A Pugnacious Potpourri of Palin Presentations.

First up we have more tidbits from Jeanne Devon and Ken Morris, co-authors of the book "Blind Allegiance."

Courtesy of Mudflats: 

In writing Blind Allegiance—and even more so after listening to those who reflected on her non-political life—we struggled to understand Sarah’s lack of New Testament virtues including charity, forgiveness, and compassion. The born-again bona fides she swore were at the core of her spiritual life seemed hollow and without substance. Despite Sarah’s pleas to staff and followers to shield her with prayer when she believed evildoers were seeking to do her harm, Frank Bailey suspected that she had a different approach to faith than the one he’d embraced growing up on Kodiak Island. 

For us as authors who read over 50,000 emails and spent two years researching Sarah’s campaign and governorship, we developed more than a suspicion. The only Biblical message that seemed to resonated for the half-governor was from the Old Testament, and Sarah seemed a revisionist at that – rewriting the familiar verse from Exodus as Two eyes for an eye. Our subsequent interviews with those who knew her well confirmed and extended these observations. Blind Allegiance, we were authoritatively told, was, if anything, understated, and the devout images projected publicly were nothing more than a sham. 

One friend of the Palins commented, “I cannot ever remember a religious moment in the house. Ever. I can’t remember hearing a prayer. Ever. Todd rarely would get up and go to church with Sarah. When they did decide to go to church, it was a screaming match. ‘We’ve got to go now!’ Sarah would scream. ‘Get your asses in the car!’ The girls would roll out of bed, no breakfast, hair all messed up. Seemed that there was a lot of swearing.” Mad and stressed out, “Sarah often yelled at her family . . . the kids kind of learned to ignore it because it happened so much.”

Pictures of Sarah and family attending a church service to appear in 3..2..1

For those of us who have been covering Palin lo these many years, this information is quite will known.

Essentially Sister Sarah talked the talk but rarely, if ever, walked the walk.  For her God was a kind of cosmic Santa Claus whose job was to give HER what she wanted. However she was not one to consider herself a servant to ANYONE.  Not even the creator of the universe.

Palin did resort to prayers in times of great difficultly, or intense stress, but once again it was to ASK for something that she needed but NEVER to give thanks for what she already had.

There is more over at Mudflats so click the link to read the rest.

Now let's visit the world of Garry Trudeau to see what he, as one of only three people to read an advance copy of "Going Rogue," has to reveal about Joe's book.

(To read more Doonesbury strips click here to visit Go Comics.)

By the way according to Joe he has NO editorial control over the Doonesbury strips, nor contractual agreement with Trudeau. So for what it is worth he cannot be held accountable for how he, Fox News, or Sarah Palin are portrayed in the comics.

This is what Andrew Sullivan had to say today about the book:

One tiny nugget. Joe McGinniss sent advance copies of his devastating book on Sarah Palin, "The Rogue," to three people: me, Garry Trudeau and Rosanne Cash. Make of that what you will; but that book is unputdownable.

Update: Sullivan also had this to say:

One of the fascinating aspects of the coming Rogue whirlwind will be how the MSM handles it. Can they handle the Palinista blowback? Are they so afraid of being called "liberal"? Will they even note the existence of Chapter 19? 

I am still waiting for my advance copy to arrive so I cannot say with authority that it is "unputdownable," but I have every confidence that it will be a very good book that, despite the unfortunate drama surrounding it, will please many people who have been waiting patiently (Or for some impatiently) for more truth about Snowdrift Snooki revealed to the public at large. As for Chapter 19, I am pretty sure I know exactly what is contained in THAT chapter!

For those who like their information delivered in a more visual medium, there is this great interview from CBC News with Nick Broomfield, that may whet your appetite further in anticipation of his documentary "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!"

I have long said that this fall would be very satisfying for those of us following the saga of Sarah Palin, and I think that so far I have been proven correct. And of course as we know there is still MORE yet to come.

Update: Speaking of pugnacious presentations about Sarah Palin, what do we make of this rather interesting article from the Storm Lake Tribune?

Brenda McVinua was among the Storm Lakers Palin chatted with after the race. McVinua was working as a volunteer in the "chute" near the finish line, and was impressed with the former vice-presidential candidate's form. 

"She wasn't even breathing hard. You could tell she's an athlete. If you didn't know better you would have thought she'd just run around the block once or twice."She reportedly said, "Boy, that was fun," as she crossed the line. 

Really? Ms. McVinau said "She wasn't even breathing hard. If you didn't know any better you would have thought she'd only run around the block once or twice?"

This is a woman who has not run competitively since 2005 and she "wasn't even breathing hard?"Puh-lease!

I know people get really pissed at me for pursuing this story but seriously, who in their right mind believes THIS fairytale?

Doonesbury on McGinniss, day two.

I continue to be interested in where this storyline is going.

It appears that Joe may have been given a peek at future strips, as he appears completely at ease with the similarities between this strip and what happened with the Bailey book.

Courtesy of Joe's blog:

Hedley is the Fox News reporter who was stalking me last summer at Lake Lucille. 

If he ever starts tweeting the juicy stuff, I’m screwed. 

Nobody will ever buy my book.But surely he couldn’t do that without an okay from his boss. 

And because his boss is my old friend Roger Ailes, that could never happen. 

Could it?

Pre-emptive damage control? Fanning the flames of controversy to drum up interest? Knowing Joe I would not be surprised if it was a little of both.

Clearly Joe is inviting people to talk about his book and the controversy surrounding the release of the Bailey manuscript.  However since he has closed the comments on his blog, he has not provided a forum for that conversation to take place.

Now I know that many of you have strong feelings about all of this drama concerning Joe and Frank's books, and I will endeavor to give you all some leeway here to discuss those feelings.  However I am going to warn you that I might reject a comment that just seems overly insulting or designed simply to turn people against each other.

(Comic courtesy of Doonesbury.com.)

Joe McGinniss and "The Rogue" get the Doonesbury treatment. Update.

I am a little intrigued with where this story line might go, in light of what happened with Joe and the authors of "Blind Allegiance." However Joe has been urging people to read Doonesbury, so he must have faith it will not show him in an unfavorable light.

By the way let me just say that I used to be a HUGE fan of Doonesbury!  And I mean HUGE!

I got hooked on them after I bought a bunch of the pocketbooks to read on the plane on my way to college. By the time the plane landed in Hawaii, I was hooked!

Hell I even named my cat "Doonesbury." And as much as I usually shun publicity it would absolutely make my decade if I showed up in one of the strips, unlikely as that may be.

Speaking of showing up in one of the strips, check out Trudeau's evisceration of Palin in this one from Sunday.

And since I brought up the authors of Blind Allegiance, I guess I should probably report that there is still some chance that they are planning to sue McGinniss over the leaked manuscript:

One of the three co-authors of a Sarah Palin tell-all said he's weighing his options -- including whether to sue -- over the unauthorized leak of the book's manuscript. 

Ken Morris said he spent tens of thousands of dollars on attorneys to try to fight the leak -- more than he made from "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years." The tell-all by former Palin aide Frank Bailey was also written with blogger Jeanne Devon. The book was eventually published in May though Morris and Devon have said they struggled to find a publisher. 

Rival author Joe McGinniss was accused of helping leak the manuscript in February. McGinniss, a best-selling author, made headlines last year when he moved next door to Palin in Wasilla, Alaska, as he researched his own book, which is due out later this month. 

McGinniss' attorney Dennis Holahan has acknowledged McGinniss sent a copy to media outlets and others in Alaska but said he told them not to reproduce any of it without the authors' permission. A message left for Holahan wasn't immediately returned Friday. 

Bailey's book was published in May though Morris and Devon have said they struggled to find a publisher. Morris said in an interview that he believes tens of thousands of copies of the draft manuscript were downloaded after the leak and said the manuscript became "one of the most Googled stories" in the world. He said he hired attorneys and cease-and-desist orders went to publications and file-share sites.

I know that many of you feel very frustrated at how all of this played out, and yes there is reason to be especially pissed off at certain parties, but I would still discourage any of you from cancelling your pre-orders of "The Rogue."

Joe CAN be a curmudgeonly pain in the ass, but he is ALSO a very fine author, and his book may be perhaps the best, and most damaging, one written about the Grizzled Mama.

Update: It looks like Andrew Sullivan agrees with me about Joe's book.

But having now read Joe McGinniss's "The Rogue," I can safely say that reality is about to re-attach to her. Finally! Some actual, reported, unafraid journalism on this farce of a candidate. Pre-order it now.