Almost four years ago, I was watching Sarah Palin rile up a Clearwater, Fla., crowd with anti-Obama broadsides when a spectator let loose a bloodcurdling cry of “kill him!” To his credit, John McCain realized the Obama hatred was getting out of hand, and a few days later, when a woman at one of his events called Obama an “Arab,” McCain did one of the most honorable things in his political career. “No, ma’am,” he said, taking the microphone from the woman and enduring some boos from supporters. “He’s a decent, family-man citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.” Read full article > >

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Mitt Romney won’t stand up to his own party

Armed with Sarah Palin , Ryan Seacrest , Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, Tori Spelling, Octomom, and a “surprise legend,” NBC’s “Today” show successfully swatted off intense Katie Couric competition from ABC’s “Good Morning America” last week, Friday’s ratings confirm. Read full article > >

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‘Today’ narrowly beats ‘GMA’ in weekly ratings to maintain winning streak

Tim Stanley says Sarah Palin lacks Romney's elitism and Santorum's extremism, and if she were running, she'd have the nomination sewn up.

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Opinion: If only Sarah Palin had run

The combination of lessons learned since the selection of Sarah Palin, the high stakes of the general election and the pervasiveness of the political media are likely to set a new standard for vetting a running mate this year.

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On Politics: Vetting a Running Mate in a Post-Palin World

I was eager to watch the HBO Film “Game Change” and see if I could find some sympathy for Sarah Palin, John McCain or their team who so recklessly put Palin a potential heartbeat away from the Presidency of this great country.

I already knew to expect a terrific performance from Julianne Moore and she certainly lived up to the hype. She created a complex person who showed a wide spectrum of abilities and disabilities.  Everyone in this most excellent film did a fine job but I thought Woody Harrelson was at the very top of his game as Steve Schmidt, McCain’s chief strategist.  His performance arc from optimism, hoping that Palin’s fabulous acceptance speech at the Republican convention would be that “game-changer” to his fury and utter disillusionment in how dangerous she would be for America was fantastic!

It is to the credit of the screenwriter, director and the cast that I did indeed find myself feeling some sympathy for the bewildering, uncharted predicament Sarah Palin found herself in.  And during that speech when she talked about her baby with Down Syndrome and showed she would be a fierce advocate for all Special needs children and their families made me wonder:

It’s been almost 4 years since that speech–Palin has catapulted her run for Vice President into a national platform, including Facebook and Twitter. Not to mention her bully pulpit at Fox News. Add to that the millions she has made from speaking fees and book advances and sales.  Her son Trig is now 4–How has she used her celebrity to influence or shape policy for other children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities?

I spent a lot of time researching online at both the state and national levels — looking at charitable groups like Special Olympics. the Alaska Chapter and National Down Syndrome Congress or other groups like ARC. And to the best of my knowledge what Palin has done or contributed is: ZIP! NADA! NOTHING! A BIG FAT ZERO! I can’t find a thing she’s done to publicly further champion this cause. Or put another way follow through with what she promised countless parents and their special needs children when she was on the campaign trail back in ’08.

Now, granted the Palin’s are private citizens so perhaps they donate scads of money to these or other charities quietly in the background. Although, it’s difficult to wrap one’s brain around the idea that she’d do it out of the public eye since she rarely wastes an opportunity to squawk her views from FOX News and via her Facebook page.

I do know she has a SarahPAC which as of 12/31/11 had over 1.3 million cash on hand.  I also know that SarahPAC paid over $ 13,000 to decorate the outside of the bus she used to take her family on their summer vacation.  Which, btw is in direct violation of F.E.C. campaign laws as she wasn’t running for political office.

And yet all signs from my research indicate no support of any kind for individuals with Special needs. Palin has squandered an amazing opportunity to effect real policies that could have helped special needs children and their families in the most profound way.

As someone who has been an early childhood specialist for over 35 years and would have given anything to have had such a platform to be an advocate: I will never forgive her or forget!

My conclusion erased any vestige of sympathy the movie generated and once again confirmed what i originally thought: Palin is a malignant narcissist! (see http://www.drirene.com/catbox/index.php?showtopic=40676).  Her children, especially her youngest are merely PROPS in order to make her look good and further her own agenda.

All talk-no action: Sarah Palin has the temerity to call herself a “real American”.

UPDATE: Sarah Palin has had the gall to challenge President Obama to a debate. Have at it Sarah-There only need be one question: What have YOU done for this Country in the past 3 & 1/2 years?

Sarah Palin is a disgrace.

Well, so much for that: Louis C.K. has abruptly pulled out of the annual Washington dinner of the Radio & Television Correspondents’ Association, where he was scheduled to perform on June 8. Why? His rep told a CNN reporter Friday, apparently without elaboration, that the comic “just didn’t want to do it anymore.” But by dropping out, he may have sidestepped a fledgling controversy over his gig. Fox News host Greta Van Susteren blogged Thursday that she would urge journalists to boycott the dinner because of C.K.’s “filthy language about women,” and Sarah Palin in particular. Read full article > >

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Louis C.K. bails on Washington media dinner

It was a Sarah Palin crowd. At a conference of conservative activists last week, there were stacks of Sarah Palin books and Sarah Palin posters. A special screening of a film about Palin was planned. And after skipping the gathering for four years, Palin herself had agreed at last to give the keynote address. Read full article > >

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Palin’s star may have faded, but her grass-roots influence persists

Sarah Palin strode out on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington carrying a red leather briefcase — and off to work she went, firing off a year’s worth of sarcastic one-liners at “Professor Obama.” Read full article > >

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CPAC 2012: Sarah Palin, motivator-in-chief

Sarah Palin, not one known to mince words, accused Chris Christie of committing a rookie mistake and playing into the hands of Democrats by denigrating Newt Gingrich.

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City Room: Palin Has a Few Choice Words for Christie

“I’ll just grit my teeth and bear whatever comes,” former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin told Fox News’s Sean Hannity back in March about HBO’s upcoming flick detailing Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign, in which Palin will be played by Julianne Moore. Well, on Wednesday, the teeth-gritting began: HBO sent out a video tease that offered a very quick look at Moore’s chameleon-like performance in “Game Change,” based on book of same name, which the pay cable network will debut in March. Read full article > >

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HBO releases first trailer for ‘Game Change’; stars Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, Ed Harris as John McCain (Video)

As the GOP candidates have been thrashing it out in debates that seem to occur every couple of hours or so, one almost misses the iconic wink that enraged or beguiled the nation a political season ago. Admit it. You miss Sarah Palin just a little: The wink, the red shoes, the pointing finger, the heck-with-ya attitude and, given the performance of some of her Republican colleagues, her Taser-like intelligence. Read full article > >

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Perry, Cain and a parade of painful moments

Sarah Palin has always played by her own rules in politics, but with the announcement Wednesday that she will not run for president in 2012, the former Alaska governor was for once bowing to the obvious. Palin had kept open the possibility of running until it was almost too late to start. By the time it came, Palin’s announcement was an anti-climax. The possible candidacy of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had generated far more interest and attention than musings about Palin. What a change for a politician whose every move or utterance has commanded maximum attention by the media. Read full article > >

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What is Sarah Palin’s next act?

Sarah Palin tells a radio host that she can be more active in trying to oust President Obama if she is not a candidate.

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The Caucus: Palin Says She’s Not Running

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin ended her months-long flirtation with a presidential bid Wednesday, announcing in a letter to supporters that she will use her influence next year to help elect Republicans from statehouses to the White House. Palin’s announcement, which also cited the needs of her family, ends nearly a year’s worth of media speculation about her political aspirations that she fueled with regular public comments and posts on Twitter and Facebook — and with a high-profile bus tour over the summer that included stops in key early-voting states. Read full article > >

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Sarah Palin says she won’t run for president, ending months of speculation

In an America where a whopping 66 percent of adults hold an unfavorable view of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin (according to a recent Bloomberg poll), author Joe McGinniss has done something truly remarkable. He actually makes the short-serving former Alaska governor and widely panned reality TV star a slightly more sympathetic character, at least for the regrettable time one wastes reading “The Rogue,” his sketchily sourced compendium of low blows and inconsistent accusations. Read full article > >

Link:
‘The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,’ by Joe McGinniss