She's earned $13 million since the 2008 presidential race that shoved her onto the national stage, but Sarah Palin apparently is a crappy tipper. A new Vanity Fair profile of the former Alaska governor paints a picture of a woman who has skyrocketed to success -- stepping on staff, friends and family along the way -- but who is so deeply concerned about controlling her public persona that she hired a friendly blogger to write her much-ballyhooed Facebook posts. The wide-ranging profile documents hotels where Palin stiffed bellhops; her demands during the presidential campaign and on her busy speaking circuit; tensions with residents in her home town; and Palin's fashion preferences (and includes a sidebar with more details on the RNC clothing flap) -- up to and including mentioning her use of Spanx and push-up bras. But after the more salacious details, Vanity Fair writer Michael Joseph Gross also drops strong suggestions there's something fishy with some of the political action committees paying Palin to boost candidates across the country -- but he doesn't quite nail it down. This line from the profile sums up the theme of the piece: A onetime gubernatorial aide to Palin says, "The people who have worked for her--they're broken, used, stepped on, down in the dust." The most fascinating nuggets from the piece explore the many consultants Palin has paid to sharpen her image and help her as she (maybe) explores a 2012 White House bid. TPM took a close look at her spending this summer and found Palin spent nearly $400,000 on consultants, lobbying firms and the standard direct mail and fundraising firms politicians frequently use just in the second quarter. Our piece detailed that Palin paid $22,000 to Rebecca Mansour's Aries Petra Consulting for "internet messaging," also known as posting on the Palin Facebook page. Previously identified by Politico as a "Los Angeles screenwriter and political neophyte whose creation of the popular cheerleading blog Conservatives4Palin (C4P) endeared her to Palin's inner circle," Mansour is described by Vanity Fair as "Palin's most unconventional hire." Read the entire profile here. http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/10/sarah-palin-201010?currentPage=all
The author of the blistering Vanity Fair profile on Sarah Palin says he wanted to write a positive piece, but was shocked by what he learned as he researched his story. "The worst stuff isn't even in there," Michael Joseph Gross said on "Morning Joe" Thursday. "I couldn't believe these stories either when I first heard them, and I started this story with a prejudice in her favor. I have a lot in common with this woman. I'm a small-town person, I'm a Christian, I think that a lot of her criticisms of the media actually have something to them. And I think she got a bum ride, but everybody close to her tells the same story." In the profile, Gross paints Palin as an abusive, retaliatory figure with an extreme ability to lie. "This is a person for whom there is no topic too small to lie about," he said. "She lies about everything." Asked about Palin's political future, Gross said it depends on what the media lets her get away with. "If we decide to let her keep lying and getting away with it, she's gonna still be around," he said. "But if we start returning to the standard that a politician has to talk with people, and a politician has to tell the truth, then she's outta here, because she can't stand up to that." Gross added that he takes exception to criticisms that he wrote a "hit piece" against Palin. "I started this with every good intention toward her," he said. "I was just shocked and appalled at every step at what I found. And I wrote this story sort of against my will. It wasn't what I wanted to write, it wasn't what I wanted to find. It was what was forced on me by the facts."
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She's a crappy tipper? You know, I wonder if she farts in her sleep? People need to know. While this little side show circle jerk works for the Olberman and Maddow types, the rest of the nation is focused on the facts. The facts are one failed policy after another, and an administration which seems totally clueless and out of touch with the American people.
You mean like your fellow lover, Chris Matthews has said about Obama and his teleprompter: <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IKknodesRK0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IKknodesRK0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Associated Press is reporting that the author, Michael Joseph Gross, has admitted making a mistake in his piece. Hermit, could you please tell us more?