rogue: An American Life, already a best-seller. So pre-order yours today at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Borders.