More

Jacob Heilbrunn

Jacob Heilbrunn

Posted: September 14, 2009 05:22 PM

Sarah's Choice


Sarah Palin is hitting the lecture circuit. On September 23 she's scheduled to address the CLSA investors' group in Hong Kong. The title of her talk, however, is a secret. According to CNN, CLSA flack Simone Wheeler says, "We are not disclosing the topic of Sarah Palin's presentation at this point." Nor is the media going to be allowed to attend.

But keeping mum about Palin's talk is sure to whet curiousity about it. What hot tips about maximizing personal income might the former Governor of Alaska be dispensing? One key source may be Levi Johnston's recent chronicle in Vanity Fair of his several months spent living in the Palin household. If his observations are anything to go by, Palin definitely has her own approach to work. She doesn't like it.

Levi's account suggests that her favorite activity is getting others to do her bidding. And she likes free stuff -- free room service, free clothes, free hotel rooms. Once the campaign ended, Levi says, her motto was, "I want to just take this money and quit being governor." And so she has.

In her venality, Palin represents the quintessence of the ethos that flourished during the Bush years. Her credo of something for nothing contrasts starkly with President Obama's admonition to Wall Street today: "I want everybody here to hear my words: We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess that was at the heart of this crisis, where too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses."

Palin clearly isn't listening. But her audiences should. When Palin says whatever tumbles into her head in Hong Kong, her listeners would do well to remember what John McCain quickly learned: she herself has always been a volatile and bad investment.

 
 
  • Comments
  • 78
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2 3  Next ›  Last »  (3 total)
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hammerofthor
08:06 AM on 09/16/2009
Sarah Palin is a very pretty woman with great charm & charisma. She was thrust into the national spotlight, and became a star. She can draw crowds and get paid for showing up. Good for her.
10:21 PM on 09/15/2009
"We are not disclosing the topic of Sarah Palin's presentation at this point." Nor is the media going to be allowed to attend."

That's because there is no real presentation and Sarah is going to make stuff up as she goes along. This is going to be a hoot. The media isn't allowed to attend? I guess that means they know for sure she will embaress herself.
08:42 PM on 09/15/2009
Sarah wants to speak to reality again?

Language essentially involves four processes: receptive, integrative, expressive, and pragmatic. Then you have deductive logic and inductive reasoning. All of these processes have to be somewhat intact for an individual to express a rational thought that matters to others.

I think the pragmatic language processes will be her downfall over yonder. I don’t think they will not buy into her logic or inductive reasoning either. They will probably somewhat forgive her receptive, integrative, and expressive skills. However, they will tell the truth as they see it. It be what it will be.

Regardless of how it turns out, keep on speaking up Sarah!
03:30 PM on 09/15/2009
Sarah will get PUNKED in Hong Kong. I can't wait to see her reaction.
12:41 PM on 09/15/2009
But but but, she "popular" and people "like" her!
photo
BartRoberts
Vita canis, tum mors.
12:27 PM on 09/15/2009
FTA: " On September 23 she's scheduled to address the CLSA investors' group in Hong Kong. "

I would think twice about doing business with any company (In this case CLSA investors' group) foolish enough to throw away money hiring Governor Youbetcha' to speak.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mollymac
nice girls seldom get the corner office
11:34 AM on 09/15/2009
Somehow my comment about John McCain unleashing her on an unsuspecting country got canned. I cannot see why, but the arbiters of moderation must have seen something I did not. Oh, I guess we're not allowed to hold John McCain responsible for his mistake. So we all suffer.
photo
ReealOne
Don't sweat the small Stuff, life is way too short
02:21 PM on 09/15/2009
Nope. You're thinking the same way most of us are. John McCain needs to apologize to this country...AND the world (since she is starting to take her "stage act" to the world) for unleashing this woman upon society... just because he wanted to win POTUS by any means necessary.
11:21 AM on 09/15/2009
Anybody who would go to a Palin speech is dumber than she is.
photo
ReealOne
Don't sweat the small Stuff, life is way too short
02:23 PM on 09/15/2009
Or they should bring crayons so that they can take notes on kindergarten writing paper (with lines already on the paper and all)
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
03:33 PM on 09/15/2009
I can't argue with that observation.
11:09 AM on 09/15/2009
If Levi was right, she wouldn't really be bothering to blog on topics, etc. She would have just hit the circuit and made money fast.

Unbelievable is that anyone would actually quote a teenager's ridiculous remarks as "evidence."
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
warriorwoman73
11:31 AM on 09/15/2009
You never stop, do you PumaAnn?
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Gidster
Not so much Liberal as I am anti evil.
03:52 PM on 09/15/2009
Nope, another day another Palin Apology....
DIdaho
Born in the Air Force (Texas), moved to Idaho in 1
11:36 AM on 09/15/2009
But to hit the circuit she'd have to do something and go somewhere - too much work. Much easier to sit around in your pajamas while your ghost-writer updates your Facebook page.
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
CML96
IMHO
10:32 AM on 09/15/2009
Is she just making this up?

If the content of her speech(?) is unknown and no one can listen to it, is she really speaking?
photo
ReealOne
Don't sweat the small Stuff, life is way too short
10:20 AM on 09/15/2009
You can bet there will be no Q & A or "open-ended questions" session at this "acting... er, speaking engagement", as her speech writer cannot possibly anticipate what questions will be asked, and therefore cannot possible cover the answers for her.

One thing is for sure... the human does not exist on this planet who can manufacture intelligence.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
henryberry
author of books on contemporary culture
10:00 AM on 09/15/2009
Palin must have a great booking agent. Her appearance at the CLSA conference will verify whether she can read or not. She's taken on a ghostwriter lately, so it has been reported. She doesn't know anything about finances, so she will obviously have to have something written for her she can read so it will appear she knows something about finances. Anyway, it will be good to get her out of the country for a while.
09:43 AM on 09/15/2009
If the CLSA is having the palinmeister for comedy purposes, as some have suggested it would be too funny. However, about the lack of media coverage. In this day almost nothing misses the opportunity to be posted on youttube, et. al., so I think we're bound to see footage.

( http://www.businessinsider.com/sara-palin-just-another-clsa-practical-joke-2009-9?start=100 )
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
den1953
The best politicians are for free!
08:59 AM on 09/15/2009
I hope Sarah doesn't want to shoot any pandas from her helicopter,hoe do you say you bet cha in Chinese?
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mollymac
nice girls seldom get the corner office
11:14 AM on 09/15/2009
China is hosting a dog-culling as we speak. Men go out with clubs and bash dogs until dead. A couple of months ago, they bashed in the heads of 35,000 dogs. what a great country! So progressive! Sarah will fit right in.
08:33 AM on 09/15/2009
They wanted Tina Fey but she was busy.