Monday 28 March 2011

Recent bits and pieces about Sarah Palin

It's time for another summary of recent news about Sarah Palin.

Geraldine Ferraro—Historical Footnote, but Better than Sarah Palin

Even with the higher profile that had come with being the nominee, she was unable to successfully run for higher office, losing nomination races for the Senate in 1986 and in 1998. This suggests that her main claim to fame is as a novelty candidate selected for a Mondale campaign that had little to lose with the long odds that were against it. On the other hand, she was a lot smarter than Sarah Palin and had a substantive career before being a media sensation.


I can't embed the videos from Fox News about Geraldine Ferraro, but I noticed a marked difference between Sarah Palin's and Kay Bailey Hutchison's tributes to Ferraro. Hutchison had a genuine personal account, Sarah Palin offered the usual soundbites about that glass ceiling she always mentions when talking about other female politicians. Palin treasures her one encounter with Ferraro, as if it made them BFFs... I also noticed that Hutchison disagrees with Sarah Palin's opinion on how president Obama dealt with the Libya issue...


Sarah Palin vs Bill Maher


Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin slammed HBO’s Bill Maher Sunday, criticizing the comedian after he slammed Ms. Palin, calling her “dumb.”

Although Ms. Palin did not mention Mr. Maher by name she did say that she would not waste her time “responding to personal, vulgar, sexist venom spewed my way.”

From Sarah Palin's Facebook note:

(I won’t bother responding to it though, because it was made by he who reminds me of an annoying little mosquito found zipped up in your tent; he can’t do any harm, but buzzes around annoyingly until it’s time to give him the proverbial slap.)


Contradictions... I'm not going to respond to it , but I'll do it by responding to it, comparing the guy to a mosquito. She also says she's through with the whining about the media and proves it by whining some more. Plus ça change...


Sarah Palin Has More Facebook 'Likes' Than Any Republican Presidential Hopeful

Among all Republican presidential hopefuls, Sarah Palin is winning in popularity on Facebook, as first observed by Technorati.

When looking at official Facebook pages, the former Alaska governor and TLC reality star has more than 2.8 million "likes."

We all know that a great number of Sarah Palin's "likes" come from people who are moved by curiosity and don't really like her at all. People can't follow her page without clicking "like." She may appear to be doing better than her Republican rivals of Facebook, but some of her strongest supporters seem to have changed their minds about her:

Tea Party: We Want Mitt Romney, Not Sarah Palin

Can we remove "Tea Party darling" from Sarah Palin's moniker? If the results of a new poll are to be believed, then yes.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the poll from Pew Research finds 24% of Tea Party members say Mitt Romney is their choice for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Mike Huckabee was second with 19%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 15% and Ron Paul with 13%.

How did Palin fare? -- just 12% of Tea Partiers favor her right now. Of course, that could all change if or when she actually enters the race.

Michele Bachmann wasn't included in the poll.

Mitt Romney is the Tea Party new king and Michele Bachmann may be the new queen-in-waiting.

The Daily Telegraph headline doesn't agree with the body of the article about Bachmann:

Is Michele Bachmann the new Sarah Palin? Republicans warm to woman they once saw as a joke

A Tea Party favourite, Mrs Bachmann is a former tax lawyer who many moderates in the party think could prove its biggest liability in the forthcoming primary for the 2012 nomination.

Her gift of the gaffe is such that a leading Republican consultant recently said that she made Sarah Palin look like Count Metternich.


Meanwhile, back in India, the gossip websites are busy using Sarah Palin's notoriety to promote a young actress:

American politician Sarah Palin goes ga-ga over Sonakshi!

“Though Sarah admitted that she hadn’t watched her film, she was reportedly taken by surprise at the actress popularity. Sonakshi too added that she wants to do her bit in creating awareness amongst the masses, especially with regards to education and women’s health-related issues,” added the source.

Moreover, Palin was also surprised to see the newbie’s inclination towards social responsibilities, especially the emancipation of women in the sub-continent.



I saved the best until last, to close this post on a high note. Geoffrey Dunn has given an interview about his book:

The Lies of Sarah Palin - The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power, an interview with author Geoff Dunn

[...] my book will be the first in-depth, cohesive portrait of Palin between two covers. It begins with her childhood--in many ways dysfunctional -- and leads through to only a few months ago and her shameful response to the carnage in Tucson. Secondly, I have been leaked thousands of pages of documents--from throughout Palin's life--that no other journalist has ever seen.

I've also gotten some people to talk, both on the record and on background, who have never spilled the beans before.

It sounds very promising, we can't wait to read this book!