Palin Last Election: “I Don’t Want To Go Back To Alaska”

A new book by two reporters who traveled with Sarah Palin during the 2008 election has some revealing tidbits.  Sarah from Alaska, by Scott Conroy and Sushannah Walshe, tells the story of how Palin insisted she was going to give a concession speech on election night, but never told any of her staff that the McCain people nixed the idea, causing great confusion.  In spite of being told otherwise, she insisted to her staff, “I’m speaking. I’ve go the remarks Figure it out.”  Palin finally had to be told by senior McCain adviser Mark Salter that the vice presidential nominee doing so was unprecedented.

Among other items:

– In the days after her selection as the vice presidential nominee, the McCain team was so unsure of Palin’s policy acumen that they drew up hundreds of flash cards to get the candidate “up to speed on foreign affairs and major national issues.” One of the flash cards noted that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was Gordon Brown, the book says.

– Before her now famous speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Palin’s handlers began to rip the price tags off items in the candidate’s lavish new wardrobe, paid for by the Republican National Commitee, after Palin expressed concerns about the cost of the clothing. According to the book, a $90 pair of socks was purchased for Palin’s low-maintenance father, Chuck Heath.

– During a celebration among staffers after the vice presidential debate in St. Louis, Palin began pushing hard to start bringing up the topic of Barack Obama’s controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright on the campaign trail. She wanted badly to win the election, the authors note. “I just don’t want to go back to Alaska,” Palin said off-handedly during the gathering.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.