Sarah Palin Electrifies Republican Convention and Launches a Blistering Attack on Barack Obama

THE TELEGRAPH: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, John McCain's vice-presidential running mate, has electrified the Republican convention, declaring herself an "average hockey mom" and launching a blistering attack on Barack Obama.

After three days of scorn from Democrats and relentless scrutiny from the press, Mrs Palin came out punching, mocking Mr Obama, the Democratic nominee as someone who makes "dramatic speeches before devoted followers" and has "authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate".

In the Republican convention audience in St Paul were her husband and five children, including her son Trig, four months, who has Down syndrome, and daughter Bristol, 17, who is five months pregnant and gripped the hand of her fiancé Levi Johnston, 18.

To resounding applause, Mrs Palin, 44, Alaska governor for just 20 months and a virtual unknown on the national stage, said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I would be honoured to accept your nomination for vice president."

With just over two months to election day, Mrs Palin's selection has transformed an already gripping race for the White House.

Mr Obama and his running mate Senator Joe Biden of Delaware edged narrowly ahead in the polls after last week's Democratic convention but Republicans hope for a similar boost after Mrs Palin's speech and Mr McCain's address on Thursday night.

After Mrs Palin's confidently-delivered 37-minute speech, Mr McCain made a surprise appearance and asked to cheers: "Don't you think we made the right choice?"

He added, looking at the seven Palins and Mr Johnston standing beside him: "What a beautiful family."

Mrs Palin presented herself as a reformer and outsider who reveled in the disdain of the coastal elites.

"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion; I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."

Mr McCain's senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt had earlier denounced what he called a "faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee" for vice president.

Mrs Palin emphasised her humble origins and status as an "average hockey mom", ad-libbing a joke about the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull. Answer: lipstick. Sarah Palin wins over Republican Convention with attack on Barack Obama >>> By Toby Harnden in St Paul | September 4, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
This Is Alaska's Margaret Thatcher: Oh boy. I don't know what is going to happen next in the Sarah Palin story, but one thing is now for sure: John McCain has picked an Alaskan Margaret Thatcher to be his running mate.

She spoke for 36 pugnacious, stilleto-heeled, in your face, Barack Obama is a limp-wristed cover boy minutes. She blew the roof off. Sarah Palin has now shaken up a presidential race like no other nominee in modern times.

She took to the stage to the back-drop of a breaking National Enquirer story, flatly denied in a press release by the John McCain campaign, that she had had an affair with her husband's former business partner. If I were the editor of the Enquirer tonight, I might be locking my front door. Who knows what will transpire from Alaska in coming days, but Mrs Palin delivered one of the most mesmerising vice-presidential nights in convention history. >>> By Tim Reid in St Paul | September 4, 2008

LE FIGARO:
Sarah Palin enflamme la convention républicaine >>> 4.9.2008

eMARRAKECH:
McCain promet de capturer Ben Laden de sécurité: Saint Paul : Le candidat républicain à la Maison Blanche, John McCain, s'est engagé à attraper l'ennemi public n 1 des Etats-Unis, Oussama Ben Laden, s'il est élu >>> | Jeudi 04 Septembre 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Sarah Palin Is 'the New Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan': American conservatives have reacted with near ecstasy to the Republican convention speech by Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, comparing John McCain's running mate with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan >>> By Toby Harnden in St Paul | September 4, 2008

TOWNHALL.COM:
Want Real Change? Quit Nominating Lawyers! >>> By Victor Davis Hanson | September 4, 2008

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Sarah Palin Returns to Alaska after Election Defeat

MAIL Online: Palin Backlash Continues as Republican Lawyers Head to Alaska to Take Back Her $150,000 Campaign Clothes

’The Lady in Red’. Photo of Sarah Palin courtesy of Mail Online. Click on the photo to play Chris De Burgh's 'The Lady in Red'
The bitter McCain backlash against Sarah Palin continued today as it emerged that Republican Party lawyers were heading to Alaska to retrieve her $150,000 (£95,000) campaign clothes.

The vice-presidential candidate's hopes of challenging Barack Obama in 2012 took a big dent as simmering tensions with the McCain camp finally boiled over into wide-ranging criticism of her conduct.

In a string of damaging briefings, it was claimed that Mrs Palin had spent 'tens of thousands' more on her clothes than budgeted for, that she once met McCain aides dressed in nothing but a towel and that she did not know Africa was a continent.

She was also unable to name the nations in the vitally important North American Free Trade Agreement.

There are only three. Her own, its northern neighbour Canada and its southern neighbour Mexico.

The 44-year- old former Republican running mate's lack of general knowledge - and a storm over her designer wardrobe - emerged as she returned to her home state of Alaska.

Extraordinary details of bitterness and jealousy between the Alaska governor and John McCain were laid bare following their White House defeat.

McCain aides complained that Mrs Palin refused to be coached before TV interviews - even after it emerged she wasn't sure about Africa's status in the world.

Republican bosses also complained that Mrs Palin and her family spent even more on new clothes and shoes than previously reported.

One McCain aide described the Palin family shopping spree in some of America's most exclusive department stores as 'Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.'

According to Newsweek magazine, a party donor who agreed to foot the clothes bill was expecting to pay out up to £15,000.
He was stunned when he received the bill for nearly £100,000. And that wasn't even the whole tab, it was revealed yesterday. >>> By Mail Foreign Service | November 7, 2008

TOWNHALL.COM: Michelle Malkin: The Cowardly Character Assassination of Sarah Palin

Sunken ships loosen bitter lips. The failed McCain campaign, for all its high-minded talk of honor, duty and courage, is now teeming with unscrupulous gossipmongers. Seems the dishy staffers forgot to crack open their copies of Sen. McCain's bestseller, "Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember."

Rest assured: Their cowardly character assassination of Sarah Palin won't be forgotten.

The finks turned to Newsweek and Fox News to spread petty rumors about Palin's intellect and character. The magazine peddled anecdotes from sources horrified that Palin greeted top advisers at her hotel room -- gasp! -- "wearing nothing but a towel" and "wet hair." Fox News reporter Carl Cameron breathlessly reported that his unnamed McCain sources told him Palin lacked "a degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate" because, they claimed, she didn't know which countries were parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement and "didn't understand that Africa was a continent, rather than a series, a country just in itself."

Let's assume for a moment that the McCain rumormongers are telling the truth about Palin (and I don't believe they are). Who would it damn more: Palin, or McCain and his vetters, who greenlighted her for the vice presidential nomination? Don't need a fancy Ivy League degree to figure that one out.

In introducing her to America, McCain praised her independence and backbone: She "stands up for what's right, and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down." The inside snipers are now roasting her for that very attribute -- redefined as "going rogue" -- because she had the nerve to try to schedule media interviews on her own. The nerve of her!

Palin's response to the campaign fragging? At a late Wednesday night airport press conference in Anchorage, immediately upon landing home after the election defeat, she smiled cheerfully. The Alaska governor shrugged off the "foolish things" said by the McCain saboteurs, and simply said, "It's politics. … It's rough and tumble and you've got to have a thick skin just like I've got."

Hollywood savaged Palin. Journalists mocked her. Liberal blogs slimed her. Opponents cursed her, Photoshopped her, hacked her e-mail, hanged her in effigy, called her bigot, Bible-thumper and bimbo, and attacked her husband and children. But nothing Palin endured during the election season compares to the treatment she's receiving from these backstabbing blabbermouths who worked on the same campaign she poured herself into over the last three months. >>> Michelle Malkin | November 7, 2008

NEW YORK TIMES: Palin Calls Critics Among McCain Aides ‘Jerks’

ANCHORAGE — Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska fired back Friday at the unnamed McCain campaign aides who have been maligning her in recent days, saying that their criticism was “cruel and it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional, and those guys are jerks.”

Ms. Palin spoke out upon her return to the governor’s office here, defending herself from a barrage of criticism that has been aimed at her from unnamed McCain aides ever since the McCain-Palin ticket was defeated Tuesday. >>> By William Yardley and Michael Cooper | November 7, 2008

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Sarah Palin's Daughters Accused of Using Homophobic Slurs in Online Argument
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two of Sarah Palin's daughters used expletives and homophobic slurs during an online argument over their mother's reality television show.

Sarah Palin (2nd left) and daughters Willow (right) and Piper (left) pose with talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Willow, the former vice-Presidential candidate's 16-year-old middle daughter, called a critic of 'Sarah Palin's Alaska' a "faggot" and told him he was "so gay".

In a posting on Facebook, the social networking website, a boy identified only as Tre, who is believed to have gone to school with the Palin sisters, said the programme was "failing so hard right now".

Miss Palin commented: "Your [sic] so gay. I have no idea who you are, But what I've seen pictures of, your disgusting." She added: "Quit talking ---- about my family." Accusing him of being jealous of her family's success, she added: "Your [sic] such a faggot". >>> Jon Swaine in New York | Wednesday, November 17, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin finally says she is considering White House bid: Sarah Palin has finally confirmed she is considering a bid for the US presidency in 2012. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Can’t Americans come up with someone more suitable, more sophisticated, more worldly, more intellectual, more educated to run for president than Sarah Palin? Surely the Republicans can do better than this! – © Mark

Sarah Palin Says 'God Will Show Way' to the White House

THE TELEGRAPH: Defeated Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has said she hopes God will "show her the way" before she decides on any future bid for the White House.

The Alaska governor declined to say whether she was planning to run for the US presidency in four years, stating in an exclusive interview with the Fox News Channel that 2012 remained too far off.

"I can't predict what's going to happen a day from now, much less four years from now," Ms Palin said.

However the devoutly religious 44-year-old mother-of-five said that if God wanted her to run for the highest office, she hoped to be shown the way.

"You know, I have - faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator's hands - this is what I always do," she said.

"I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is," she added.

"Even if it's cracked up a little bit, maybe I'll plow right on through that and maybe prematurely plow through it, but don't let me miss an open door. >>> | November 11, 2008

ITN: Palin Puts Faith in God

Sarah Palin has refused to rule out running for US president in the future but said her decision would be guided by God.

Giving her first television interview since last week's historic US elections, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate said faith played an important part in her life.

She said: "Putting my life in my creator's hands, this is what I always do.

"I'm like, OK God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray. I'm like, don't let me miss the open door.

"If there is an open door in 2012 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plough through that door." >>> | November 11, 2008

WELT ONLINE: Palin bittet Gott um Chance auf Präsidentschaft

Foto von Sarah Palin dank der Welt
WELT ONLINE: Kaum wurde Obama zum neuen Präsidenten gewählt, schon träumt die unterlegene Republikanerin Sarah Palin vom nächsten Wahltermin in vier Jahren. Sie bete darum, dass sie "eine offene Tür" für ihre weitere politische Karriere nicht übersehe. Die Republikaner tun sich damit aber schwer.

Nach ihrer Niederlage als republikanische Kandidatin für das US-Vizepräsidentenamt hofft Sarah Palin nach eigenen Worten, dass Gott ihr in der Frage eines möglichen zweiten Anlaufs auf das Weiße Haus "den Weg zeigen" wird.

In einem Interview mit dem US-Fernsehsender Fox sagte Palin am Montagabend, sie könne nicht voraussagen, was morgen und erst recht nicht, was im Jahr der nächsten Präsidentschaftswahl 2012 sein werde. Aber wenn es Gottes Wunsch sei, dass sie für das höchste Amt im Staat antrete, dann bete sie darum, dass er sie eine entsprechende "offene Tür" nicht übersehen lasse. >>> | 11. November 2008

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Sarah Palin Urged to Speak on Racist 'Barack Obama State-government Circulated Emails'
THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, was under pressure on Thursday to respond to the discovery that staff members in her state's government had received and forwarded racist emails about President-Elect Barack Obama.

Photo of Sarah Palin courtesy of The Telegraph
One of the emails asked about the outcome of the Democrat's victory and concluded: "Another black family living in government housing!" Another, entitled "Night Befo Crizzmus," was forwarded dozens of times, according to the state's information technology division.

Administration commissioner Annette Kreitzer said: "It's embarrassing to the state."

Mrs Kreitzer said she alerted the office of Mrs Palin, the failed Republican vice presidential candidate in the recent election, about the emails.

Bill McAllister, a spokesman for the governor, said that the matter concerned individual actions taken by a handful of state employees among thousands.

But the lack of a denunciation from the governor failed to satisfy critics who have suspected her of disrespecting the African American community or of holding racist views herself. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | December 18, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Mother of Sarah Palin[‘s] Daughter's Boyfriend Arrested on Drug Charges

Alaska state police have arrested the mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend on drug charges. Miss Palin is the daughter of Sarah Palin, the state governor and defeated republican vice-presidential candidate.

Sherry L Johnston was arrested on Thursday after officers served a search warrant on a Wasilla home. The 42-year-old Johnston has been charged with six felony drug counts.

Troopers did not identify the drug involved in a brief mention on the agency's website.

Johnston is the mother of 18-year-old Levi Johnston. Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in last month's election, announced in September that her 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant and Johnston was the father.

Sherry Johnston was released from jail on $5,000 bail.

Meanwhile, Mrs Palin was under pressure on Thursday to respond to the discovery that staff members in her state's government had received and forwarded racist emails about President-Elect Barack Obama. >>> | December 19, 2008

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President of Pakistan Calls Sarah Palin 'Gorgeous'
The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, thinks Sarah Palin is gorgeous. And he’s told her so! Photo courtesy of The Telegraph. Click on the photo to play music.
THE TELEGRAPH BLOGS: The President of Pakistan has become the first world leader to indicate that Sarah Palin's physical charms could have significant diplomatic potential in office.

A pool report from CNN shows that during the "grip and grin" photo op between Sarah Palin and Asif Ali Zardari at the UN, the president of Pakistan could not conceal his admiration for the Republican VP nominee. Mr Zardari, who was widowed but nine months ago, called her "gorgeous" and made it clear he was happy to carry on gripping for some time.

What could she have got away with asking for? Unfettered US military access to Waziristan? Osama bin Laden's head on a plate before election day?

Mrs Palin has been taking her gorgeousness around New York all week, meeting dignitaries including Hamid Karzai, Henry Kissinger and Mikheil Saakashvili as the McCain campaign has attempted to demonstrate she is capable of acting on the world stage. President of Pakistan Calls Sarah Palin 'Gorgeous' >>> By Alex Spillius | September 25, 2008

NDTV.COM:
Islamabad: Fatwa against Zardari for 'Flirting' with Palin: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari seems to be heading towards fresh trouble as the prayer leader of the Lal Masjid in the heart of Islamabad has issued a fatwa against him.

Maulana Abdul Ghafar, the prayer leader, seems to be irked by Zardari's "you're gorgeous" compliment to US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during a meeting.

When Zardari was asked to keep shaking hands with Palin for the cameras, he said, "If he's (the aide) insisting, I might hug you."

He said the act was un-Islamic and unbecoming of a head of state of a Muslim country.

Maulana also said that Zardari shamed the entire Pakistani by publicly making indecent gestures towards Palin in Washington last Thursday. >>> NDTV Correspondent | September 29, 2008

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Sarah Palin Wig a Hit among Haredi Women
Photo of Sarah Palin courtesy of Google Images
YNET NEWS: Brooklyn wholesaler says its Palin artificial hairpiece has become one of company's most popular items since Alaska governor joined John McCain on Republican ticket

Don't be surprised if you see a few Sarah Palin look-alikes in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods like Brooklyn's Borough Park.

A wig wholesaler there says its Palin wig has become one of the company's most popular items.

Georgie Wigs Vice President Shlomo Klein said Thursday that the company has sold about 50 Palin wigs since the Alaska governor joined John McCain on the Republican ticket.

"It's a very conservative yet fashion-forward look," Klein said. "It can be worn down, it can be worn up. There are a lot of styling options. The bun higher, the bun lower."

Klein's company caters to Orthodox Jewish women who must cover their hair after marriage as well as women who need wigs for medical reasons.

He said he doesn't think it's odd that Jewish women would model themselves on Palin, a devout Christian from a frontier state with very few Jews.

"She's pro-Israel," he noted. >>> Associated press | October 25, 2008

YNET NEWS: Sarah Palin Mesmerizes Israeli Filmmaker

Los Angeles-based director Elan Frank met Alaska's governor, Republican vice-presidential hopeful several months ago while filming documentary about extraordinary women, and was hooked

"Sarah Palin is a very special woman. She has a tranquility about her, no matter what the situation is," this is how Elan Frank, a California-based Israeli filmmaker, chooses to describe the Republican Party's newly chosen vice-presidential hopeful. >>> Dana Zimmerman | September 3, 2008

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Sarah Palin Talks of 'Revolution' at Tea Party Meeting
THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin tried to rally conservatives on Saturday night at a national convention of the "Tea Party" movement, taking aim at President Barack Obama on everything from big government to teleprompters.

"I believe in this movement ... America is ready for another revolution," said Palin, former Alaska governor and Republican John McCain's running mate in the 2008 election won by Obama.

The Nashville convention brought together hundreds of activists from the "Tea Party" group, which hopes to make a splash in the 2010 congressional elections and beyond.

The three-day event had been plagued by infighting, pullouts and criticism of tickets costing more than $500.

But the appearance of Palin, the darling of the US conservative movement, raised its profile and gave her a national platform to appeal directly to an emerging base for the Republican Party.

In a speech that made frequent appeals to patriotism and faith, Palin used the folksy, Washington-outsider rhetoric to lambaste Obama and his Democratic Party.

"How's that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you?" she asked, mocking the slogans of hope and change that swept Obama's campaign into to the White House. >>> | Sunday, February 07, 2010

Sarah Palin Keynote Speech at National Tea Party Convention


THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Tea Party Activists Ponder How to Win Elections: NASHVILLE—Tea Party activists gathered in Tennessee this weekend grappled with a central question looming over the burgeoning political movement: Where does it go from here?

The early consensus suggests the those most associated with Tea-Party activism might change their focus from staging political rallies like the one held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last September, to attempting to win elections. >>> Susan Davis | Saturday, February 06, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin: it 'would be absurd' not to consider White House bid: Sarah Palin on Sunday set her sights on the White House, saying it "would be absurd" not to consider running against Barack Obama in 2012. >>> Alex Spillius in Nashville | Sunday, February 07, 2010

LE TEMPS: États-Unis – Nouvelle révolution conservatrice en marche? : Des centaines d’Américains représentant les «vraies valeurs de l’Amérique» se réunissent ce week-end à Nashville où se tient la première convention nationale du «tea party» >>> Luis Lema | Samedi 06 Février 2010

Rich Bitch, Alaskan Hick, Or True Servant of the People?
THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin's public speaking demands, which include a "bendable" straw, two bottles of unopened still water, first class flights and three hotel rooms, have been disclosed.

Mrs Palin's public speaking requirements, reminiscent of those drawn up by rock star managers on behalf of their more demanding protégés, were included on the pages of a five-page contract allegedly found by Californian students in a bin.

These include two bottles of still water, unopened by a wooden lectern and accompanied by a "bendable" straw, three deluxe hotel rooms; and a first class flight or private aircraft that "MUST BE a Lear 60 or larger."

Mrs Palin, 46, whose standing as John McCain's vice-presidential candidate in 2008 was badly damaged when she stumbled over simple questions put to her by news anchor Katie Couric, also stipulates that all audience questions must be vetted.

"For Q&A, the questions are to be collected from the audience in advance, pre-screened, and a designated representative ... shall ask questions directly of the Speaker to avoid delay time with a roving microphone in the audience," the contract states in a clause highly unusual for a politician.

The contract, drawn up by the Washington Speakers Bureau and refers to a female speaker who will be aboard flights originating in Anchorage, Alaska, also provides sketches of how people should approach if they are to be photographed with her and how long the picture sessions should last.

The document, dated March 16, was discovered by students at California State University in a bin when they went searching for material relating to Mrs Palin's speech in June to the university's Stanislaus Foundation at a gala 50th anniversary event after they heard that university authorities were shredding documents. Sarah Palin's speaking demands: 'bendable' straws, three hotel rooms and a private jet >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Sarah Palin Wants What? Bendy Straws and a Private Jet, Please
TIMES ONLINE: Sarah Palin faced embarrassing revelations yesterday about lavish demands that she makes before or speaking engagements, including first-class air travel or large private jets, suites in hotels and even bendable straws in her water bottles.

The former Republican vice-presidential candidate, who has reportedly earned $12 million (£7.75 million) since she resigned as the Governor of Alaska last summer, also insists that all questions must be collected from the audience in advance to be screened.

The speaking contract details were retrieved from a rubbish bin by a group of students at the California State University, where Mrs Palin is due to give a speech in June. Five pages of the contract were passed to a local Democratic politician, who sent them on to the press.

Mrs Palin faced controversy in 2008 when it emerged that hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent by the Republican Party on clothes and make-up for her and her family after she was picked by John McCain to be his running-mate.

The latest revelation will do little to damage her reputation among the party’s grassroots activists, who view her as a straight-talking hero, but it undercuts her claim to be a down-to-earth “hockey mom” who is fighting for ordinary working Americans. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Thursday, April 15, 2010

Palin’s Teenage Daugter Pregnant
BBC: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, newly picked as Republican John McCain's running mate, has revealed that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

Mrs Palin, a social conservative who is opposed to abortion, said in a statement her daughter Bristol would keep the child and marry its father.

The Alaska governor, a mother-of-five, was presented three days ago as her party's vice-presidential candidate.

The McCain campaign and Palins asked for respect for the family's privacy.

Mrs Palin and her husband Todd said in a statement: "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realise very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family."

Advisers to the McCain campaign said they had known about the pregnancy before offering Mrs Palin the vice-presidential nomination. [Source: BBC] | September 1, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
US elections: Daughter of John McCain's Running Mate Sarah Palin Is Pregnant: Governor Sarah Palin, John McCain's surprise choice as vice-presidential running mate, rocked the race for the White House by announcing that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant >>> By Toby Harnden in St Paul | September 1, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Corruption Probe Into 'Africans for Obama' Fundraiser in Nigeria: Anti-corruption authorities have seized more than $630,000 (£315,000) raised during an "Africans for Obama" gala dinner held in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos >>> By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent | September 1, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Sarah Palin: Conservatives Find the Girl of Their Dreams: The Alaskan governor’s family life and political views press the right’s buttons >>> By Sarah Baxter | August 31, 2008

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McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate
McCain has chosen the attractive Sarah Palin as his running mate. Photo courtesy of The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: DAYTON, Ohio — In a surprise move, Senator John McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate on Friday, McCain officials confirmed, shaking up the political world at a time when his campaign has been trying to attract women, especially disaffected supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In choosing Ms. Palin — a 44-year-old conservative and self-described “hockey mom” who has been governor for less than two years — the McCain campaign reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election in which the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change.

Ms. Palin, a former mayor of the small town of Wasilla, an Anchorage suburb, and one-time beauty pageant queen, first rose to prominence as a whistle-blower uncovering ethical misconduct in state government.

The selection amounted to a gamble that an infusion of new leadership — and the novelty of the Republican Party’s first female candidate for vice president — would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central arguments, its claim that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president.

The choice of Ms. Palin stands in sharp contrast to the selection of the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, a veteran lawmaker and chairman of Foreign Relations Committee. McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate >>> By Michael Cooper and Elisabeth Bumiller | August 29, 2008

BBC:
McCain Picks Female Running Mate: US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has picked Sarah Palin, the female governor of Alaska, as his surprise running mate >>> | August 29, 2008

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Sarah Palin Snub by Margaret Thatcher Aides Infuriates US Rightwing

THE GUARDIAN: Rush Limbaugh joins supporters accusing Thatcher's circle of disgracing former PM with 'Palin is nuts' comment

A firestorm on the US right has erupted after the Guardian reported thatSarah Palin will be denied a meeting with Lady Thatcher on the grounds that it would be "belittling" for her to meet the darling of the Tea Party movement.

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, devoted the opening section of his radio show to denouncing the "preposterous" Guardian report, as Palin supporters accused Thatcher's circle of disgracing the former prime minister.

The US conservative right reacted furiously after the Guardian reported that Thatcher's aides had decided it would be inappropriate for her to meet Palin, who is planning to visit London next month en route to Sudan. Palin has been touring US historical sites (an excursion that saw her slip up this week on the subject of Paul Revere, the American patriot who made a famous "midnight ride" to warn of approaching British forces).

One Thatcher ally told the Guardian: "Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts." » | Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Thursday, June 09, 2011

Facebook Forced to Apologise to Sarah Palin [After] It Deletes Note She Posted Slamming Plans for Ground Zero Mosque
MAIL ONLINE: Social networking site Facebook has apologised after a post by U.S. Republican politician Sarah Palin was deleted.

Facebook admitted that the 'note' by Palin - voicing her opposition to the building of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in New York - had been deleted by an automated system.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in the statement: 'The note in question did not violate our content standards but was removed by an automated system. We're always working to improve our processes and we apologise for any inconvenience this caused.'

After the original post was deleted, Mrs Palin re-posted the note Thursday morning.
The 46-year-old former Alaskan governor's stance against the mosque became an international farce last week when she used a made-up word 'refudiate' to voice her opposition.

The media picked up on her apparent ignorance of the English language, likening her to gaffe-prone former president and fellow Republican George Bush.

But it was the sentiments of her message that has now drawn the greatest criticism.

Mrs Palin wrote on Twitter: 'Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.'

Her comments were attacked by Republican-turned-independent New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has called efforts to derail the mosque un-American.

He said: 'Sarah Palin has a right to her opinions, but I could not disagree more. Everything the United States stands for, New York stands for, is tolerance and openness.'

Mrs Palin hit back - this time from her Facebook page - saying her opposition to the mosque had nothing to do with tolerance, adding: 'It's just common decency.' Continue reading and comment >>> Mail Foreign Service | Friday, July 23, 2010

Bloomberg thinks that America stands for “tolerance and openness”; but tolerance and openness to people who want to destroy you? Please! That’s taking tolerance and openness to ridiculous limits. In my opinion, Bloomberg can be described in one way only: As a traiterous fool! – © Mark

Ronald Reagan's Children Reject Republican Claims Over His Political Legacy
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The three surviving children of Ronald Reagan have rubbished efforts by Republican presidential hopefuls to claim his mantle as a conservative reformer, branding Sarah Palin "a soap opera".

Celebrations to mark the centenary of the late president's birth have coincided with the need of what critics call a mediocre group of candidates to burnish their reputations to send Reagan-fever jumping to unprecedented levels.

Speaking at a dinner to honour the 40th president, Sarah Palin said she considered herself a "western conservative in the spirit of Ronald Reagan".

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who is also considering a run for the White House, compared his Pennsylvania roots to Reagan's in a small town in Illinois and said [the] man who ended the Cold War would have handled the turmoil in Egypt with much more certainty than President Barack Obama. Other potential candidates have lavished praise on Reagan, who died in 2004, and cited him as their chief inspiration.

But asked what she made of Mrs Palin as a potential successor to her father, Patti Davis, Mr Reagan's only surviving daughter, said: "You've got to be kidding me."

Ron Reagan, her younger brother, scoffed: "Sarah Palin has nothing in common with my father. Sarah Palin is a soap opera." >>> Alex Spillius, Washington | Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Sarah Palin's Iowa Trip Points to 2012 Presidential Run
THE GUARDIAN: Attendance at Republican dinner in key state is seen as biggest sign yet that Sarah Palin aims to take on Obama in 2012

Sarah Palin addresses a 9/11 event in Anchorage, Alaska, that was also attended by Glenn Beck. Photograph: The Guardian
There are boxes that US presidential hopefuls have to tick early. They have to start building a campaign team, albeit discreetly. They have to set up a fundraising machine. And they have to visit Iowa, the small but politically crucial state that traditionally kicks off a White House run.

Sarah Palin has ticked the first two and on Friday will tick the third when she is the main speaker at a $100-a-seat Republican dinner in Des Moines, Iowa. The party's sole superstar has not yet said whether she will seek the nomination to take on Barack Obama in 2012. But all the indications point to a run, and Friday's visit is the biggest sign yet.

Democrats may detest her, and so does the Republican establishment, for her perceived lack of sophistication and polarising effect on the electorate. But neither will make the choice in the Iowa caucus. The party activists will, and they are shifting behind her. Long before the contest has formally begun, Palin is fast on the way to becoming unstoppable. >>> Ewen MacAskill in Des Moines, Iowa | Sunday, September 12, 2010

Hunt WikiLeaks Chief Down Like Osama bin Laden: Sarah Palin Demands Assange Is Treated Like Al Qaeda Terrorist
MAIL ONLINE: U.S. launches criminal investigation into Assange / Australia looks into whether he has broken local laws / 39-year-old is already facing rape inquiries in Sweden

Attack: Republican Sarah Palin (left) has claimed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be treated like a terrorist. Photographs: Mail Online
Sarah Palin has demanded that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is hunted down like Osama bin Laden.

In an extraordinary outburst on Facebook, the former Alaska governor attacked the White House for 'incompetent handling of this whole fiasco.'

'First and foremost, what steps were taken to stop Wikileaks director Julian Assange from distributing this highly sensitive classified material especially after he had already published material not once but twice in the previous months?.' she wrote.

'Assange is not a "journalist," any more than the "editor" of al Qaeda's new English-language magazine Inspire is a "journalist."

'He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands.

'His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban.

'Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders?'

Palin claimed that the administration's inability to hunt down Assange showed a lack of effort. Read on and comment >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Julian Assange has done us all a big favour by publishing this information, more especially by exposing the hypocrisy of those at the top. If those at the top had behaved properly, and with integrity, then they'd have nothing to fear. The so-called élite seem to think that they can keep information from the "little people". Well, they can't anymore! The internet has changed all that. Now we can look forward to more open journalism. I applaud Julian Assange for this. Sarah Palin, as usual, doesn't know what on earth she's talking about. In actual fact, Julian Assange has done the USA a great favour too. By showing us that China favours a re-unified Korea, and Iran weakened by the Ayatollah's cancer, we might well be able to avert two wars. Now wouldn't that be a good thing? Hats off to Julian! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Moo! >>>

Palin Has Got the Muslims Worried: “Palin's Frightening Pentecostalism”
ISLAMONLINE: While the millions of Muslims in America are observing the month of Ramadan and concentrating on gaining as many blessings as possible in this noble month, we would be deaf, dumb, and blind not to be caught up in election fever. Every media outlet is giving non-stop coverage to the contest between the Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama and Vice-Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden and the Republican candidate John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Given the unpopularity of President George W. Bush and the Democratic leads in polls, most observers have assumed it to be a foregone conclusion that the Democratic candidate would win this November. Up until a few weeks ago that was a pretty safe bet. However, just as the Obama campaign began to loose steam (largely due to failing to play hardball politics with a hard-nosed GOP, many voters reluctance to vote for an African-American, and questions about Obama's background), McCain pulled a rabbit out of the hat by choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

There are three main factors that led to McCain choosing this unknown governor of a remote state; gender, culture, and religion. Gender because millions of white women in America who supported Hillary Clinton in her nomination fight with Obama are still angry that Clinton did not win but were not favorable towards McCain. Culture because Palin can reach out to and identify with rural, small town, and voters in deep suburbia like McCain and Obama cannot, due to her small town roots. Religion because Palin was raised Pentecostal and remains an evangelical Christian and these voters make up the base of the Republican Party but had been lukewarm to McCain. Now they are fired up and energized by the choice of Palin.

From a political standpoint I believe McCain made an excellent decision in choosing Palin and that she can help him win this close election (or at least come close). However, as an American and as a Muslim, I am frightened at the choice of Palin. Palin's Frightening Pentecostalism >>> By About Umar Lee

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Tight T-shirt Sparks Rumours that Sarah Palin Has Had a Boob Job
THE TELEGRAPH: A photograph of Sarah Palin in a tight-fitting white t-shirt has sparked internet rumours that the former Governor of Alaska has undergone breast enlargement surgery.

Sarah Palin in November 2008 (left) and June 2010. Photos: The Telegraph
The images, taken at the Belmont Stakes race in New York last week, have prompted furious debate online, with bloggers desperately trying to work out if Mrs Palin has gone under the knife.

Wonkette first noticed the alleged surgical augmentation, but several more sightings followed.

"We can report with confidence that at least two people with experience in having breasts say that Sarah Palin sure looks like she was trotting out some new work at the horse races on Sunday," the website reported. >>> | Thursday, June 10, 2010

Sarah Palin Plans Trip to UK to Meet 'Political Heroine' Margaret Thatcher
THE GUARDIAN: No date has been set for the meeting but they share a love of tax cutting and hostility towards organised labour

Sarah Palin at the Showdown in Searchlight Tea Party rally, in Searchlight, Nevada this March. Photograph: The Guardian
Sarah Palin, the once obscure governor from Alaska who is shaking up rightwing US politics, is promising to honour the woman she calls the Iron Lady by visiting Britain to see Margaret Thatcher.

Today Palin told her 1,630,386 Facebook fans that she was in discussions about meeting the baroness. In typically convoluted Palin language, she said she had received an invitation for a visit to London that "included the offer of arranging a meeting" with Thatcher.

The post came a day after the Mail on Sunday reported that Palin herself had made the approach, with her people contacting Thatcher's office to ask for an audience. The Mail said Thatcher had agreed to see her, though no date has been specified. >>> Ed Pilkington, New York | Monday, June 14, 2010

Sarah Palin Says US Civil War ‘Is Going to Happen’ over Trump Prosecutions

THE GUARDIAN: Former vice-presidential nominee condemns prosecutors over ‘travesty’ and says ‘we’re not going to keep putting up with this’

Sarah Palin outside court in New York in February last year. Palin was governor of Alaska when John McCain picked her as his running mate in 2008. Photograph: Lev Radin/Zuma/Rex
A second US civil war is “going to happen” if state and federal authorities continue to prosecute Donald Trump, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said.

“Those who are conducting this travesty and creating this two-tier system of justice, I want to ask them what the heck, do you do want us to be in civil war? Because that’s what’s going to happen,” Palin told Newsmax on Thursday night.

“We’re not going to keep putting up with this.”

Palin was speaking to the rightwing network as Trump surrendered at a jail in Fulton county, Georgia, and a historic mugshot was released. » | Martin Pengelly in Washington | Friday, August 25, 2023