Enter THE ROGUE Last Chapter Contest Here…$250 Prize for Winner!

Here’s the best chance for  you commenters–and anybody else who has an idea about what the last chapter of my book about Sarah Palin should say–to make a difference.

I’m about to start writing the last chapter of THE ROGUE.  It’s due for delivery to my publisher Random House/Crown on June 3.

Tell me, please, what you think I should say, why I should say it, and how I can prove it to an extent that would pass legal vetting.

Trig is not off limits–nothing is off limits–but I’m not going to devote the chapter to showing how Figure A or Figure B proves that Sarah was or was not pregnant with that child.  I’ll make my own views on that question clear in THE ROGUE.

So the matter before us today is:  if you had five thousand words, more or less, in which you could summarize The Rise and Fall (and Possible Rebirth) of Sarah Palin, how would you use them?  What would you say?

Please remember, in THE ROGUE, I am not preaching to the converted:  I can’t–nor do I want to–write a final chapter  that contains only snark and invective.  The first twenty chapters don’t do that, so–despite the fact that I won’t pull punches–I don’t want to leave those who read the finished book with the taste of bile in their mouths.

Let’s put it this way:  imagine yourself in a dialogue with a friend who respected your opinions.

You have three or four minutes, without interruption, to explain why Sarah Palin is every bit as bad as you believe her to be, and why she continues to be a danger to the USA.

What would you say?   How would you say it?

As I’m working on my last chapter, I’d love to know.

I’d love to know so much, in fact, that I’m offering a $250 prize to whoever gives me the best suggestion about what I should write in the next two weeks–whether it’s a phrase, a sentence, or whether you take five thousand words to express it.

thanks,

Joe

 

 

193 Responses to “Enter THE ROGUE Last Chapter Contest Here…$250 Prize for Winner!”

  • Wombat:

    I’m guessing by me saying that Sarah is scum of the earth who let her uneducated kids run free in the state bullying others and causing mayhem only to be set free by the law because their mother is the governor or ex-governor will not win me $250.

    I can live with that.

  • Dennis Murry:

    The final chapter should be about what Sarah Palin’s rise says about both us as a nation and our news media.

  • The final chapter should be a wrap-up of all the reasons we should never again allow such a Rogue to gain so much power over our democratic electoral process. A summation of the media’s complicity, the desperation of an old man planning his final hurrah, and the eruption of serendipity at just the right moment should be detailed. The nightmare would never have happened if any ONE of the following had not been true at the time:

    (1) The Republicans seemingly could not locate a candidate who had impeccable conservative credentials, was tall and handsome and had a rich voice, and was also a Baptist or Methodist.

    (2) John McCain had not been so enamored of Joe Lieberman, a man who at least somewhat supported pro-choice.

    (3) Certain nincompoops such as Adam Brickley, Bill Kristol, and Larry Kudlow had not been promoting Palin as the upcoming star of the Republican Party.

    (4) The Republicans had not allowed The Southern Strategy to gain such a massive grip on the future of their party. (The Tea Party phenomenon just added to this particular madness.)

    (5) The Council for National Policy had not already been planning a coup for a long time using the CINOs (Christians in Name Only) as their voting bloc.

    Commercial Addendum: All of this stuff and a lot more is in my book PARADIGM SHIFT, albeit from the perspective of a progressive left winger from The South with more balls than Ann Coulter, and a sense of humor about it all.

  • Freesia:

    I think your final chapter should be how someone whose credibility has been “refudiated” over and over..and over and over…and over and over…and over and over (and using that made up word born of undeniable and such mortifying ignorance – not only wasn’t labeled the borderline illiterate mortifying mess that she is – but instead because it was so startlingly in your face ignorant it was interpreted as pop culture stylish that now passes for quality in our reality tv world just because it created a buzz, that it won the Oxford American Dictionary word of the year) is an indictment of the sorry state of American politics.

    That only in a time when the press doesn’t reflect the 1st Amendment protections (it’s ceasing to deserve) but instead the corporate dollar could such a joke of a “politician” thrive. And that nobody knows that better than Sarah Palin. The only sign of brilliance in her worthless existence. I think your final chapter should reflect a warning of how final this country might ultimately be if it gives one more inch of ground or one more minute of attention to a woman like Sarah Palin who figured out how far the institutions that are supposed to protect and report “our great nation”, as she’s want to recite (probably because it’s 3 syllables that fit on her palm) lowered the bar – so low that she could haul her low class self over it. Without breaking a sweat.

  • jenny:

    I would most certainly point out the serious lack of academic intelligence Sarah Palin exhibits. I was appalled by her comments about fruit flies and funding for scientific research in the 2008 campaign. For a scientist, this is particularly chilling. She has simply no idea how scientists work. She seems without curiosity except for social issues important to her church.

    Her obsession with celebrity, celebrity gossip are also quite disturbing. To put it simply: People with purpose do not find these things interesting except as a passing cultural phenomenon. She is a mall walker in full bloom. Unfortunately, she is delusional and believes she is relevant in serious political and social discourse. But, the reality is she is not well equipped to lead. In fact, she is unable to mother successfully.

  • Ivyfree:

    Good gods, Mr. McGinniss. If I could do that I’d be writing the book myself!

    I suppose what it comes down to, to me, is her prolonged record of chicanery and deceit and actual illegal acts- her using Todd as her shadow governor. Her cheating on her property taxes. Her blatant lying, which exceeds the use of spin as it’s practiced by normal people. Her repetition of her standard memes that may have nothing to do with her supposed subject. Her lack of brain power. She wants what she wants when she wants it and she will cheat to get it and lie openly to do so.

    I knew when the press let her get away with “this report exonerated me and proved that I hadn’t done anything wrong, nothing unethical..” that she was contemptible. There are ways to focus on the things that the report DID find for her: it found that she could fire whom she liked for whatever reason she wanted, and she could have stressed that, but no, she had to take it one further step and proclaim that it declared her completely innocent of unethical behavior, and that was fantasy land. She ought to be wearing Mickey ears!

  • Marie:

    I would end your book with details that no one has covered (not Trig, unless you have facts to prove she did or did not birth Trig) and would be a surprise that would leave everyone with their mouth open.

  • Mrs Gunka:

    We’ve been screwed.

  • Betsycaz:

    Sarah Palin represents a frightening shift in American politics that I’ve heard referred to as the , “People Magazining of Politics.” It’s almost as if our voyeuristic culture wants to meld serious political issues with reality television. Sarah Palin was chosen for her looks, and has risen to undeserved heights because she was someone that the average person could relate to – could cheer on as the under dog. When she inflamed hatred, the ignorant masses cheered her spunk; and when she babbled like an idiot on topics critical to the future of our country, they blamed the “elites” for asking the wrong questions. I think the lesson of Sarah Palin is that she is insignificant. The real horror of the story is found in exploring those who would follow her. Because if they will follow her, they will follow another who could be even more dangerous for our country, someone without a personality disorder that prohibits him or her from making cunning and destructive choices that could imperil us all. Sarah Palin’s mental illness actually makes her less dangerous since she’ll never be able to get her act together. But she represents a possibility that is truly frightening. Even when the future of our nation is at stake, packaging and presentation mean everything.

  • I am sorry to say that it seems time to tell the media that they have allowed so many things that are despicable to happen to this country that they need to wake up and do their job. Time and time again investigative reporting has fallen by the wayside because of corporate pull or lack of care for their responsibility. We need a good strong media to show us the road on which this country seems to be heading. When someone as uneducated, and I don’t even mean formally uneducated, is allowed to go as far as Sarah Palin, there is a very big disconnect somewhere. She is vapid and they knew it all along. She is not curious about anything except what is at the malls of the world. The media could have saved us from this nightmare.
    Most of the news is tempered by the dollars that come in, a corporate cash cow. If some of us knew what she was from the very first wink of her eye or the way John McCain looked at her, the TV journalists saw it, knew it, and decided that keeping her around as a viable candidate meant money for their coffers. That was the shame of this entire time. After her candidacy, how does someone not get called out for saying the things she has said about our president? Isn’t it sedition? Now we have Newt Gingrich, the first speaker to ever be brought up on ethics charges. How dare he run for president, but this is what John McCain has wrought.

  • Olivia:

    What has always struck me about SP is what a bad mother she has been. I remember cringing when Bristol had to walk across the stage at the Rep. Convention and thinking to myself–I would never subject my pregnant teenage daughter to that. All of her older children have had behavioral problems and brushes with the law. She is simply too ambitious and self-centered to even be a good mother. How could she possibly be a good president? I think Levi nailed it when he said there just wasn’t “much parenting” going on. I think her failure as a mother is a good summary for the essence of Sarah Palin.

  • mxm:

    Conclude the book by summarizing Sarah’s behavior following the psychopathic checklist; this can be done without making any diagnosis. Just go down the list of characteristics and refer back to examples that you have described in your investigative work.

    The reader should draw their own conclusion.

    Your work hopefully will serve as a strong cautionary tale. Those responsible for unleashing this hateful woman upon the American landscape should be shamed.

  • Venefica:

    How about listing everything that so-called “conservatives” — not all us godless socialist libruls — have said about her?

    David Brooks, George F. Will, Kathleen Parker, Charles Krauthammer, Peggy Noonan, Steve Schmidt, Matt Labash, David Frum, Ross Douthat, Bill O’Reilly, former supporters from Alaska, et al.

    Could be quite damning all in one place.

  • Tedthekiller:

    Sarah’s greatest enemy and the constant cause of her own undoing continues to be Sarah herself. Instead of giving her the easy path to paint you as some leftist, lamestream, media hater that she will anyway, just let Sarah do the the talking herself. From blood libel, death panels and her resignation speech to the Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric interviews, I would organize her rambling, word salad quotes verbatim, making notes to point out obvious lies, wrong information and deceptions. Let her hang herself on her own callousness and stupidity as she always does. Put Tina Fey’s SNL quote at the top of the chapter, ” I just hope the lamestream media won’t twist my words by quoting them verbatim.” The End.

  • Rocky in Texas said...:

    How about discussing what a “Fraud” our MSM has become and the disservice they are doing to our great Country by allowing con artist like Palin and trump to spew there lies, pretty much unchallenged. If the MSM wasn’t so corrupt, these self serving opportunist’s would be exposed for what they are really all about.

    It takes True Patriot’s like McGinniss, Dunn, et.el., along with a handfull of Blogs to do all they can to keep these parasites in check.

    I heard recently that Canada would not grant fox news a licsense to broadcast from Canada. It was due to the fact that it is against the law in Canada to broadcast outright lies. The United States needs to do something along those lines. We need some checks and balances put in place to protect our great Country from being hijacked from people like palin, trump, beck, hannity, et.el.

  • omomma:

    I think it would be reasonable to compare her to other national demagogues; Fr. Charles Coughlin, Joe McCarthy. Certainly Fr. Coughlin’s message was delivered to the same audience and on the same themes. Or at least she should be situated somewhere in the history of demagoguery in the U.S., beginning with the Know-Nothings of the 1840s?

    If I could write this I would have, but you can, and you have. So thank you.

  • Betsycaz:

    There’s a video on Youtube of an interview that a reporter conducted with Piper in the crowd backstage at a speech during her Mother’s book tour. The child is alone. After asking Piper questions for several minutes, even the reporter has the good sense to ask Piper if anyone is watching her. Of course, no one is. In a crowd full of strangers, an eight year old is on her own. As a mother who loves her children, I can’t imagine what it must be like not to care at all.

  • brbr2424:

    I would like to hear about how Trig is being cared for as the goose that laid the golden egg. Is he in a gilded cage somewhere? I would also like to hear about the math challenged groupies who hire Palin to speak at their fundraisers and how much money they made or lost vs. sending out a mailer asking for money in support.

    When does Willow graduate from high school. Is she pregnant yet? How does Track feel about his mother misrepresenting exactly his role in the military? If you could check into the medically necessary jaw surgery story and debunk that it would be a nice finish as the baton of lying is passed to the next generation.

  • Sandia Blanca:

    If you could find proof of any of the following, it would be so awesome!

    1. She was born in Canada.
    2. Todd is not the biofather of at least one of her four older kids.
    3. She did not, in fact, graduate from college.
    4. She and Todd are not (now) married.
    5. She has had at least one abortion.
    6. She had a tubal ligation.

  • sleuth:

    I’m claiming “Don’t Fence Me In”.
    But it’s late here so I’ll come up with a chapter synopsis on Tuesday…. (and gladly pay you for a hamburger on Wednesday…)

  • Freesia:

    I have a suggestion. I won’t likely win but If I did I know what I’d do with that $250. I’d donate it to the Down Syndrome Foundation.

    This woman who likely shoved a pillow in her Spanx girdle to try to appeal to McCain has made millions of dollars in speeches mentioning a certainly little human being she does nothing for and squeezes into every other PR ghost written missive – while neglecting the little guy wherever he came from.

    I’m remembering 2 people right now. Challenged people and the good people who genuinely tried to help them.

    When I was a very little girl, I remember going to a band concert in a little corner of the “real America” she courts. Another little girl, about my age, came wandering up the aisle. My dad, an actual Christian and ironically a Republican trying to believe his party hasn’t left him, saw her out of the corner of his eye. He looked for her parents just as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck and crawled into his lap. Her parents saw his worry and smiled. For 45 minutes he held her, wiggled his ears because it made her laugh, smiled backat her, whispered answers to her questions and hugged her. Her parents came up at the end and thanked him for being so kind. It was no hardship for him. She’d be about 40 now. Her parents likely sought help from the very types of organizations that Sarah Palin goes to make $120,000 for jabbering at while leaving Trig with whoever will take him.

    And I’m remembering “Jessica”. My grandmother had a job with the school system in a town of about 1,000 (again the “real America” Palin uses and can’t wait to wipe off herself) working with special needs children and adults. No budget. Limited resources for outreach thanks to Special Olympics. She had no training – but the poor school system had no way to pay experts. She did her best. Anyway, she’d take me to the little park to play and there was a student of hers named “Jessica”. My grandmother, knowing I was small and this was new, told me that she was a little girl just like me. There was nothing to be afraid of, different isn’t a crime it’s just special, so just play. And so I did. I learned to adjust my pace to “Jessica” who was a lot of fun and very nice and was just a little girl like me only slower. I learned from “Jessica” – about patience and the reward of getting to know a human being who was simply who they are.

    Whoever wins this, consider giving to the people that Sarah Palin cheats. Give it to the people who actually do deserve every dime that worthless woman robs them of.

  • Psalm023:

    I think that Sarah Palin’s worst sin is how she has hurt the reputation of good christians in america. How she was no doubt endorsed, supported by the right-wing christian conservative movements, how she took their monies, donations, their trust, and belief that she would represent them and devote herself to their causes. Prolife, advocate for special needs children, sympathetic mom who’d advocate for other moms, women’s issues, young girls issues, single pregnant girls with no resources. And how she allowed fringe elements of christian ministries to influence her policy ideas in the middle east. And then how she seemed to use an underlying racist tone in her speeches during the campaign. Oh, and the bigoted underlying tones, and the divisiveness, and tearing apart, and pulling down, discouraging, all the things that scripture expects a believer not to do.

    One of the biggest influences Sarah’s legacy will have is her usage and exploitation of the “church”. She used it and she knows it. in the way that she plays the evil/good, black/white, up/down card. She smiles while viciously verbally attacking people and has the wool pulled over Franklin Graham’s head, among many others. I’d say, yes, one of the biggest disappointments of Sarah, for me, is her horrible example of a follower of Jesus. It’s historical because at this time the christian churches have had many coming out of her and finding solace in scripture. Statistics show that the church (in america) has never lost so many as it has this past decade. The wolves in sheep’s clothing that are never rebuked is probably the main reason.

    Guess that’s my submission! Thanks!

  • Rocky in Texas said...:

    I’d like to hear your professional opinion about how you think palin would handle a news flash along the lines of Jeremy Morlock being a close family friend of the Obama’s ?

    If Jeremy Morlock happened to be a close family friend of the Obama’s instead of a close family friend of the Palin’s, what do you think palin would have to say about that.

    What would the republican party and the MSM do with news like that?

    Add to that the Palin’s ties to the AIP, Joe Miller and her buddy up there in AK with the initials of WAR (Wayne Anthony Ross) and I would venture to guess that anybody from our Justice Department and/or Homeland Security that would grant the Palin’s any type of “National Security Clearance” just might qualify for being charged with Treason.

  • Rocky in Texas said...:

    I like what you say here.

  • emrysa:

    hahaha joe I do not envy you for having to choose a winner here. there are so many great suggestions.

  • lexky1:

    I think if there were not still deep seeded racism in our country Sarah Palin would not exist. We all know that if she was not an attractive women, we probably would have never heard of her. What other failed vice presidential candidate has such power and influence. Im sure smarter people than me have come up with a name for what has happened to our country and what little talent it takes to become a millionaire celebrity.

    I feel people should think real hard about what a Palin presidency would look, with a republican controlled congress. Dont think it cant happen. I honestly would long for the days of Bush and i NEVER thought i would say such a thing. My stomach gets queasy just thinking about it.

    As a women and mother to a beautiful girl i would love to see a female president. My daughter was only 3 but when i went to vote for Hillary in the primary in 2008 i took her with me and told her this was history and i would tell her all about it when she got older. I hope when that time comes Palin is just a bad memory that i dont have to explain. What would I say anyway?

    Joe, i took a small vacation and havent been on twitter in awhile. I hope you had a great Ky Derby and the mint juleps flowed. My horse came in 9th but i still won the bet at my house. Husband had to do dishes for a week. ; ) Im back at work now so you will see me around twitter at night when i should be working… i loved that story you posted about the derby. It was Awesome..

  • KatzKids:

    More needs to be said about how the media has allowed the right wing nut jobs like Sarah to dominate the conversation in America. Without their support, lack of investigative journalism & integrity, she would have been relegated to an ice cap in the far northern regions long before she was promoted to the National Stage along with the fanatics who back her and dominate the news still.

  • ella:

    Since you are speaking to those not already converted, it might be a good idea to write about what her fellow Republicans say about her. This is a great source, and more have spoken out since the list (with quotes and videos) was printed:

    http://www.justsaynotobs.com/Republicans_on_Sarah.html

  • Oliver:

    The rise of Sarah Palin is a kind of bookend for the upcoming 10 year anniversary of 9-11. After 9-11, we heard about how celebrity culture was over. Americans were a more sober people, done with the trivial.

    And yet here we are 10 years later and we have Sarah Palin, the uber celebrity. A pretty woman in red high heels who is manifestly ignorant and who quit her job as governor half way into her term, yet who is constantly being thrust in our faces like Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and Kim Kardashian to sell magazines and who is still treated by much of the mass media as a serious political candidate.

    So much for the end of celebrity culture. We have Sarah doing a reality show. We have Bristol on Dancing with the Stars and doing a reality show. We have Sarah and her minions trying to settle personal scores (like with Levi) by leaking to TMZ. We have constant pictures of Sarah and Bristol and Tripp and Trig in celebrity magazines who have paid the Palin family handsome “licensing” fees for the pictures (just like they did for the exclusive baby photos of the Jolie-Pitt brood and just as they pay for exclusive pictures of celebrity weddings).

    So much for the demise of celebrity culture after 9-11. We’re even deeper in the celebrity shit than we were before 9-11. And meanwhile, we fall further beyond as a nation.

    Also, too, if the press had done its job, you probably wouldn’t be writing The Rogue because it would be unnecessary. After all, who wants to read a book about a failed vice president candidate whose claim to fame was being a mayor of a town in Alaska smaller than many high schools and then serving half of her term as governor before quitting?

  • Tyroanee:

    Last Chapter on the Rules of Political Satire Engagement… or How i spent my winter Painting more Rouge on The Rogue?

    A country such as this should have know better, we should have pushed beyond the bright lights and ticker tape below her name to see what truly lay beneath her fading exterior. Some have tired trying, others simply hushed, but did the outer-coating become so intoxicating that we forgot what all of us stood for? If we fail to recognize some, while shinning brighter on the dimmest, then we have failed to keep striving for greatness in the equality of all Americans.

    Palins past skeletons have filled the towns and alleyways she inhabits, these skeletons have running tabs at the Wasilla Tavern and are buying drinks for anyone that will keep there mouths shut. Fame and money have changed many to know return, but the Palins want everyone to change for their suiting.
    Time is for fools, money is for power- but when you spend all of your time making money, you become a fool to power, and that my friend is exactly what Palin has become behind those designer glasses.
    Cheers

  • Freesia:

    I’m not a mother, and I’d never leave an 8 year old alone. Not if I spotted one. Not in a crowd. Not ever really. “Where is your Mama sweetie?”. Heck I did it with a dog the other day. I stood a fully minute trying to think of who to call til a woman was suddenly there with a leash breathing a sigh of relief. Sarah shouldn’t have houseplants.

    Her children raised themselves and though dysfunctional they may be, it’s only by blind luck that they haven’t been hurt. Although they have actually. They’re all hurt on some level. There’s a reason why a 20 year old is rebuilding her face.

    How awful.

  • myj58:

    Ok… how about a comparison of Sarah and Todd to biblical characters Jezebel and Ahad… They try to compare Sarah with Esther. Esther saved her people (The Children of Israel) from great harm. She is more like Jezebel the evil queen of Israel who has mudered many of the prophets of God… Sarah has attack you and many other that crossed her. Her main target is the President, Attacking the leader in this country, is an attack on the American people. The comparison will reveal the true personality of Palin. Ahad, Jezebel’s husband was worst but, he lay back and allow Jezebel to do his dirty work.

    You may want to contact Shailey Tripp… She is the massage therapist who massaged both Todd(with a happy ending LOL) and Sarah( right before she made a big announcement of her pregnancy. Shailey actually massaged Sarah abs when she was suppose to be 5 or 6 months pregnant.

  • Ahgoo:

    Nothing. There is nothing left to believe in her, in ‘the press’, in the process. With your book (and the others) and for those who cared enough to take it upon themselves to find out there is nothing left to tell because there was nothing there.

  • Molly_WI:

    I think her main danger is the way she has capitalized on US vs THEM, starting with her RNC speech and continuing unabated. Our current President ran on a campaign of Change–change from the Bush years (thank God), and, despite difficult obstacles, has merited credit for inclusiveness, in making ALL Americans feel like he cares what they think, and cares that they are hurting in the current economy and one-after-another natural disasters, and seems to be trying everything possible within his limits to make things better. I’m proud we white people finally elected a Black Man, and I’m not at all concerned about the fact that he is black; it doesn’t SCARE me; it doesn’t SCARE me that his middle name is Hussein, and in fact he is sooo much more like me than the Bushes, the Kochs, and the whole white fundy whacko pseudo-Christians that Palin embraces.

    Palin, OTOH, continues to poke at the fire to reignite the flames, by blaming her fellow citizens for their own hardships, and telling them to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and if they can’t, then she implies that they are just not hard-working enough. Mainly, when she complains about people not working hard enough and that they should stop looking to govt. to solve all their problems, I think she’s talking about the minorities in the country. I suppose this is the same problem I have with Republicans in general.

    Thinking on it some more, perhaps the MAIN main danger of Sarah Palin is this: I get the sense that her belief that God has told her that she will be/should be/ought to be President, and the accompanying delusions of grandeur that seems to have caused in her would most definitely cloud her judgement if she were ever allowed to swear the oath of office as POTUS; ie, I seriously think that she would not hesitate to annihilate countries at her own whim, thinking she is doing “God’s will”, thus sending us into WWIII and/or total destruction.

    I dunno, maybe that’s too melodramatic. But yeah, I do fear a Palin Presidency that much. I have read up in minute detail about the Cuban Missile Crisis and the dealings Kennedy et al had with Krushchev, and I think Krushchev and Kennedy did the sane thing in ending that crisis; I have no such hopes if Palin were ever in a similar situation. I think the woman is insane.

  • Wolfbitch:

    Mr. McGinniss, all these people have really good suggestions – but if it was something I was writing, I’d want, at the end, to go back – go back as far as necessary – to find out WHY SP has made so many horrible choices in her life. I’d bring up as many major bad choices as I could, and point out what other choices she could have made and why she didn’t take any of the other options. Sure, at that point it would be an opinion piece and not a factual work, since none of us can get into someone else’s head (not sure I’d even want to get into SP’s head, or whether or not there’s even room in there under the bumpit).

    See, much as I dislike SP the Public Person, I see the woman SP as a tragedy. And I always want to know how the tragedy happened, when it happened, and how it echoed throughout the rest of the life in question.

    Of course, for another suggestion, you could just make the last chapter all pictures of SP, captioned in the Icanhascheezburger.com way!

  • Chris:

    I go with MXM idea…..

    Plus, Palin somehow, ahem, through our media was allowed to ponzi con a good portion of this nation in plain sight. And that, is truly wrong and scary.

  • Sue:

    You’ve got my vote!

  • FrostyAK:

    Maybe the last chapter should be a tl;dr (too long; didn’t read)for those of low mentality and/or high impatience. Briefly highlight what you have already told the reader and then end it with something new that will knock even OUR socks off.

    Show how all of the topics you’ve covered in the book make the case that she is unfit to even be dog catcher. And how the media has been and continues to be her whipping boy.

  • newmeximan:

    The last chapter should be a cautionary tale of what would the nation would look like if $arah were ever able to implement her twisted concept of what American values should be. She has made so many statements, that to pin an ideology on her will not be difficult.

    It would also be informational to point to the corruption in her PAC, with the dirty tricks her treasurer is tied to. Also, even the bank she uses has suspect connections. And then there is the relationship she has with her attorney…

    Best wishes!

  • makeherstop:

    I vote for this one.

  • Jewels:

    Leader of the Feared World
    Faking Leadership
    Absolute Antithesis of a Leader
    Palin’s Probity
    Sarah’s Cardinal Sins
    ————————————-
    The Dishonor Code:
    deceptive
    deceitful
    disrespectful
    duplicitous
    disdainful
    dishonest
    derisive
    depraved
    disreputable
    distrustful
    ————————————-
    She Who Soweth Discord Among Brethren

    She winketh with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with the finger.
    With haughty eyes, a lying tongue, a wicked heart she deviseth evil, and at all times she soweth discord.

  • aurora:

    Well put and captures much of what I was trying to formulate. Would and that her nature, her voice and her ‘voice’ creates such divisiveness in the body politic. I have a gutt-level hatred that comes up when I hear her name or see her face—unique in my 60 decades of life. In that facility of hers, to divide us at the time we most need to work together, I see the hand of malevolence. It is very late at night here in the NW, so I am not going to carry on at this time.

    In sum: she breeds hatred and brings out the very worst, divisive, loathsome attributes in others; she feeds on and fuels negative energy. ‘Bad mojo….’

  • Jewels:

    You get my vote!

    The COMPLICITY of the Republican Party and the media should be the focus of this “grandiose delusion”.

  • Lidia17:

    Sarah Palin is mentally ill.

    The press knew it, and continues to cover up for her.

    Why?

  • Argyris:

    A sober but important point that nobody seems to make: the difference between intelligence (which Sarah has some of) and knowledge (which she completely lacks). It’s a more severe version of what affected George W. Bush. Both of them are smart enough to have got good at politics, and to win an election. But neither of them KNOWS enough about the world to run it. In that position, you have to have a bank of real stuff in your head, much more than comes up every day: about a hundred years of international feuds, about drug policy, about economics. It’s all very well to say “my advisers know who the president of India is, even if I don’t,” but you need to know what questions to ask those advisers–to lead them rather than follow them.

    What she thinks she’s doing to do is that Disney-movie thing, whereby the lessons you learned as a small-town mayor and mom can be applied simply to the operations of the White House. And you can’t just apply campaign talking points (“small government… give power back to the individual … drill baby drill!”) to the much harder and more complex matter of running the show.

  • Emily:

    For your last chapter I would like to see a compilation of all the good things Sarah Palin has done in her political career and personal life. I want to know the ways her “servant’s heart” has served the less fortunate, those who need a voice. I’m serious… I want to see the case made for how Sarah Palin is an asset to her family and this country.

    I’m thinking this chapter won’t be very long.

  • ginger50:

    A letter from God with examples of each commandment she has broken in her quest for power and money. Also a reminder that God did close that door in 2008 and she chose to ignore Him. It seems Sarah only listens to God when it suits her own agenda.

    Joe, you would be a genius on how you could compose this message from God to Sarah.

  • kilob:

    Joe,

    Unless you’re writing a multiple books on Palin, there will never be a final chapter. Once your book hits the printer, Sarah would have told a whole truckload of new lies and sent more insane tweets to keep her name in the headlines and face on the cover of People or Us. But if you must have a title for the final chapter, I’d go with “Evolution”… because that one word describes her to a tee.

  • cranberry:

    The dark hold and immense power and attraction that fundamental religion has on this nation’s psyche, personified in Sarah Palin. The danger of mixing religion with governing, and the role of journalism in exposing this danger rather than falling prey to it.

  • Montrealer:

    Yes, the press could have easily stopped Palin in her deceitful tracks before she had the opportunity to pollute the political landscape with her particular brand of divisive rhetoric. Most of the ammunition was researched for them; provided by other folks who had the initiative to do the ‘investigative journalism’ that they were too lazy or incompetent to do. This derelict of duty should never be forgotten, nor forgiven.

  • A Fan:

    I’d be interested in your take on why, despite everything you have told us in the first 20 chapters, Sarah Palin still has such a rabid following. What does it say about her, and about them/us, that people still send her money, go to her speeches and appearances, start blogs dedicated to her, fawn over her facebook posts and tweets, fanatically defend her whenever she is attacked, etc. Is it a religious thing? Is it the appeal of her being an average Joe/just like us (which, of course she is not)? Is it sex appeal? Sarah Palin is a deeply flawed person with probably several personality disorders. She is a grifter. She devalues education. She regularly exhibits childish behavior. She appears to be a less than stellar parent. Her hatred of the President is abnormal. What on earth do people see in her?

  • B:

    Can you find a unifying theme for Palin?

    Atlantic writer thinks she started out good and then running w/McCain changed things. Mudflats counters that with explanation for her behavior from the beginning and continuing: opportunist.

    Maybe the underlying explanation for almost everything is sociopath or compulsive liar or not ready for prime time. But “opportunist” explains a lot for me.

  • pat g:

    Dear Mr. McGinniss,
    As one post mentions, there isn’t yet a “final chapter” on Palin but your final chapter could demonstrate the “John Wayne syndrome” personified in the last few elections particularly 2008. John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, the heroes of the far right, avoided WWII service and made money ACTING as heroes and the real heroes who served in WWII and Viet Nam, i.e. McGovern, Kerry, Bush I, Dole, were at times (Bush I, Dole) and all the time (McGovern and Kerry) described as wimps, feminine, “French”, etc.

    McCain was a genuine American iconic hero who fell into the appearances are everything trap and his hero status became a side issue. His selecting Palin who is the “John Wayne syndrome” incarnate sealed his fate. Her public persona had nothing in common with the real Palin – it was all smoke and mirrors just as were the public images of Wayne, Reagan and Bush II. All image, no imagination and no intellectual curiosity. What has happened to the American electorate that we think acting is as good as being?

  • My entry – Sarah Palin is a symptom of our current “broken” news and political machinery. Her backers, not her, are the threat to our democracy, elections in general, our education system, and the integrity of our journalists. She is who she is – a narcissistic , greedy, “Peter Pan” type, shallow woman who took advantage of an opportunity that never should have been offered to her. There will always be a segment of the population that thrives on hate and brutal theocracy and that is who Sarah Palin appeals too. But when an entire political party and their multi-millionaire backers set out to use that segment of the population in order to manipulate polls, elections, and news stories and gives that segment a national stage on which to spread the lies and hate, that is when it becomes a detriment to our nation as a whole.

    The right-wing conservative agenda is only concerned with power and greed and will use whatever means is at their disposal while cloaked in the wrappings of religion playing on people’s faith, fears, and hatred. They are bullies, who unfortunately have the money and power to weild an enormous amount of influence. They chose Sarah Palin as their figurehead, knowing she would appeal to the small segment of popluation that was easily manipulated, and for the rest of the nation they poured their money and expertise into creating a fictional narrative of gigantic portion in an attempt to fool the rest of the nation into believing that she was a qualified candidate to be a heart-beat away from a Oval Office.

    The general population has become numb to news, apathetic to politics, and self-absorbed. The mainstream media has become more focused on ratings and trying to compete as a form of entertainment instead of facts and investigative reporting. A huge portion of the country care more about “celebrity status” and “soap opera-like unreality” shows then real life. Our education system is systemactically being dismantled to demonize teachers and create overcrowded, underfunded classrooms that do not teach critical thinking skills, and often focus on only teaching in order to pass tests and in the worst case scenarios teach a false history that has been rewritten by the right-wing thugs. Added to the mix right-wing has gained control of an entire news station and other media outlets.

    Sarah Palin is lesson for all of us, to wake up to what is actually being done behind the scenes to control the flow of money and power in our country. She should be our inspiration to always seeks facts, truth, and reveal lies and hypocrisy wherever we find them – in our schools, in the media, and especially by those who what to hold a political office – even if that person is from own political party.

  • dmoreno:

    Hi Joe,

    This may have already been suggested, I did not read every single post, but I REALLY would like for some medical professional to clinically analyze her personality and behavior. So many people have made loose suggestions about what they think she suffers from, but there is enough information and video out there for a well-known professional to come to some specific conclusions. Conclusions that other professionals would agree with and the average public could comprehend. Show examples of these behaviors with actual instances we have all seen. Then, compare and contrast her personality to the likes of Hitler, Saddam, Stalin, Mao, Jim Jones, and all the other loonies out there who have damaged our society. Talk about how if we are not careful of this “kind” of person, that we have only ourselves to blame when history repeats itself.

  • LisaB2595:

    *sigh* Wow. That is a tall order. After reading Dunn’s book I realized that while it contained so much damaging information and made so many powerful metaphors (I thought the Wizard of Oz one was brilliant,) it probably would not *convince* anyone who already liked Palin. Sadly, Palin is so polarizing, that most people have already made up their minds long ago.

    However, there are behaviors that I think would raise flags with people if they are put in the correct context.

    Her refusal to be questioned should concern people. Even as mayor, (I think it was Bitney who said this,) Palin didn’t like meet with people alone because she didn’t know the answers. From pre-screened questions to Facebook to Twitter, this is a woman who only wants to be heard and heeded. Her Facebook page is scrubbed for negative comments, and not just troll comments. Genuinely relevant comments that disagree are also scrubbed. This is not new. She refused to attend another open forum at the BP/Alyeska building during her gubernatorial campaign because someone dared to question her on her Pt. Thompson screed, showing that she didn’t understand the issues. A phone call from her campaign that afternoon said that Palin wouldn’t attend any more open forums there due to the “hostile” atmosphere. And she didn’t. Knowles and Halcro came, Palin’s spot remained empty. This is a woman who refuses to be questioned by people she is asking to vote for her. This is America. Does she really think she can run a presidential campaign and not hold press conferences? I think she does, and I think the media has already established the dangerous precedent for this to happen. They have allowed Palin to marginalize them through her “lamestream” media meme. All she has to do now is throw out an ad hominem attack, and the media cowers and her fans applaud. Palin has mainlined the internet forum argument. She has turned politics into a console war between fanboys. Anyone who thinks has abandoned the thread, and all that’s left is “you clearly are a jerk who molests children.”

    The second thing I find extremely concerning is how very basic ethics elude her. She should have known as governor she couldn’t touch her BIL with a ten-foot pole and neither could Todd. The very basic ethical tenet of “conflict of interest” should have informed her. If she wanted to change the internal review process for Trooper misconduct–fine. If Wooten were truly as bad as she and Todd claimed, he would get caught in that net. Instead, she and Todd conducted an absolutely illegal and personal campaign–how could she and Todd not understand “conflict of interest?” How can they not understand the state does not pay for your children to take vacations? My husband gets to go to some pretty exciting places. It’s never *once* occurred to us that his employer should pay for our children to go. How can she not understand the Yahoo accounts were unethical? She’s a public servant, yet set up a secret communication system for close staff. How many emails have we seen where Ivy Fry is reminding people to use the secret Yahoo accounts? Why are they hiding the people’s business? How can they think it was ethical to do so? These are not unusual or grey ethical areas. These are “Ethics 101.” Palin was oblivious to them.

    If Palin decides to continue her public life or run for president, the American people should ask themselves if they want to vote for someone who will not be questioned or violates basic ethical standards on personal whims.

    BTW, did you do any work on a connection between the Palins and Chuck Hamel?

  • abbafan:

    Greetings Mr. McGinniss! I am eagerly awaiting the release of your book this fall! Just to let you know, Mr. Bailey’s book, which is due for release Stateside on 24 May, is available here in Canada. The reason I bring this to your attention is that one of the co-authors, in my opinion, takes a cheap shot at your credibility. I wonder if this is an attempt to steal some of your thunder; perhaps they feel they have been upstaged. My synopsis of his book so far is that Mr. Bailey is trying to atone for his loyalty to $P, knowing that a lot of people were trampled upon in the process. As much as $P tried to discredit your reputation with innuendo and poisonous slander during your research, I firmly believe your book will expose her as the fraud and charlatan that most educated people know she is. Mr. McGinniss, you have my utmost respect for all your efforts to bring this to light!

  • CougInPortland:

    I purchased and read your book, Mr. Orr. Enjoyed it immensely.

  • Carrie R:

    I like how in Fatal Vision, you really explained the metal illness that the Dr. clearly suffered from. I would like you to do that sort of thing so that NO ONE would ever wonder whether or not Sarah was fit for office. Explain how this woman is bat shit crazy. I think all of her problems stem from metal illness.

  • JJ:

    Joe,

    I would start with examples (the good, bad, and ugly) of rogues from science, politics, and nature: Galileo and Darwin, Lenin, cancer, etc. and how the timing and circumstance (and hopefully truth) can either cause containment or encourage spread.

    Getting more specific, I would show how the perfect storm allowed SP to get as far as she did. Pretty packaging, Alaska’s politics and remoteness, money and puppeteers behind her, and a desperate mainstream media in transition and not doing its job all contributed.

    From opportunistic rogue to hate-monger, her confidence grew as her lack of convention and lies went unchecked – innocence re Troopergate, Bridge to Nowhere, Trig’s origins, not answering questions during the debate, palling around w terrorists, death panels and cross hairs. An opportunistic rogue is not new to history, but she incorporated the modern twist of social media – facebook, twitter, reality shows, and her photogenic attributes – to get her message to the more ignorant portion of our population that eats that crap up.

    What she represents is opportunism and blind ambition unchecked at every turn (combination of the bad and the ugly). I worry that she has created a new template, and that the next vessel will be smarter, a little less roguish, and therefore a bigger danger. The people who have backed her and those poor souls who believe in her are not going away. If we have learned anything, then hopefully the media will come out swinging next time – asking real questions, and looking for real proof instead of believing a pathological liar. From the very first equivocation.

    Oh, Joe, if you like this…. no $ necessary! I would just love to meet you and congratulate you on a job well done.

  • maggie:

    I vote for ted the killer, (aside from the hinky name!) all along folks have said she is her own worst enemy,
    record her quotes and have a two line rebuttal proving the lie, geez, that would be a long azz chapter, do you have that much time? My guess is that is what the whole book is, can’t.

    Sarah’s greatest enemy and the constant cause of her own undoing continues to be Sarah herself. Instead of giving her the easy path to paint you as some leftist, lamestream, media hater that she will anyway, just let Sarah do the the talking herself. From blood libel, death panels and her resignation speech to the Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric interviews, I would organize her rambling, word salad quotes verbatim, making notes to point out obvious lies, wrong information and deceptions. Let her hang herself on her own callousness and stupidity as she always does. Put Tina Fey’s SNL quote at the top of the chapter, ” I just hope the lamestream media won’t twist my words by quoting them verbatim.” The End.

  • troubled:

    Sarah Palin provided a wake-up call for me the minute she set foot on stage at the Republican Convention. A life-long Republican I was not only troubled by her late introduction to the campaign but also by the fact that she was unknown to most of the general public. It seemed apparent to me that she was picked as a quick fix for a desperate ticket. She provided the youth and beauty necessary to contrast the very old appearance of John McCain plus a vagina to replace Hillary Clinton in the hopes that somehow Hillary supporters would flock to another female candidate regardless of qualifications or party line. Truly this was an insult to women everywhere. I never appreciated Hillary’s intelligence until confronted with the ineptitude of Sarah Palin.

    Strictly from a mother of 3 daughters viewpoint, I was shocked that Palin would choose to run for VP and parade a pregnant teenager on stage in front of the entire world. Certainly any girl can get pregnant so I don’t judge what happened to Bristol, but I never would have tossed up my daughter as fodder for the tabloids. Also holding Trig as a prop while telling voters she would be sympathetic to those with disabilities because look “I have one” was just too much. Her children became part of the campaign in such a way that Sarah could use them to seek support from voters across the country who had unwed pregnant teenagers, troubled sons who join the army and children with disabilities. She had it all and used it.

    Speaking of using it, Sarah had no problem using her physical attributes either. I found her refusal to answer questions and winking during the VP debate cringeworthy. No need to know anything as long as you look good right Sarah? Women’s lib took a huge slide backwards with her antics.

    Got to give it to her though, Palin certainly cashed in on her new found celebrity. After losing the Presidential election and quitting her job as governor she wrote about her self-professed accolades in 2 books and continued her crusade to dumb down America by joining forces with reality tv. Her every comment made the evening news casts. Charities dole out the dough to have her speak. Even Bristol has cashed in with the absurd cash cow abstinence campaign, Dancing with the Stars and now a book and her own reality show, all for being Sarah Palin’s unwed pregnant teenage daughter.

    What does that say about our country? We are enamored with celebrity and Sarah Palin has been the ultimate reality star from the start. In hindsight her nomination and VP run was really just the beginning of the Palin Reality Show, funny except for the fact that she was running for the seat next to the President of the United States, only inches away from the button we never want pushed.

    Wake Up America!

  • Ailsa:

    I see the final chapter in terms of an in-gathering, a final analysis of all that has gone before, as many of these posts suggest. Not knowing what has gone before makes it tough.

    What I’d like to see is a serious (to the extent possible) look at what President Sarah Palin’s America would look like as extrapolated from her own words: how her soundbites translate into policy. I’d call it The Commonsense of Sarah Palin.

    America by Heart (pp. 266-267)
    ” The question, going forward, is how? How do we embrace our exceptionalism at home and abroad? How do we take this great awakening among the American people and turn it into a positive force for reclaiming our country and our heritage. Like so many Americans, I have been thinking about this a lot lately.

    The answer is closer than many of us realize. We don’t need a manifesto. We don’t need a new party. We just need to honor what our country is and was meant to be. And we need to remember the common sense most of us learned before we went to kindergarten.”

    See, Sarah you actually do have a manifesto, whether you know it or not.

    “[T]he common sense most of us [right thinking little ‘uns] learned before we went to kindergarten.” That would be before the age of understanding adult reasoning. Experimenters show children of this age a child stealing a couple of cookies from the cookie jar and another, having been asked by mom to bring the cookie jar, who trips, falls, and scatters the cookies. When asked who is the naughtiest, most children say the first one — not so many cookies involved. There’s a manifesto in there somewhere. 😀

  • Mary:

    I’m going to echo what many others have said: Our media is truly “lamestream”. The LSM is the reason that Sarah Palin is still on the national scene. They know she’s mentally unstable. They know that she is a demonstrably terrible mother. They know that she does not give the first shit about children with disabilities. I suspect that they know all there is to know about Trig’s origins. They know that Sarah Palin is a fraud. She is, arguably, the largest political fraud ever perpetrated on the American public. But she’s ratings gold, dontcha know! We’ll see if the media realize that her story will be ratings platinum if her dirtiest laundry is finally aired.

    The other appalling aspect of the Sarah Palin phenomena is that she was forced upon this country by that great American hero (ha) John McCain. “Country First”, my ass. McCain and his campaign knew better than anybody how unfit Palin was to lead and some of them have since admitted it. That they continue to allow her to run amok is unconscionable. McCain is Frankenstein and he needs to take down his monster. She’s working on it herself, but damn it, it’s taking too long!

  • Sharon_Too_Also:

    Wow! You are giving us ‘haters’ a chance to sum up, what I can only assume, will be the brilliant chapters that have preceded? Are you prepared for the flood?

    Here’s mine: I have long believed that she is a metaphor for all that has gone wrong with us. Not just the country but us. We who glorify the stupid and inane, who reward the superficial and ignorant, who are too lazy to look past the shiny object. I think we are at a crossroads in our history – we have decide who we are. She is the cautionary tale – take this road and this is who we will be. Many of us sense the danger she represents and that is why we haven’t given up.

    Whatever this last chapter contains, you have a heavy burden because there are a lot of us counting on you to bring us closer to the end of the nightmare.

  • Betsy S:

    The Third Act for Sarah: Her future. It’s quite possible that SP will not run for President because of the need to debate, to show health records, tax records; the increasingly bad publicity (dirty suit, huge shoes, hideously tan legs) has shown the majority of the public that she is even more of a joke than Donald Trump. My fear is that we will never know the truth about Trig, or Ruffles, or the real birthdaye of Tripp, and the Palins will disappear into occasional tabloid semi-obscurity. What will she do for a living? Is it a possiblity that she might recreate the career of Aimee Semple McPherson–and become an itinerant and flamboyant preacher spouting religion around the Hemisphere. Or perhaps she will Rapture herself on the 21st…

  • crystalwolfakacaligrl:

    What does it say about our culture that people think she is beautiful so she should be POTUS or she’s just like me, she should be POTUS and why has the MSM given her a free pass and get out of jail card just to get hits and not do any investigative work? That is being left up to the blogs. Recently Kathleen of Policalgates got a legally vetted article about Babygate on the Guardian, and Patrick was on Business insider yesterday.
    After 3 years why is the tide starting to turn?
    Is the MSM Finally going to look at the rust & mildew on that shiny object that is Sarah Louise Heath Palin?

  • Jen:

    Yeah! It could be like an evil reversal of book-jacket blurbs or one-sentence movie endorsements.

  • Alex:

    1. How perceptions of Palin vary between men and women. That her rise to power and her ability to delude are based on men’s inabilities to know that they may be out of their depths when it comes to “wrestling” a female politician. Why the rules of engagement aren’t equal between the sexes, in media nor politics. Gender discrimination because [most] men won’t go there.

    OR

    2. How, if Sarah Palin, were a fictional character in a book or a literary archetype, any reader would know she was a villain — not because of things she does but because of events swirling in her wake: underage daughter pregnant, family friend convicted of dealing oxy, church fire (or was that a break-in?), town nurse killed in fire (unsolved murder), church hosts evil voodoo doctor, children’s vandalism and breaking the law, facebook rants of children, careless treatment of children captured on video. . .

  • Stephanie:

    I would summarize real harm to real people, and the disgraceful appeal to fear that is embedded in Mrs. Palin’s appeal to the basest parts not only of her base, but potentially in all of us. My fundamental fear is that she represents not only someone who can do untold damage by appealing to the gullible and ignorant, but that she is emblematic of a personality that, elevated serendipitously to celebrity, has the capacity to manipulate something in almost all of us–that we are in a sense fortunate that she herself is so dim, so superficial, so easily drawn to the flame of money and fame, rather than the pure pursuit of power. She shows that perhaps nearly all of us has buttons to be pushed by superficially-charming psychopaths willing to push them.

    She terrifies me. She has injected such poison and misinformation into so many debates essential to the quality of human life and political debate.

    For me–as the spouse left behind only weeks ago after a terrible, premature struggle with a terminal disease–the most obscene of these appeals involved the Big Lie of “death panels.” How many people will be robbed of the opportunities to plan their own end-of-life care, and be deprived of the comfort, dignity, and peace they should and can have because she hijacked the debate over these incredibly important issues with her calculated, two-word charlatanism?

  • B:

    Lidia over at Laura Novak’s suggests narcissism.

    http://narcissists-suck.blogspot.com/2009/01/reddest-red-flag-of-narcissism.html
    “The reddest red flag is perverted behavior. . . . Behaviors that make you feel like you just stepped into The Twilight Zone and need to pinch yourself. It’s always a sign that a person is dangerous in some way.”

    How many times have I said, “I can’t believe she did that.” Could narcissism be a unifying theme for Sarah stories? Think of her insistence on doing that crazy video after the Tucson shootings, when even her Fox collaborators were telling her to lie low. I can’t believe she fired the Wasilla police chief, I can’t believe she fired Monegan when she knew she was being considered for VP, I can’t believe she quit, and I really can’t believe she thought a sitting (bending, fast walking, lying on a massage table, etc.) Governor could pull off a fake pregnancy. I actually can’t believe the idea of a fake pregnancy would even occur to her. Final chapter: It’s All About Me.

  • lilly lily:

    I agree with Wombat.

    lol it is what my oldest son called my youngest, I must say with some affection. They do get along.

    In the end Palin will be nothing to the U.S.A… She represents a certain portion of our population which hopefully will be raptured away by May 23 or next week. LOVE that.

    Her worst effect is on her entitlement brats. While I won’t bash the kids, I can’t see that they will be anything in this world. Too much too soon with no checks and balances.

    Bristol might appear successful to the bots, but a Reality Show seems to be a curse. Talk to the Louds of California, from the very first Reality Show on PBS. The family would have splintered apart anyway, but to have your life, warts and all , plus dirty laundry waving in the breeze can’t be worth the money.

    Palin has amassed a bit of wealth. And she is living high. Living a lie, but then she has always lived a lie.

    It doesn’t seem all that much to me, though I’m living on the edge myself.

  • L.:

    I don’t know about a last chapter, but certainly an Appendix briefly detailing all of her lies in one place would be useful. Sullivan has his account of the Odd Lies, but I don’t think it’s summarized in one place since 2009. I could be wrong, or if it isn’t, he might be able to help. A list of what Republicans have said about her might be another Appendix.

    http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/11/the-odd-lies-of-sarah-palin-a-summary-before-the-next-round/194027/

  • Jeanne:

    “I knew when the press let her get away with “this report exonerated me and proved that I hadn’t done anything wrong, nothing unethical..” that she was contemptible.”

    The _press_ was contemptible!

  • B:

    Alex, if you are the Alex from Audrey’s blog, I recall your friend from the East Coast media telling you something like Palin’s pregnancy wasn’t being covered because the VP campaign had shown that she was unimportant and irrelevant. Now that she won’t go away, has he changed his tune?

  • Thank you for the kind words, CougInPortland! Enjoy is the right word. The book is meant to be entertainment, but I am not sure many people understand that, although I bet Joe does. I wanted to set the scene of the twisted America that has developed into a psychotic nation that could allow a travesty such as The Palin Matrix to occur.

  • lilly lily:

    Just glanced at Palingates where Regina has posted a picture of Palin with those size 10 shoes.(What was she thinking?) Among her strange inapropriate attire. The woman does have a few screws loose.

    Regina comments that she can’t fill her shoes. How pertinant. She couldn’t do the work as a mayor, had to hire someone to do her job while she gave herself all the perks of the job. Bought a mayorabile, redecorated her office like a cat house. Ditto every job she has had. Incapable of doing the work, unfit.. I think her leaving the job she hated, The Governship, seems to be the sticking point with some people.

    A. Not much of a student. May not have really graduated. O.K. Plenty of people aren’t much learning wise and manage to both enjoy their lives and make something of themselves.

    B. A lousy wife and mother. O.K. A fair number of women aren’t good wives, or good mothers.

    C. A horrible mayor. Every office she has held has been too much for her limited intelligence.

    In other words, she can’t fulfill her oversized aspirations.

  • gypsyrose:

    because sarah was allegedly chosen to be john mccain’s running mate to hold onto the fundamentalist christians then the last chapter should perhaps be about sarah’s christianity/lack of. when surfing over at c4p and reading thru the comments there are many references to bible verses to defend their version of sarah and many bible verses used to tear down other potential candidates and/or foes of sarah.

    because her base seems to be an emotionally reactive group as opposed to being informed by the facts, it is difficult to even make a dent in their belief in sarah. i am not at all sure that those not converted can be swayed at all, however, it seems the best way to approach them is to use words from their own reading material. a verse from the bible like “turn the other cheek” and then a list of all the examples from when she didn’t. sarah’s own words and actions have time and time again shown how she is not “christ like” in any way.

    arguments about the media and lack of investigative reporting or troopergate or babygate or plastic surgery or any of the gazillion other things involving sarah do not seem to resonate at all with her base. they either deny the accusations or believe the “left is out to get her”.

  • K.:

    There are three teen-aged boys who have suffered the Wrath of Sarah – Levi, the “stalker”, and the one who is sitting in jail because he guessed her e-mail password. Use how they have been treated by the press and the legal system as indicative of how she operates and would possibly operate if she were to have the power of an elected office.

  • molly malone:

    59,934,814 people voted for McCain/Palin in 2008, even though most knew that McCain was in his seventies and not in the best of health. Which means that nearly 60 million people were snookered into believing that a totally manufactured cardboard cutout was capable of leading this country in a time of grave crisis.

    In your last chapter I’d like to see a summation of how and why this was allowed to happen. Along with some blame heaped on those who so richly deserve it.

  • Janice:

    Not to be entered in the contest, but the only way I could shut my sister up was to tell her to picture my children’s father (my ex) everytime she saw Sarah Palin. He is definitely the male counter-part to Ms Prissy Pants.

  • grammy11:

    The abuse of so many charity organizations by her greed may be interesting to those that don’t follow her. She used and continues to take more money with her outrageous fees, travel and personal expenses not only for herself but for family and friends that go with her than anyone ever in the public eye. Malia Litman’s blog has covered a lot of them. There have been less income from ticket sales than her $100,000 fee. In one case the organizer said her would pay the difference out of his own pocket. She uses her PAC for personal expenses and gives minute amounts for charity causes.

  • Melly:

    Focus on her failure as a mother and the sexualization of the landscape of her children’s lives–something you know about firsthand.

  • Sharon_too_also:

    My take two (too):

    Timing is everything, right?

    Well, I think you may have just been handed a couple of golden nuggets this week. There is a potential French President siting in Rikers this morning and our il-LUST-trious Gov Ahhhhnold has been exposed for the lying cheat he is.

    The pols are being called out and exposed all over the MSM place – but not Sarah – not our teflon coated queen. How about digging into that issue in the last chapter – why can’t they call white trash what it is?

  • grammy97:

    Mr. McGinniss, I wouldn’t presume to tell you what you should write. But, if I were to write it? First, the photo of Sarah Palin, on the red carpet, wearing shoes that are at least two sizes too big for her. If a picture is still worth 1,000 words, there goes 20% of the chapter. I would put a caption under the photo, naming the date and time of her appearance, with the names of some of the other attendees.

    And then I wouldn’t spend 50 words to tell the world that this woman is not only an idiot, she is visibly insane. No rational 40+ year-old would go out in public like that.

  • themom:

    I believe most of the factors that brought SP to the public arena and what her emotional, psychological, professional, and spiritual content contributes to that will be thoroughly examined in “The Rogue”. Since some books end with a range of redemption or deliverance, I hope to see a “what could have been” chapter written by someone (JM) who has meticulously researched her and the life she has lived.

    I cringe each time the MSM is mentioned with such venom since I am employed in the industry. although my position does not allow me editorial input. While the media does provide the watchdog role, it seems that has diminished greatly recently in the vigorous bid for viewers/readers.

  • Roger Johnson:

    You have two weeks to deliver the chapter and haven’t decided what it’s about yet? I’m having flashbacks to being an undergraduate!

    To give the question a shot though, I think you have to say why she is important. Especially if her political career amounts to a flash in a pan, you have to ask: is she truly unprecedented? Is she original, at least? Has she changed politics?

    She talks about exceptionalism alot, does she represent something exceptional? If she’s not, we’re all going to feel pretty foolish for having thought about her so much in 10 years time.

    Make the case.

  • Margot Woodrough:

    Our Media has failed us. The press is supposed to be the watchdog of freedom. Many times I tried to explain Palin to very intelligent friends and was met with the reply, “no that cannot be true or our press would have reported it.”

    This is not the first time the press has failed us. Quite by accident I discovered Russ Baker’s book on the Bush Family entitled “Family of Secrets.” I did not need to read another book about the Bush Family, but based on Gore Vidal’s assessment that “it’s the most important book of the decade” as well as glowing reviews by Dan Rather and Bill Moyers I bit and ordered it. Gore Vidal was absolutely wrong. it’s the most important book of my lifetime and I’m pushing 70.

    If you haven’t read it, it’s a MUST as it will knock your socks off. Another read that is a MUST is “Republican Gomorrah.” These two books combined with the Palin experience will convince anyone that our democracy is at a serious crisis point. Our press has failed to pursue the travesties.

    After I read “Family of Secrets” I attempted to get some very intelligent friends to sponsor a symposium for Mr. Baker to discuss his book. i failed completely. What he discusses is so horrible that there seems to be a taboo. I think the same is true with McCain and Palin. They got a free pass from the press because somethings are simply too horrible to contemplate and are thus taboo. The very idea that a vindictive simpleton like Palin can be proposed for Vice President by a vengeful old man who hides behind his imagined image of hero is just too hard to believe. Therefore, it is taboo. No one will say the wizard of OZ stands naked behind the curtain because after all he has such sound and fury.

    I can develop this into a chapter if you wish, but I think you write far better than I. Just take a look at the two books mentioned and you’ll be off and running. The biggest scandal here is a failed press and gullible Americans. If we are to survive we must see a far bigger picture.

  • BJA:

    Sarah Palin is the new Chauncey Gardiner.

    She spews something ridiculously commonplace about a complex issue and hours are devoted to analyzing her thoughtful comment. The Republican Party has been so eager to have someone to believe in, that they took a simpleton and claimed that her simple explanations were the heart of complex issues.

    By laying out her family in a way that made her “everywoman” while at the same time allowing her to claim her experience in Alaskan politics as somehow above that of other prime politicos, they created a dangerous myth — namely, that anyone could be president.

    The saddest thing that’s happened to the presidency is this irrational belief that it does not take special intellectual gifts to succeed in the office. After 8 years of Bush The Son’s bromides, people started to believe that simple “smoke ’em out” statements equaled strength of character and leadership ability. His handlers made people believe that small-time business experience qualified you for the office — that somehow you can run a small town or a baseball team and have all the experience you need for the presidency.

    The myth of Sarah Palin was created by handlers who knew what kind of red meat they needed in 2008 to throw to the jealous, hungry jackals in the Republican Party. Where most astute politicians can separate fact from myth, Sarah cannot. She began believing the myth and continues to perpetrate a fraud by acting to be something she is not and will never be.

    Sarah Palin does not have the intellectual capacity to handle a complex job — like the presidency. Yet, somehow she has convinced herself and her followers that the ability to be a celebrity is a superior skill. Until she goes broke or loses her ability to gather attention for random Twitter sniping, we will have to put up with her grandstanding and spotlight-hogging behavior.

  • B:

    Isn’t the story that she’s not exceptional and the media acted like she was? We won’t care about her in ten years but we will care that another Chauncy Gardiner hasn’t been given a pass by the MSM we expect to inform us.

  • lee:

    Yes indeed the media is behind this fraud.

  • Colleen:

    Unlike a watermelon being dropped from the roof of a building by someone else, Sarah’s self-propelled career is like a rolling stone snowball. As it rolls uncontrollably downhill it grows bigger and heavier with twigs, moldy leaves, sharp gravel and mud sticking to it. Everyone is jumping out of it’s way and watching for it’s inevitable spectacular crash and explosion at the bottom.

  • jk:

    I would love to read about the larger context of how Sarah Palin was allowed to rise so high in Wasilla, Alaska, and the Nation. I’m fascinated by the journey of famous psychopaths and demagogues, especially how they make their way through life benefiting from the exploitation and support of other people. In Sarah’s case, she was the beneficiary of Alaskan corruption and the GOP’s cynicism and ruthlessness (not to mention sexism), as well as the “reality tee vee show” culture. And of course, like so many other celebrity psychopaths, she is destined to eventually crumble under the weight of her own emotional and psychological chaos. Let’s hope she takes people down with her, the ones who opened all those doors and made it easy for her to slither through. A summary of her rise and continuing fall with an eye toward how someone like her has been able to achieve so much with so little would give me the “ahhhhh” factor I so love to encounter at the end of any story.

  • Alvin Keynes:

    I think the last chapter should be a fictional letter from Alan Keyes begging Sarah Palin to stop her perpetual fake campaign. Have him plead with her to find another scam because she’s siphoning off so much of his audience that he’s afraid he might have to get a job.

  • B:

    I wished Dunn had done this, list the lies he documented. Despite the title, his book is so much more than lies (which is good).

  • Sharon_too_also:

    I’m with you, aurora. But I wonder sometimes if you don’t have to be a ‘person of a certain age’ to instinctively trust that what you are seeing is truly evil.

  • Flying Pig Ranch:

    A favorite Hemingway quote: “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” And I would back that up with the E Hemingway Built-In Bullshit Detector. Mine went off during Palin’s Convention speech.

    There must be more than a grain of truth in the grist of a small town rumor mill. Please, a nice crusty, satisfying ending to your book.

  • YES! There has been a huge underground movement for at least 30 years – “regaining the Seven Mountains” for God – and members of this dark force (mascquerading as good Christians, because, perhaps, they believe that they are) understand the power of prayer. Not ordinary prayer (now I lay me down to sleep) but prayer as a force. Just a smidgen of understanding of Quantum Physics and you see how human consciousness can change the outcome of experiments, can change forms, can change events. “Prayer” IS a force, not good or bad, just a force like fire. It can, however, be used for “good’ or nefarious purposes. The Dominionist approach, returning the earth to God, ‘cleansing’ the earth so that Jesus can come on earth again, is more than delusional, it is anathema.

    The picture of President SP with her finger on the red button, ‘serving God’ by bringing about ‘The Apocalypse” scares the hell out of me. Because – the human being doesn’t have the wiring to tell truth from falsehood. People can be made to believe anything.

    The power of being able to do this far accedes the mere power held by the President of the United States. THAT is what I think her delusion and her goal is.

  • MissHarleyQuinn:

    Upon reading this blog post, I was reminded of an article that was written during Pres. Bush’s second term. I believe it was in Newsweek and was written from the stand point of Vice Pres. Al Gore’s Presidency and the what if’s of that imagined scenario. Your book is more than likely chock full of facts and information, so the last chapter would tie things up, perhaps offer a bit of closure, even hint at the possibilities of the not so distant future. If I were to pen this final section I would let the leading lady do the talking in 140 characters or less. 🙂

    It’s your choice America!

    (image of Mrs. Todd Palin and her Twitter avatar/name) Date: Winter 2013
    So xct’d, QVC& my Proud 2b American pin collection on Fri night! Stay tuned after 4 special set of my books 2 b sold in caribou binding.

    or
    (image of White House avatar/President Palin) Date: Winter 2013
    So xct’d 2 host xmas in WH. Never happier than when God & family under 1 roof. Todd’s almost got the tree set up, feels like home. 🙂

  • mo:

    Sarah Palin – the reincarnation of Jim Jones?

  • Tewise:

    I really don’t know Mr. Mcginniss whats in your first chapters that you have written about. But I hope you have included how one woman single handedly set back what women have been able to accomplish in history.

    Men has always alluded to the female of the species of being weak, unstable, unable to contain emotions or make sound business decisions and even being petty and vindictive. There were warning signs all over the place that Palin was exactly what men had identified, what females were like.

    Since her coming on the national stage she has did nothing that we females can be proud of. She has highhandedly tried to stop our voices about what concerns our own bodies and how we are treated. She claims to not be intimidated by the things said about her because she is tough, I call bullshit. The first thing she does is hollar about them picking on her because she is a woman and she should be treated such the same.

    What woman that you know that takes her career seriously and wants to be treated equal, dresses and act as provocatively as Palin? What professional woman do you know that winks at people while she talks to the men? What serious woman do you know that throws insults out to the men making reference to them either being, limp, perverts, impotent and many others? How can anyone take this woman serious? What type of role model is she, what type of role model does she portray?

    In my opinion she has hurt our progress more than any other female I can think of. I made a career in Law Enforcement, actually I was the second female Lieutenant in the department. I put up with so much crap trying to prove myself and prove to the establishment that women can make good officers. That we can make sound decisions, remain professional and keep our composure. Then some fly by night so called woman trashes it, tears it up and exhibits everything that every career woman has tried to dispel.

    If nothing else I got to vent and I thank you for that.

  • ….so it really is the “lame-stream” media.

  • Susan:

    Sarah took down John McCain. I’d like to know, what specifically, other than amorphous DNA anomalies led her to hold such power and can we clone her to do the same to the rest of the GOP elite?

  • Karen:

    You know, with that one challenge I suddenly realized the challenge you must have faced trying to capture the phenomenon we all have had to endure these past 2-1/2 years in one book. I can’t even begin to put my thoughts together coherently at the moment (and I’m a writer/pr/marketing person for a living) because they are all swirling around in my head. The venom, the treasonous behavior, the stupidity, the slutty flirty anti-feminist, the take-no-prisoners lying, the corruption, the out-and-out disrespect and vile vitriol. … A big tip of the hat to you, Mr. McGinniss!

  • mitch:

    Something to the effect of her being held accountable. A portrayal of her as everything we as a group point out.
    Just how small and hateful she is and is willing to do anything to get the attention that she craves. Craves in the same way a crack addict needs coke. And, of course, pointing out the obvious. (I don’t need to go into detail) but contrast her behavior with what she says and against a backdrop of an actual, knowledgeable national leader.

  • jcinco:

    Agreed grammy. She really is mentally unstable. How about the get up at the Kentucky Derby? A black bra, a sheer white shirt, capris and some silly 60’s hat when everyone knows the Derby is an event that most people dress up to the nines. Or how about the huge Star of David necklace from Claire’s in the mall she wore to her photo-op in Israel, tasteless or nutty? Or the times she was dressed like a stevie nicks wannabe? Or the creepy animal skin shoes from Buckle? Another store in the mall that is frequented by tweens and teens. What would compel a close to 50 year old woman to do their shopping at stores more suited to their daughters’ when not shopped for by handlers? I assume sarah’s future will include trips to walmart in neon green halter top, skin tight leopard capris and red naughty monkey shoes. I see women in walmart dressed like this on a regular basis. I look at my 18 year old daughter and we knowingly roll our eyes as the consensus being these women are either prostitutes on their way to an appointment or just some looney woman that can’t stand the thought of maturing….

  • GinaM:

    Joe, I’ve been thinking about your question all day I think the title of the last chapter should be called “DISAPPOINTMENT”.

    Sarah Louise Heath Palin has been a complete and utter “DISAPPOINTMENT”. She was solely selected as the VP because she was a WOMAN. She was suppose to replace Hillary Clinton and ever since she was announced I’m sure women expected her to be just as qualified maybe even a better representative of us WOMEN and she has been a “DISAPPOINTMENT”.

    When I first heard that she was picked as the VP I think for a split second I thought…WOW…A young woman with a husband, kids, Governor of Alaska who will represent US.

    But when I watched her VP nomination speech at the RNC convention, I was so “DISAPPOINTED”. I came away with a feeling of such “DISAPPOINTMENT” that she did not represent us WOMEN in a good way. She represented the bad, the awful parts of womanhood.

    The fact that she threw her OWN daughter under the bus instead of proving she was Trig’s birth mother….”DISAPPOINTMENT”.

    She lied and kept on lying about the “Bridge to Nowhere”….”DISAPPOINTMENT”. Then she started saying stupid stuff….”Russia is our next door neighbor” to prove she had foreign policy experience….”DISAPPOINTMENT”. Then the biggest NO, NO of all….finding out this representative of womanhood was a DAMN SHOPAHOLIC!

    Sarah Palin was and still is a “DISAPPOINTMENT” to ALL WOMEN and I think she knows it.

  • KatieAnnieOakley:

    You have quite a job, to plow through all of these posts!

    I say, the chapter should be about hypocrisy. All of it, any of it. The consequences of unchecked, unbridled hypocrisy. The short term gains, and the long-term damage resulting in it.

    Hypocrisy of the parents that raised a child into the woman she’s become. That “at any price” to win – damn the consequences mentality. That sense of entitlement, the “I can!” when “should I?” would have been the proper societal response.

    The hypocrisy of her church in particular, and of the religious right in general. The toxic combination of poisoning young minds with the “at any cost” in the name of Jesus – but the devilish ways which it was employed and used against those outside the church – even extending to the high school itself (the basketball coaches dinners shunning players that were non-members of the Wasilla A of G church).

    The hypocrisy of society that bestowed medals in recognition of mediocrity that were pinned onto chests undeserving of them. The failure of letting a person land on their nose and earn those scrapes, bumps and bruises that give character to their faces and their psyches. Instead, proverbial pillows made from hypocrisy blunted the blows: you don’t have to do it – it’s too hard / against our religion / morals / etc.

    The hypocrisy of Palin having doors opened to her and for her that normally would have stayed closed due to abuse of her own sexuality; the dual message of enticement and forbidden fruit, the character in the short tight skirts, black leather, the sky-high heels delivering a message of chastity (to the party), purity (to the ideology) and religious & political (us vs them) piety. That she used / uses her body not just for personal gain but against her foes (this should be familiar to you – the accusations of peeking in windows / being called a pedophile / the sexuality-charged messaging she constantly employs), and the hypocrisy that entails. HOW they way she looks and how she codes her speech to speak the language of the evangelicals is one of the most important parts of the overall message she delivers…

    The hypocrisy of the media repeating / regurgitating rumor, innuendo and hearsay, but demanding facts, figures and proof when what they themselves have reported is challenged. The slinging of arrows rather than the pursuit of information, investigation and verification. How blogs have filled the void of both investigative journalistic news and titillating tell-alls.

    That’s my two cents. It boils down to the hypocrisy factor.

  • jcinco:

    that was absolutely wonderful and incredibly accurate Tewise. I think that is what I dislike most about palin. All the hard work my generation of women have put forward to stop being treated like 2nd class citizens bashed in a millisecond by a inarticulate, sluttily dressed opportunist. She is trying to destroy what we leave as a legacy for our daughters and granddaughters. She doesn’t give a shit, look at what she taught her daughters, be stupid & spread your legs…..

  • jcinco:

    I do too. Freesia is the best when it comes to her comments. I admire her greatly for being a great wordsmith.

  • ginger50:

    Comments from conservatives4palin. They are always entertaining and give great incite about what type of person supports Sarah.

  • PMom_GA:

    There are a lot of good approaches/quotes from the above replies. My own ending/rim shot would be just a chapter of her documented flip-flops – any and all ‘of them. Show that SP is not any different than millions of other politicians who say/have said anything to get “there” (wherever that is), except she was allowed to get away with some whoppers and was not held accountable. Show that SP’s belief that she herself is so “unique/above any one else” (male or especially female) is so far out that she’s not even close to reality. I worked for a number of Bella Abzug campaigns in NY, and worked on political stuff with Geraldine Ferraro both before and after 1984’s presidential campaign, and those ladies, amongst a number of others across the USA, were working for the people, while SP is all about “me”. Show that SP is someone who isn’t to idolized as an example of the future of women in politics. Show that SP is simply a figment of her own imagination. Use SP’s own words/writings to do it.

    Now, having typed the above out, the only thing I ask of you is to make note that 5/31 is fast approaching, and that is the date the state e-mails are required (ahem, ok supposed) to be released due to previous FOIA requests. Who knows what may or may not be in them. Whatever is in them could confirm your own investigative findings, or put something you found that wasn’t quite confirmed in a whole different light, requiring some extensive re-writes.

    I believe that whatever your approach is, Joe, to the final chapter, you may need to switch gears very quickly once the released e-mails come to light.

    Good luck in figuring out how to wrap up everything.

  • curiouser:

    “Possible Rebirth.” NOOOoooo!

  • lilly lily:

    It is McCains fault. When it became apparent that she was mentally unstable and was unfit for the role, he should have forced her to resign, stating Family responsabilities etc.. While she certainly would have resisted being ousted, it was his duty to do so.

    I know as soon as it became apparent that she was a fool and ignorant of the most basic facts, I was hoping he would face up to his duty as a candidate. Palin proved to be a very expensive and nasty running mate. He didn’t have a chance once she was shown up in her first exposure. And that was what is was. EXPOSURE of her ignorance and stupidity.

    She is just like the lowest element in the Republican base she has personified. Ignorant and proud of it.

  • jk:

    Oops, this wasn’t supposed to be a reply to anyone.

  • mo:

    Yep. If Palin were a balding, middle-aged guy with a beer gut, would she have gotten _anywhere_?

    Apparently her male supporters view her as their “ideal wife” – that’s a quote.

    sorry, gotta go hurl now…

  • OOPS! I meant to say ‘exceeds’ not ‘accedes’ here.

    The power of being able to do this far EXCEEDS the mere power held by the President of the United States.

  • DLB44:

    Compare her populism and its likely outcomes if she were to run and become President to Andrew Jackson’s populism and show how populists do not necessarily make good leaders.

  • orangetriangle:

    And the irony there is that she hates men. When she talks about men as weak, impotent, and limp…she epitomizes the castrating female.

  • Joe,
    Re: Rogue, I’m worried about our country’s problems, which are reflected in Sarah Palin. We increasingly have devalued education with an entire political party devoted to dismissing “pointy-headed intellectuals.” They dismiss facts in favor of their “gut” feelings.
    These people continue to promote “American exceptionalism,” but have little or no concept as to what made this country exceptional.
    We are not investing in education at any level. We build nothing for the future. Other than the 1960s project to go to the moon, I think we have to turn back to the interstate highway system by Eisenhower to come up with a great investment in our people and future.
    We are behind the curve in health care, high-speed rail, as well as the internet. It doesn’t have to be that way.
    We ignore our crumbling infrastructure. We deny global warming. We turn our backs on the poor.
    What was the last initiative to improve the quality of life for our people?
    How much would it cost to provide internet service to every household in America? Can we even fix potholes?
    The Sarah Palins of the world proclaim government can’t solve problems and then proceed to prove it.

    I don’t really want the $250 for final chapter thoughts. If you use any of this, an autographed copy of your book would be fine.

    I was going to send a message to your FB page, but I don’t see we are friends any longer. I continue to be friends with Joe, Jr. I think it’s because we both like UNLV basketball and we both like your books.

  • Joe:

    David–
    Thanks for this. Regarding FB, my publisher switched the page to a “fan” page, to open it up to comments from anyone, but I’m not sure why that would
    change the status of previously existing “friends.” Please be assured it’s nothing personal, just technology I don’t fully understand.

    –Joe

  • Well well said. I agree totally. This approach has my vote.

    Show clearly enough that she is more than a little unstable. Use the words (narcissism, sociopath, psychopath, – and the list goes on) and pair each word up with an event that is documented in the news that proves the word fits. Then the Trig story becomes just one of many proofs, and we don’t have to count on that one story, the faked pregnancy, to bring her down.

  • 2emptynest:

    The Rise and Fall (and Possible Rebirth) of Sarah Palin

    There’s an aspect of Sarah Palin’s rise to power that needs additional exploration and explanation, and that is her Dominionist background and its influence on her actions. The discussion of the rise of the radical religious right as a political force in the Republican party has become more prevalent in the media, but that connection to Sarah Palin has been sorely lacking. I believe that there is a connection and it forms the basis of Sarah Palin’s quest for fame and power.

    I’m certainly no expert on Dominionism, but I do know that their theology is to dominate the political landscape – and all forms of government – as a mandate from God. Sarah has hinted at that belief several times in speeches, but her core beliefs have never been adequately explored or questioned. We’ve seen glimpses of Sarah’s fear/hatred of Muslims and her discern at the ethnic makeup of one of the colleges that she attended, but the media seems to give her a pass. Why have there been no discussions concerning Sarah’s intolerance of non-Christians and the correlation of that intolerance to the tenets of her faith?

    Details about Sarah’s early religious upbringing are sketchy, at best, but I recall reading that at some point she broke from whatever church she attended as a child to become the fundamentalist that we know today. The timing of that break may be an important fact. Was it Todd’s influence? If so, there should be a further discussion into how much influence Todd actually has on Sarah’s politics. True Dominionists actually believe that a woman’s place is in the home, which would hardly describe Sarah, but they also believe that, in essence, the end justifies the means. If Sarah’s push through that slightly ajar door is the best way to accomplish their goals, then that would be acceptable to them, as long as there was a man behind her providing that little push and guiding her along her path to power and the goal of creating a nation governed by Christians and the law of God.

    The fundamentalist theocracy touches all phases of life in America. Their goal is not to blur the line between church and state, but to completely eradicate that line, to rule America under Biblical law – and that is a very real threat to every American.

  • grammy97:

    B. – thank you for the reminder! Chauncey Gardiner, indeed. That says it all.

  • sunnyskiesinyuma:

    Joe, I think you already identified your last chapter: Bruce Spreenstien’s “Fade Away.” Maybe with a quetion mark. I am sure in your book, you identify Sarah’s many many phychological quirks that compel her into the limelight. I think bringing your tome back around to her formative sophomore year, which she never got over, would set the stage for her unpredictable future. Fade Away? I think she will hang on until the men in white coats come and take her away. Leave room for the sequel!

  • Elaine May:

    I would like the voters of your country to some how be made aware of just how dangerous Sarah Palin as president would be not only to your country but to the rest of the world as well. The very thought of it has many, myself included, terrified.

    Also, I wish the media could somehow be made aware that they have been responsible for Sarah’s fame and why she is still of any consequence.

    Is there any way you could get across to the media the damage they are capable of doing and are doing to the world? Where has real investigative journalism gone?

    Lots of luck with your book. I’m sure it’ll be a success. I look forward to reading it. My heart went out to you when you first moved in next door to the Palins.

    Elaine May in Saltair, Vancouver Island BC, Canada

  • Tewise:

    exactly as you said. Look to how her own daughters act, one is already following in the exact same footsteps and the second one will not be far behind. I do not know what it is going to take to wake people up to what this succubus is all about.

  • Ron Blackwell:

    Of course, I don’t know the structure of the rest of the book, so you might have covered it, but you might want to play off the enduring image of the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant, with the emcee giving her bio as she walks across the stage during the swimsuit competition:

    “Sarah says she wants to prepare for a career in television broadcasting by majoring in telecommunications and political science. It is no wonder that she has also been recognized by ‘Who’s Who?’ since she has displayed her leadership in all areas, from academics to student politics to athletics… Ladies and gentlemen, contestant no. 8, Sarah Heath.”

    See the YouTube video at http://youtu.be/rSdFIDygFwM

  • teddy:

    The “danger” to our country lies not with Sarah Palin, but with ourselves. From Wasilla to across the country, despite obvious deficiencies in everything from education to a basic sense of decency, we voted for her as she ran for Mayor, Governor and then Vice President. Why? Because we want someone like us in charge, a “Joe Six Pack” meets hockey mom or some other sort of contrived populist amalgamation? Maybe because, as Glenn Beck stated, she is “one hot grandma”? Are we truly so superficial that we cannot see beyond the various flag pins and pageant hair?

    Sadly those that are opposed to Palin are no better. Sure, it is easy to criticize and even fun to make caricatures out of people, but laughs aside, what purpose does it serve? It only validates the notion that liberals are “elitist” and hypocritical in their outcry of sexism.

    The longer we choose to drink the kool-aid, to engage in an “us versus them” mentality and neglect our responsibilities as citizens of a democracy to educate ourselves about our government and those running for public office, the further our country will degenerate. The writings of Orwell and Huxley will not be required English class reading, but our reality.

  • Elizabeth:

    I think that this is a great idea. It would be an analysis that we haven’t seen much of.

  • Elizabeth:

    definitely an important point. I’m seeing a trend towards a discussion of what the Sarah Palin phenomena says about ourselves, our country, and our media.

  • Susan:

    I also believe she is menally ill. I would think one of two approaches, either how and what Sarah Palin reflects back to us as a nation, because “we” after all are what hold her aloft. Or an evaluation by a medical professional as to her pathology, and why a “nation” would fail to recognize, accept and respond appropriately to our relationship with such illness.

  • Jose Hernan Cordova:

    Hello Joe. Last time we saw each other was at Bennington, back in the early nineties,
    I believe. I see that you have survived the challenges at Wasilla, and we will soon have the opportunity to read it all in your forthcoming book!

    I think that a final chapter dealing with why or how certain Americans can willingly
    and enthusiastically follow, and even take seriously, someone like Palin (or Gingrich, or Trump, or Huckabe, etc.) might not only throw some more light on the woman from Wasilla, and on the whole palinesque phenomenon, but also be the beginning of a whole new book –one dealing with the psychosocial, perhaps even pathological, condition that makes certain sectors of American society so prone to following, and thus making, the kind of leaders that would most probably be unable, anyway, to bring about their idea of a desirable world. Since it is objectively hard to see how Palin (or Gingrich, or Huckabe, or Trump, or etc. etc.) can be so charismatic, or visionary (again the “vision thing”!) or mighty in her oratorical power to move really sane intelligent people, maybe we can shift our attention, at least out of a sense of responsibility, from the leader to the led and all the issues that really matter.

    You asked for a suggestion… there goes one. Sorry if I wrote too much.

  • ginger50:

    If Joe hasn’t included any of the associations of the Palins in his book already, i would love to see her exposed for who she ‘pals” around with. I am with you Rocky in Texas.

  • Elizabeth:

    I’ll vote for something along this line.

  • crystalwolfakacaligrl:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrzXLYA_e6E&feature=share
    You have to see it to believe it the total insanity that is sarah palin!

  • Elizabeth:

    no true professional would do a diagnosis. It would be unethical. There is much we don’t know: Sarah’s early life, but most important: her private understanding and “take” on her early life. It can only be done one on one with a trained professional, and would be confidential.

  • B:

    “neglect our responsibilities . . . to educate ourselves about . . . those running for public office”

    If the MSM isn’t going to make relevant facts–like a faked pregnancy–available to citizens, how are they to educate themselves? Best that the MSM report what could be relevant to voters, but at least the MSM should admit that it isn’t doing it now, so people know they’ll have to look elsewhere for a full picture

  • crystalwolfakacaligrl:

    One last thought…I’ve seen several people say “she terrifies me”. (me too, the thought of her ever holding office again)
    But her fan club says that all the time “She terrifies the left”??? What do they mean? They never give examples.
    If asked we will say yes she terrifies us b/c she is unfit for the highest office in the land, the same way you would be terrified it at 2 yr old getting the keys to your car.
    They mean something else? They want to portray her as Strong, intelligent etc. Everything our current POTUS REALLY is.
    Why would we be afraid…. if that were really true? Its like the people that support her, are like a cult completely unhinged like her.
    And the media stands by and does (mostly) nothing?

  • B:

    Credit to BJA below. I remembered Being There, but couldn’t remember the guy’s name.

  • colacarat:

    Best of luck with the book, Joe. I look forward to reading it.

    I think a possible topic for the final chapter should be Palin’s contribution to the diminished view of American politics throughout the world. During the 2008 campaign, foreign press were willing to speak the truth about her when our press was afraid to publish the obvious. Other countries scoffed at us for promoting this ignorant fraud to the forefront of American politics. She brought shame upon the entire country in the eyes of the world.

  • SCmommy:

    Joe–this is not well organized, but it is a collection of thoughts I’ve had for some time about the despicable behavior of Sarah Palin, and the media’s complicity in it. As much as I despise her backstabbing, below the belt, barracuda-esque politics, her propensity for pathologically lying, and her violent rhetoric and vitriol, it is her complete lack of a conscience concerning her children and their “use” that has always disturbed me the most.

    The heart of the reason I hold so much disdain and contempt for the fraudulent character of Sarah Palin is this false image she wants the world to buy into. While professing to be what she is not, and claiming to care for those she does not, she revels in the self proclaimed “title” of Wonder Mom, thinking she has pulled the wool over the collective eyes of our country.

    Meantime those of us who really have mourned for lost children, cared for the precious ones trusted to our care, and labored to care for and provide every opportunity for special needs children stand incredulous. Her persona, and the media’s refusal to expose her, has degraded the real work we do as mothers, parents, grandparents. It has been trivialized to such a degree by her insistence that pregnancy can be “hidden by tight abs,” that children can be ripped in and out of relative’s homes and schools at a whim and not be affected by the chaos, that children can be paraded around as trophies for the “winning mom,” and knowing absolutely no remorse, she continues the charade at our expense–but more costly, the expense of her children. Which is something that real mothers find unconscionable.

    What she doesn’t get is that in order to do those things right, there is no important self. When you become a parent, dying to self is the first requirement, if you’re gonna do it right.

    I think the thing that I have objected to first, and loudest, and most vehemently, because of the seriousness with which I’ve always taken my vocation as an at-home mom–is the FRAUDULENT motherhood persona she tries to pull off. Because, if you are a parent, that is who you are at your core, first and foremost. (I’m NOT saying that people who aren’t parents don’t have the same importance, I’m saying your priorities take a major shift once you’re responsible for another little person.) And I have NEVER trusted those who don’t make that shift as a person once there is a child in the picture. I’m not talking about choices or obligations–at home, working, nursing, bottle feeding, etc.–we all do what we have to do. I’m talking about a SHIFT in your CORE in what you find as the highest priority in your life. It was BLATANTLY obvious to me from the first time I heard her speak that the children were not the priority–SHE was. And I knew immediately she was not to be trusted. And she never should be.

  • Holly:

    Why does Sarah Palin matter?

    She doesn’t, really. Not any more. She’s ended her own political career through her foolish words and actions. Our country dodged a bullet: we are unlikely to ever see a President Palin.

    Sarah Palin matters as a cautionary tale for political leaders considering nominating a “Hail Mary” candidate who hasn’t been fully vetted, for journalists and media outlets more interested in readership or clicks than doing their research and disseminating fact-based information, and for voters everywhere who are tempted to vote for a candidate based upon a charming wink and catch phrases rather than the candidate’s track record.

    The United States of America nearly elected a second-in-command who has a history of incompetence and corruption. If Candidate McCain and the mainstream media had done their work, Troopergate, Dairygate, and housegate would have ended Palin’s political ambitions outside of Alaska. If voters had taken a hard look at Palin’s own story about the birth of her fifth child, they would have seen a candidate who was not only hypocritical (a sin of which many politicians are guilty), but one whose actions demonstrated a level of ill-considered risk-taking which should have immediate disqualified her from holding any position of authority.

    We must work together to ensure there are no more Sarah Palins.

  • mo:

    “inarticulate, sluttily dressed opportunist”

    In an nutshell, ladies and germs.

  • InAlaska:

    Should be: “Sarah’s friends, family, allies and opponents. where are they now?”

  • Tiger:

    A good title for the last chapter would be “What would she have done if her favorite pastime had been bowling?” I say this because she allegedly named her first child Track because her favorite recreational activity had been running around the track. After hearing this logic nothing that Palin says, does ,etc. would shock me in the slightest. Trying to find logical and rational reasons for her rise and fall might be futile because I think she was just one of those flukes of history that come along from time to time.

  • Brad Scharlott:

    Well, that’s a LOAD of responses!

    Of everything you have written in this blog so far, what caught my eye most was the suggestion SP is psychopathic and suffers from narcissistic personality disorder — and your comparing her to the other one, the murderer, you dealt with.

    Not sure how deep you want to drill into the literature on that stuff, but even if you just work with DSM 4 or 5 or whatever is current, you can find the traits of NPDs and sociopaths (don’t think they use psychopath anymore).

    So what *might* America have been likely to see if she had ended up in the Oval Office? Combine her personality disorders with her strange religious beliefs, and just how much danger would the world have been in? It’s a pretty chilling scenario, and we were so close to having it happen.

    If you like this idea and use it, just let me on the set for the filming of Grandpa Grizzly reality show.

  • B:

    Lane (tho not Lanes) sounds pretty normal. Strike and Spare less so. Tenpin maybe? I’ll go with Alley. She could claim it was a family name meaning strong and true or something.

  • Andrea:

    (An aside: Joe, you’re a smart man: by inviting people to contribute to a contest such as this, you are opening yourself up to lawsuits from those who claim that they submitted something which was in your book, but weren’t credited or paid for. Ooops!)

    I believe that the final chapter should embrace the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Therefore I suggest that your final chapter be… wait for it…. One of those fancy photo-mosaics, which form an actual photo of Scarah, made up of little bitty photos of her at her “best.” I use that term loosely!

    If not a photo-mosaic, a nicely laid out montage of Scarah representing every dirty deed, nasty grimace, vindictive speech, etc…. no words necessary!

    And if I stand an ice cube’s chance in hell of winning, I’ll donate the winnings to Obama’s camp (If that’s possible, for me as a Canadian), otherwise to the local SPCA in your area.

    Thank you very much!

  • B:

    If she ended up in the Oval Office, I believe she would be controlled by others who made decisions. That happened with W till he caught on toward the end of his second term. Many of her handlers would be dangerous too, but probably more interested in grifting and less in bringing on Armageddon. I’m probably being overly optimistic. Also, too, Little Billy Kristol might finally have a job other than living off his daddy’s name and being wrong in his every prediction.

  • avasmom:

    I would say that Palin’s greatest “contribution” to the Republican Party is it’s demise. The reason we have rules of law in the first place is to show what we as a society believe in and what we hope our country can be. The reason Palin’s supporters were once deemed those on the fringe is because we did not want them to represent who we are as a country. Palin and her elk were always a part of the Republican Party. They were like the family members you endured during the Thanksgiving holiday and thanked God you did not have to see again any time soon. In short, they were the crazy, embarrassing members of the family. But in order to win the Presidency, the GOP was willing to do whatever it took, even if it meant allowing the “crazies” out to speak and garner some votes. Little did they know how crazy Palin truly was, or how far she would go. Once Palin was unleashed – along with her lies, her racism, her inflammatory language and her anger – the fringe was given a national and legitimate voice. Since then, the Republican Party has lost it’s voice. Instead, we have candidates bending themselves over backwards to please the fringe, even though the know that they never really can. And in the process, each legitimate candidate has either self-imploded or lost all credibility. People say that the media is liberal, but I would argue that is no longer true. Many are owned under the umbrella of larger corporations who are mostly conservative and have their own agendas. Today, people in the media seem to have lost their nerve. They fear that their jobs are at stake, that they will face retaliation by a segment of the public that degrees with them, or maybe that they will no longer have access to a source if they offend that source (Barbara Walters fawning over Sarah Palin for one). The media is supposed to be the voice of the people, a beacon for truth, now it is struggling and seems to have lost it’s will to fight. Sarah knows this instinctively, and she uses it to her advantage. Only by exposing the truth about the farce that is Sarah Palin do I think the GOP as it is will be destroyed, the dust will settle and they will have to make some real changes and self-reflection. As for the media, it will have a lot to answer for and a lot of trust to regain. My hope is that journalist will be more careful about what they say or report about and who they trust (research is always better) in the future.

  • mudmanor:

    Excellent. I think the historical context for the ongoing rise of the demagogues is a good way to turn the book from the prurient trailer trash expo to the political/cultural lessons would be so useful.

  • Alison:

    I agree that the final chapter should focus on Sarah’s psychiatric issues. Even though you are not a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, you could address the symptoms of mental disease or defect she has shown over the years. In a comprehensive and dispassionate way, address Sarah’s mental illness or personality disorders. In other words, as another commenter suggested below, “explain how this woman is bat shit crazy.”

  • krbmjb05:

    Journalist will never change as long as they know that these corporations (media Czars) hold the key to their livelihood and future! They will do as the corporations/media says for their paychecks!

  • Holly:

    After reading your next blog post, I may want to reconsider one or two sentences in my entry.

  • Janet:

    Quote her own words. For example, ask the reader to imagine what their response would have been if Hillary Cinton had claimed “the wild ride.”

  • gloriahh:

    though I am a liberal Democrat who has proudly voted mostly for losers since I arrived in Alaska in 1980, I must admit that I really didn’t pay all that much attention to state politics most of the time–what’s the point–my Fairbanks neighbors were gonna vote for the most right wing moron on the ballot–but I kinda lightened up over Palin, she seemed ok–stick it to the Murkowski-Ruedrich Big Oil set in fact, so that was fun–and working with the Dems in the legislature made her seem ok–was barely aware of her crazy all out anti-choice position–she did not make a big deal of it and didn’t seem like a culture warrior when she vetoed a clearly unconstitutional bill which would have banned same sex partner benefits for state employees–which I thought was pretty cool for an Alaskan Republican; until troopergate happened and everyone in Alaska thought that would be the end of her chance in the veepstakes–That was the first time a lot of us casual followers of Alaska saw the mean vindictive side of her–and were appalled–I would love to hear how she managed to fool us at the time to think she was someone we could work with–

    I

  • lee:

    I am almost finished reading Fatal Vision. I can see $p in McDonald. For over two years I have made a number of comments about her mental illness. I was married to a man who was, and is, mentally ill for the past fifty years. Professionals can poo pah what I say, but for those who have lived with such an illness, we know first hand. And that old gal is not sane.

  • Dusty:

    Hi Joe,

    What about a chapter called What might have been…. and explore the possibility of what a McCain/Palin presidency might have been with all the crisis and issues since late 2008. Then finish up with what might have been if Palin had never been considered. President Obama is not perfect but with everything he has had thrown at him I think he is doing on hellva of a better job than McCain or Palin could ever dream of.

    I finished G.Dunn’s book and the one question that still lingers from his book and that I sincerely hope it is answered in yours is Why? Why after everything McCain, the GOP and the RNC learned about Palin after the fact do they still continue to support her publicly, paid her a quarter of a million dollars for her supposed legal fees and basically allowed her run unchecked across America and on the airwaves spewing her own special brand of hate and dividing this country even farther apart than what it already was?

    Good Luck with the last chapter Joe.

  • Sharon_Too_Also:

    Gutter ball.

  • omomma:

    There was a fairly recent display of really disturbing behavior. She showed up [uninvited] at an after party related to the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner. She was photographed on a red carpet wearing inappropriate, mis-sized, mis-matched clothing that had visible food debris smeared on it. She was wearing shoes that were obviously 2 or 3 sizes too large. It was pathetic and frightening at the same time. Her appearance just brought up so many questions. But the mainstream journalists she hates so much have never mentioned it.

    Maybe what keeps serious journalists away is an unwillingness to shoot a fish in a barrel, so to speak.

  • Lidia17:

    Themselves?

  • Lidia17:

    B, once you understand that Palin is mentally ill, ALL her behaviors fall into place.

    Keep reading over at that site, and you will find it all, the answers to ALL the questions that pundits keep asking: “why doesn’t she [do this or that sane thing]?” SHE CAN’T.

    She was COMPELLED by her illness to respond to Tuscon. She is compelled to have the last word/tweet in everything; she can’t let anything drop.

    Another glaring example of her illness is (to me) the way she dresses. Google “Palin” and “Barbara Walters” images and you will see that she got herself up to Look Exactly Like Barbara. This is to conquer the attention Barbara naturally had as the host. Sarah told Oprah outright that she had done her hair in curls “to look just like you!”.

    Now think back to the photos in Hawaii, where she went around with the visor with McCain’s name scrawled over in Black Sharpie [to nullify him]. She wore a nasty-looking T-shirt and what looked like men’s gym shorts. I think THAT is the real Palin… there is just nothing there at her psychic core. She is always playing OFF of people in public, and inventing roles for herself: the biker chick, the huntress, etc. She isn’t ACTUALLY any of those things.

    I have a family member (by marriage, thank goodness) who I believe has NPD. He also has no inner sense of how to behave in situations. He loves to preen, to groom himself, looking at his own reflections in any shiny surface at hand, like the window or the microwave. When asked about this behavior, he snapped angrily, “it’s so I can see what a hideous troll I am!!” I think that was as honest as response as he was capable of giving. I have read that narcissists, paradoxically, actually have zero self-esteem, and all their shenanigans are a way to constantly, artificially, attempt to boost what they don’t have naturally. I think this is true of my family member, and of SP.

  • t:

    I think this is a great idea too. Palin didn’t rise of her own accord; she rose because the media any big-money-interests pushed her, and because we, as a nation, let them. If this isn’t addressed and changed, then it doesn’t matter if Sarah Palin leaves the national stage; another one just like her would take her place.

  • sharon:

    Excellent comments.

  • Percy Walker:

    Here is what it should be about, “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud.” WP “All the King’s Men”
    Why? Because it is so true and Sarah proves it.
    How? Use her own words, unedited, pure, just like Tina Fey did.

  • IFallToPizzas:

    Well said, Cranberry and Canadian Country Girl! This is the bigger picture and is what has frightened me for the last few years.

  • GhostbusterTX:

    This I like.

  • lilly lily:

    Another Warren Harding. Only he was smart enough to know he wasn’t qualified and smart enough to know he was too dense for the presidently.

    She is ignorant as they come, but looks good to her bots.

    If she does get momentum, the fall will be much harder when it comes. And it will come better sooner than later.

    Her bots are salivating, thinking they will raise millions for her from each and every one of their little ole computers. Hmmm. We will see.

  • brbr2424:

    I hope you address the Sarah Palin groupies. On the Amazon review section of Palin’s books there is a woman in North Carolina, Audrey, who spends her life on Amazon defending Sarah Palin by commenting on the reviews. She copies and pastes talking points from right wing websites without understanding very much of what she pastes. This woman calls Obama a socialist, and Nazi, and praises Sarah Palin for being a little person railing against establishment and taxing the Oil companies and distributing the taxes collected to every man woman and child in Alaska.

    I understand that other Christian Dominionists who only vote on the abortion issue would like Sarah Palin’s ideology however I don’t understand why they don’t take a pass on Palin. There is ample documentation that Sarah Palin lies. Is it ok to lie several times every day if you lie for Jesus? Are the groupies unable to process that Sarah Palin has lied frequently? Or do they understand that Sarah Palin lies but do these people find lying acceptable and desirable?

  • LisaOHio:

    I couldn’t read through all the comments, so if I am saying something that someone already said, give them the money!

    Seriously though- I think the final chapter should help summarize why Sarah is so dangerous for our country. Not all our Presidents have been the smartest guys in the room, not all our Presidents told the truth all the time, not all our Presidents raised great kids, not all our Presidents put the needs of the country before the needs of themselves or their backers. I mean come on, look at Bush, Cheney et all. So what scares the beejeezus out of some of us when we imagine Palin as President? Could she be worse than Bush?

    Frankly, I think she could- though it’s hard to put into words. That’s why a good writer like you needs to do it!

  • LisaOHio:

    OK, addendum: I agree with Cranberry and Canadian something or other above too: how religion and politics, and then power of the atomic age, could be sooo disastrous. Plus, she’s sociopath.

    Can’t wait to read the book.

  • Rodolfo:

    Let Palin speak for herself with direct quotes. Create a dialogue of Sarah talking to Sarah. She’ll contradict herself, vindicate herself, try to reason with herself using her own loopy logic. etc.

    Then have it acted out by the Olsen twins and post it on youtube.

  • B:

    Good one. Her kids could have been Gutter Ball and Valley Trash.

  • Palin on the economy probably tells you all you need to know:

    That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in. Where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh, it’s got to be about job creation, too. Shoring up our economy, and getting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade — we have got to see trade as opportunity, not as, uh, competitive, um, scary thing, but one in five jobs created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation.”

    The expression “Palin moment” has entered the vernacular and is now used around the world to connote, well… read if for yourself.

    Bush was an international embarrassment, Palin a complete laughing stock. She would be the ultimate proof that American needn’t be taken seriously any more.

  • Ed:

    Joe, How about your thoughts on the true qualities of leadership needed for our society to continue to develop and progress. Such things as the responsible use of power and understanding the limits of power, truth-telling and integrity, understanding that some issues require more than cut-throat political responses, the ability to rise above the petty, holding yourself to a higher level of accountability than your political opponents, engaging in constructive dialog about ideas and policies as opposed to employing dishonest smears and ad hominem attacks at every turn. Sarah Palin wouldn’t have much place in such a chapter other than as the power of a bad example.

    I know you are doing your best to play it straight, but, of course, you have already been smeared by SP, having been portrayed by her as something akin to a peeping tom. I hope you get a fair hearing from anyone who isn’t already in SP’s pocket, but it’s difficult to imagine she won’t have the slime machine working over time. Is there any way to anticipate and inoculate yourself from additional attacks beforehand?

  • KatzKids:

    Ah yes, but let a Democratic contender show up in the same way, there is no such protections for them. They highlight all the D flaws, as they should, but there is no going after the Republicans egregious behavior, especially NOT Palins. The corporate powers clearly control the MSM.

  • Joe:

    Ed–

    I’m sure you read about what I went through last summer. Let ’em slime. In the process of writing previous books, I’ve been threatened by the New Jersey mafia to the extent
    that the FBI put a recording device on my home phone, and by the “real” mafia in Italy, and have been attacked by both Nixon supporters and the Kennedy machine. Not to mention
    sued by a man who murdered his pregnant wife and his own two children. Believe me, at this point in my life, Sarahmaniacs are small potatoes.

    –Joe

  • juicyfruityy:

    There is very little information about the Queen’s mother. Maybe, a chapter on how the Queen’s mom played a role into her becoming the woman that she is NOT.

    You always hear about what Chucky hasn’t done and probably did do; to influence her. A child has genes from 2 parents. What did the Queen inherit from the mom?

  • serena1313:

    Joe, I agree reiterating something that has already been said time and time again would be a waste of time as well as counterproductive. It is well-known Sarah has made a career and millions of dollars deceiving people. Nor will it convince her loyal warriors to abandon ship. Although ultimately they will, on their own terms, inevitably come to see Sarah for who she is.

    But for those who are still on the fence might be persuaded to change their opinion by asking a series of questions in a way that requires comparing Sarah’s actions with her words. For instance: Is it important for a candidate to be conversant on domestic and foreign affairs? offer real solutions (rather than slogans and platitudes) to problematic issues? deal with controversy in a reasoned fashion or exacerbate tensions? If the answer is yes, then the final question: does Sarah Palin, based on her record (or actions), meet that criteria?

    In other words, (no pun intended), with a simple reminder that actions speak louder than words woven into whatever narrative you choose that is not threatening, but leads them to draw a conclusion on their own volition.

  • MicMac:

    If you have not already addressed this topic in your book, you should at least raise the question as to the incredibility of MatSu hospital admitting a pregnant woman over 40, in premature labor with a high risk known DS baby, in the middle of the night following a thousand mile plane ride, leaking amniotic fluid – when it does not have the facility or staff to handle such a delivery. Just not going to happen in this United States, Joe. Breaks every medical protocol/standard known. Not to mention that supposedly she was under the care of a simple Family Practitioner, who is not competent to follow or preside over a high risk birth. Can you imagine the panic that should have greeted such an arrival in the halls of MatSu that night? Particularly since Sarah was Governor of the State at the time. Unbelievable on its face, yet, curiously, the story that comes out from all of this is relatively mild, like it was no big deal. Well, it is a big deal and the media should have investigated this irregularity. How many other planned DS baby births, or planned high risk baby births have taken place at MatSu? Not many, I would assume. And who exactly was on staff that night, competent to handle such a birth? MatSu should be able to release this information without breaking HIPPA laws. This could be the key to uncovering Palin’s lie. Put pressure on the hospital by investigating – or at least raising the specter of investigation – as to why all those rules were broken. As to why MatSu did not immediately direct Palin to Anchorage, where competent medical staff and a NICU was present. My guess is that this didn’t happen because Palin never was pregnant, period. Because if she was, then MatSu bowed to some serious political and/or religious pressure.

  • Reality Check:

    Loo, unless this book exposes Sarah Palin’s fraudulent and corrupt financial doings, it’s not going to make much of a ripple. Someone please tell me how a small town mayor and her oil worker husband end up affording a lakeside mansion, two vacation properties, a private plane, and countless expensive toys on their salaries, before becoming rich and famous.

    There’s also something screwy going on with all these “new” non-profits that spring up to pay for her $100K speeches, and I also want to know what’s going on with all the money she’s drawing in from her PAC and “defense fund.”

    All this other stuff about her kids and family and how mean she is, is already well-known, and it’s not going to pack her off to jail where I suspect she probably belongs.

  • carollt:

    I hope my entry into your contest is not too late. I have been feeling rather poorly these last two days.

    The title of the last chapter should be “Something is rotten in the State of Alaska (as opposed to Denmark). The idea behind the last chapter is to sum up what you have already proved and that is that Mrs. Palin is a Charlatan (with a capital C) in all areas of her life. And any and all that bring her Charlatan ways to the Queen’s attention are immediately attacked and somehow she makes herself the victim.

    She’s a grifter; she’s a liar, she’s a con artist and she is a fraud. No doubt about it.

  • CW:

    As part of an analysis of Sarah as narcissist/mentally ill, you might explore Sarah’s self-sexualized public persona (she is said to have been very shy as a teenager), which is the source of her con-artist-like grandiosity, and her likely full mental breakdown as she loses it in the coming decade. I don’t mean to say that every woman reacts that way to menopause; most women are much more than their sexual power. But Sarah essentially is interested in nothing else but in exercising that, in being the Only woman. That is what motivated her emotionally, I believe, to pretend that she was pregnant, to show that even in her 40s, she was more fertile and generative than her nubile teenage daughter. Women like Sarah get much, much battier with age.
    Her strange dress and too large shoes at the White House Correspondents Association dinner after-party are signs of her growing disconnect with the real world. As she loses her sexual appeal and power, I think her strangeness will grow and will become increasingly evident even to some fans. She is an empty angry narcissist dangerous to others, especially her children.
    How she has gotten away with being a madwoman so far, of course, is all about mostly willfully-unseeing, mostly male press, including the many young men who refuse to engage with the physical facts of pregnancy, thinking that they are being non-sexist for this when really, of course, they are turning away from reality and writing about a kind of imaginary, Platonic ideal of Sarah Palin, rather than the actual person.

  • MO Inkslinger:

    I would like to see someone explain why Sarah hates men as she always seems to call them limp and impotent. Is is because some guy left her knocked up, gave her herpes, abused her as a child, unfaithful husband or penis envy?

  • kathleenpoliticalgates:

    Last chapter

    Who are the psychopaths ruling the world and just how do they get away with it?

    This post at alternet provides good background research material should spark much additional thought. I especially like the reference to Bob Hare, prison psychologist………….and the list of warning signs screams Palin.

    http://www.alternet.org/story/151014/schwarzenegger%2C_dsk%2C_and_gingrich%3A_do_we_have_psychopaths_misruling_our_world?akid=6989.290258.w3PtTg&rd=1&t=2

    You would need to include, of course, background on the psychopaths controlling Palin. How can/will they control her if she does succeed?

    No need for money — a signed copy of your book for a few friends is all I wish for.

  • vhtg:

    I’ve read every comment. Because of the time frame involved in your writing about Palin, I’d guess that all of the above has already been long included in your book. At least I hope so, as there are some tremendous suggestions.

    I believe your book was already written when Sarah visited India and Israel. Perhaps you could include in a final chapter Sarah’s behavior on foreign soil. Her political naivety on foreign policy and lack of world experience could be summed up in her woeful lack of preparation in attempting to tour Palestine (or wearing a sacred religious symbol of another faith).

    More importantly, her single most self revealing remark (imo) was made in India to their press. When questioned by a journalist about her and McCain’s loss of the campaign for presidency, Sarah snapped off a reply that she ,”wasn’t the top of the ticket”.

    That, to me, is the scariest part of Sarah Palin. That remark, more than any other, proves she really, truly believes her own hype. She actually thinks that McCain lost the presidency for HER.

    In any case, Palin had no compunction against criticizing her country’s President while on foreign soil, during war time (a possible act of treason?); unpatriotic and undiplomatic to say the very least.

    Palin’s flipped flopped numerous times on foreign policy just because she actually does not understand world geography, nor what America’s foreign policy actually IS. (Libya comes to mind) She is a master of inappropriate behavior and speech, here and especially abroad.

    Palin’s rushed photo op visit to an earthquake stricken Haiti…in contrast to her even more rushed, brief message about one of the worst earthquake, tsunami, nuclear world disasters in written history, Japan… then not a another word.

    Her sudden attack on China’s armaments while in India? Yes, let’s alienate the country who holds our purse strings, Sarah…

    Hope you find something for your last chapter that is worthy of your enormous journalistic talent, Joe (she unabashedly proclaimed).

    In all seriousness, millions of us are counting on you to FIX THIS MESS. You have no idea how we cling to hopes that bloggers like gryph and the rest, authors such as Bailey, Dunn and of course, YOU, are going to finally, finally, finally catch the real attention of Americans with the truth about this corrupt, scheming cold-hearted harridan from hell.

    Because if something does not happen soon, we could wake up in worse shape than we did in November, 2004…weeping with horror over the fact that Bush stole the election. Little did I EVER dream that something so much worse could come along. I am actually afraid for our country, so FIX IT, Joe.

  • Yes! She has changed the “political discourse” to an endless barrage of GOP/Fox lies — the bigger the better. Her Trig hoax showed them how. Her “gotcha” phrase means nothing can be seriously asked of any GOP politician, nor must they give interviews with any journalist other than sympathetic ones. GOP debates can be total managed by Fox who has a bigger audience than CNN now.

    But it is the role played by most journalists in the last few years that has distressed me the most. Where are they? Are they now too cosy with the WH or potential Presidential runners (like SP) they fear losing their “inside” track?

    Thank you for blogging and writing: They are brave acts in these sad — end of democracy — days.

  • Her cult followers will not believe a word said against her. They are like the Rapture folk who will be even more determined they are right AFTER they don’t get taken up than before. A cult mind is a closed mind. It will not even matter when the Trip Hoax is exposed. There will be a reason “Our Sarah” had to do it.

    When arrogantly ignorant opinions are more important than facts, what can you do? or say?

  • Hi Joe!

    I couldn’t figure out how to comment, this is not in reply to wombat, this is its own suggestion.

    The last chapter has to show the public the bigger picture Mr. M.

    That Sarah Palin is the symptom of a much greater sickness in American culture, exemplified by blind greed, power and class stratification that we haven’t seen since the Robber Barons.

    You’ve got to educate people about the Koch Bros, about Murdoch, yes even the truth about Ailes – that he doesn’t give a damm what she does to the country he’ll put her on TV to make a buck. (Sorry I know hes a bud but you’ve got to be as hard headed as him in this case.) Go after the Christian Right who is trying to impose religion on our secular legal code by social means – putting evangelicals in power regardless of the Constitution.

    You’ve got to make a case for what is behind Palin, the shadow characters that want America stupid and ignorant, so they’ll be ready cannon fodder for endless war.

    Please, Mr. M. I know you know what I’m getting at. You can say it better than I can. Sarah Palin isn’t going rogue, America is.

  • Back in 2009 while at a campsite, we heard that Palin was quitting-everybody was talking about it with an air of relief. Someone there told me that her friend was a therapist who had been treating Palin for bipolar issues. We all know she’s crazy–this really confirmed it. It’s amazing that only in America can idiots make a ton of money and how can she be taking care of her high need child while flitting all over the U.S. ?

  • Bob McComb:

    There is a Russian word that sums up her sensibilities: nekulturny. This pejorative verbal slap means more than just ‘uncultured’; it implies an inability, from nature or upbringing, to ever become cultured, no matter what effort is applied for however long.

    If one can imagine her in any one of a dozen fish-out-of-water scenarios she would likely encounter daily as POTUS, it would be entertaining, in a schadenfruede sort of way, to read the news accounts of her latest idiocy. She was elected our demi-governor, due mostly to her physiognomy, by the same constituency of dunces that elected for us Frank Murkowski as worst-ever governor and Don Young as perpetual representative of those of us burdened with double-digit IQs.

    She appeals to those of us unable to analyze the complex interactions of our society, relying instead on the cute phrase, wink or sound bite to dismiss worrisome details that muddy her simple view of politics, nature, and the economy.

    My best good buddy is a teacher and has a slogan posted in his classroom that he uses to inform his sixth-graders: “Winners never quit and quitters never win”.