The Least of Sarah Palin’s Problems
By Ken Morris
(Co-author with Frank Bailey and Jeanne Devon of Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin)
“My problem is I do have the fire in my belly…”
~Sarah Palin discussing a run for U.S. President with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, May 19, 2011
Where to begin? After about 18 months of living in the rabbit hole of Sarah Palin’s head while co-authoring Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin—insider Frank Bailey’s factual account of being side-by-side with the candidate, then half-term governor and failed vice presidential candidate—I listened to the above quoted interview in dismay. It wasn’t because of the words themselves; I’ve read and listened to hundreds of thousands of Sarah’s words (and Todd’s for that matter) these many months, poring over previously unseen documents that form the basis of our book . Rather, I continue to listen to statements that demonstrate that despite untold riches, up and down celebrity, and diminishing credibility, Sarah Louise Palin remains as incapable of introspection as ever. No lessons learned.
There is no greater testimony to the truthfulness of what is in our book than Sarah’s cavalier and typically misleading dismissal of the contents, without a single specific example. She said that Blind Allegiance (without naming the book, naturally) contains, “…hoarded emails from a disloyal former staff member…compiled by a hateful blogger and those are going to be released…taken out of context.” Sarah and her people, by the way, saw an earlier unethically released version of the manuscript, initially leaked by rival author Joe McGinniss, who disgustingly described co-author Devon as “whoring” herself by working with Bailey. They know what’s in Blind Allegiance and they know it is dynamite. They also are aware that nothing was taken out of context, and that the extensive use of Sarah’s own words, verbatim, assure the reader of that fact. By mid-week next week, after the book release, anyone reading the text with even a grain of objectivity will understand who speaks the truth.
Sarah also suggested in her Van Susteren interview that everyone should just focus on what she’s said and done “recently.” The not too subtle message she wanted to impart was, “ignore the emotional and intellectual instability coursing through 400 pages of Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin. Irrational rants and rages from governors, un-vetted vice presidential running mates, and presidential candidates aren’t an issue.” Naturally, Sarah Palin could not be more wrong. The emotional makeup of any person running for high office—especially one seeking the most powerful position in the world—is vitally important. Do we want Sarah Palin anywhere near the proverbial red button at 3:00 a.m.—especially after being angered by some recent slight like being denied a speaker’s role at the Wasilla High School graduation? (Read Blind Allegiance and you’ll understand the tease).
Continuing her Q and A with VanSusteren, Sarah suggested that she will not respond to “…little petty stupid things” that are a “waste of time” which, she noted, is our most precious commodity. Without spoiling for readers the suspense of Frank Bailey’s amazing journey from Palinbot to eyes-wide-open critic, let me just suggest that as a wasting-time-on-petty-things-person, Sarah Palin is exhibit one, two, and three.
She won’t, she said, “take the bait” by dignifying the book with a response and suggested, as if she were the only adult in the political/media room, that Greta and her colleagues do the same. In other words, since there is no rebuttal to documented truth, the way to discredit is to simply ignore.
In a fit of honesty that is ironic for its lack of self-awareness, Sarah claimed she wanted “voters…to do their own homework.” She, personally, also wanted to “make sacrifices in order to help mankind…” If, as she suggested, voters do their homework, and realize as we did what sacrifices Sarah made as a quitting-half-term-governor and mega-millionaire, she won’t have a political leg to stand on. In other words, she really doesn’t mean what she says.
By proclaiming, “My problem is I do have the fire in my belly,” she once again demonstrates a monumental tin-ear. Truly, stomach-flames are the least of her “problems.”