Sarah Palin Vanity Fair interviewer: 'The worst stuff isn't even in there'

The author of a 'blistering' Vanity Fair profile of former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has told the hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe that the 'worst stuff isn't even in' the profile.

"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."

He later told the hosts that her political career primarily hinges on her ability to keep on lying and get away with it. "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." [Via HuffPo]

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Americans agree: 59% say Palin couldn't be president

Any 2012 presidential bid is looking that little bit less viable today for Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska and high-profile vice-presidential candidate for the 2008 election. A new poll, released today, reveals that 59% of people who responded believe that she lacks the skills necessary for the job.

In the survey, conducted as a joint venture by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair, conducted Aug. 3-5 by CBS News among 847 adult respondents, 59% told pollsters that they thought Palin could not be an effective president compared to only 26% who said that she could be.

Eighty percent of liberals reportedly said that Palin couldn't be an effective president, while still under half - 47% - of Republicans believed that she could be.

The latest pollster.com ratings put her in a position where she is '52.7% unfavorable'.

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Levi Johnston regrets apologizing to Sarah Palin: "I've never lied about anything"

The father of Sarah Palin's grandson and former Playgirl model Levi Johnston has said that he regrets apologizing to his mother-in-law, the former Vice Presidential nominee for the 2008 Republican bid for the White House, because he sounded 'like a liar'.

According to CBS News, Johnston says that he regrets having apologized about lying because he's 'never lied about anything'.

"I don't really regret anything," Johnston said, who has appeared nude on the cover of a female-targeted pornographic magazine. "But the only thing I wish I wouldn't have done is put out that apology 'cause it kind of makes me sound like a liar. And I've never lied about anything. So that's probably the only thing. The rest of the stuff I can live with."


Johnston has expressed some interest in politics since becoming part of the Palin's extended family, reports CBS, "While he has not officially declared which political office he aspires to, his manager, Tank Jones, has said Johnston is interested in a run for mayor or city council. Earlier this month, Jones confirmed the 20-year-old Johnston planned to run for office as part of a reality TV show." The network reported. 


"I can't guarantee or promise you anything but I'm gonna try... That's the goal," he said. [CBS News]

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Former Republican chairman comes out of the closet

Former Republican chairman Ken Mehlman says he wishes he had come out of the closet sooner, having told a high-profile magazine in an interview that he is gay.

In an interview with The Atlantic, the former campaign manager for George W. Bush said that he had come to the conclusion recently that he was gay and wished to talk about it with someone, and become an advocate for gay marriage.

He is to participate in a fundraiser supporting a lift on California's ban on gay marriage in the coming months.

“It’s taken me 43 years to get comfortable with that part of my life,” said Mehlman, now working at a highly-respected New York private equity firm. “Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I’ve told my family, friends, former colleagues and current colleagues and they’ve been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that has made me a happier and better person. It’s something I wish I had done years ago.”

Finally, he says that he had tried to work within the Republican Party in getting members to more openly reach out to the gay community.

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RNC member: Obama told muslims he was a muslim

In the wake of a number of polls which suggest around one in five Americans incorrectly believe that Obama is a muslim, a Republican National Committee member has criticized the coverage of the issue by online magazine Politico. "BTW he personally told the muslims that he IS a muslim," wrote the Iowa RNC member. "Read his lips."


In addition to this, Kim Lehman, the woman behind the messages, lashed back at an article by the site which, she claims, was trying to 'protect' Obama. 

Several blogs and news websites have since picked up her remarks against the President as a news story. 

When contacted by reporters, Lehman reportedly stuck by her opinion and the views she had expressed online, saying "I was watching television when he was over there talking to the Muslim world and he made it, in my opinion, clear he was partially Muslim," Lehman told the Huffington Post. "The way he was approaching that speech was, 'Hey I'm one of you. I'm with you.' He didn't have to say that... but he did."

"Again, going back to his speech... he would have said I'm a Christian and I'm from the Christian religion and we can work together. It didn't appear to me he said Christianity was part of his religion," she said when asked about Obama's claims that he is a Christian. 

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Sarah Palin attacks Obama's defense of NY mosque

Sarah Palin took to the internet to publicly bash comments made by President Obama which defended the religious freedom of muslims living in the United States. Using social networks like Twitter and Facebook, the former Vice Presidential hopeful criticized Obama's lack of verbal continuity.

Reports were released today which suggest Obama has changed his view on the matter. See Palin's tweets below:

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GM's new CEO is a big donor to Republicans (REPORT)

As CNBC pointed out this morning, the first meeting Daniel Akerson - the incoming CEO of newly recovered car company General Motors - will have with Obama's Democratic administration should be rather interesting. There are a number of reasons as to why this is, but perhaps the most compelling is that Akerson has become known as a rather generous donor to the president's opponents. 

According to the report filed by the business network earlier today, Akerson has donated a little under $50,000 to Republican causes in the past two election cycles alone. 

In the last presidential election, it was reported, Akerson 'lavished' money on Obama's fierce rival, Arizona senator John McCain - who ultimately lost when November came around. [CNBC]

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McCain gets personal; won't work with Democrats should he be re-elected

John McCain, a the 2008 presidential hopeful who lost to Barack Obama and a senator from Arizona, has announced publicly that he would not consider working with Democrats on issues such as immigration should he be re-elected in this year's mid-term elections.

As Think Progress reports, the senator has attached himself to various far-right policies in order to garner support from a number of influential Republican voter groups. His position on border security, according to the website, is just one example of such policies.

Today however, McCain has caused further controversy when he responded to a caller on an Arizona radio show - saying he would never work with Democrats on immigration reform.

CALLER: I would like to ask Sen. McCain if he will make a promise on the air now that if we reelect him, he will not reach across the aisle, especially with Lindsey Graham, for comprehensive immigration reform. Will you not do that for the time you’re in office.

MCCAIN: Yes ma’am. … I am promising that I will try to address the issue of immigration in a way that is best for the United States of America.

Read the full report at Think Progress

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Ben Quayle, Republican, calls Obama the 'worst president in history'

Ben Quayle, a Republican candidate for Arizona's third congressional district and the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, thinks that Barack Obama is the 'worst president ever', and makes it fairly clear in a new ad campaign he launched Wednesday.

"Barack Obama is the worst president in history," Quayle says, followed by a dramatic pause. "And my generation will inherit a weakened country."

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Sarah Palin's new reality TV show premieres in November

She's everybody's favorite former-vice presidential candidate, and now she's becoming what every other woman with no talent or intellect aspires to be - a reality television star.

Clearly over her small stint as an inventor of new words, the Alaskan governor is looking to cement her place in American pop-culture with a new reality TV show, Sarah Palin's Alaska, to premier November 14.

The Palins recently spent camping time with another reality television family, the Gosselins. The camping experience will be the subject of one of the show's upcoming episodes.

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Sarah Palin uses hand notes to defend Bush tax cuts (video)

It would appear that Sarah Palin hasn't learned anything from her last experience of using inner-hand notes. For most of us it was school, but for Sarah Palin it was just a couple of days ago when she appeared on Fox News Sunday.

"[Obama's] commitment to let previous tax cuts expire are going to lead to even fewer job opportunities for Americans," Palin said. "It's idiotic to think about increasing taxes at a time like this."

"My palm isn't large enough to have written all my notes down on what this tax increase, what it will result in," Palin continued.

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Release of Bush memoir has Republicans worried

Republicans are, by all accounts, getting quite concerned about the secrets and revelations contained in the new memoir of former Republican president George W. Bush, which could affect the party's performance at the polls come November.

Although the book, named Decision Points, is not to be released until November 9, details from the text have been leaked a number of times.

There is still some debate at this stage as to how the book's publication could affect the party's following and reputation within its core voters. Some Republicans, according to author Matt Latimer, argue that the book could help the Republican party by reminding people of all the things they liked about Bush.

Democrats, on the other hand, generally welcome the memoir - including its November release date - because many believe it will help them too by putting voters' faith in Republicanism in doubt.

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Anti-Republicanism comes alive in all new Apple ad parody

There are so many Apple ad parodies out there, but this one takes a slightly different angle. Not taking the path of satirizing Apple products, but more the Grand Old Party, is what makes this particular video stand out. Want a president who still thinks America's energy issues can be solved by drilling more wells like the one in the Gulf? There's a Republican for that.

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Sarah Palin thinks that Obama doesn't want to stop the leak, but instead wants to make as much money as he can

Following the address made by Barack Obama on the oil spill crisis from the White House, Fox News's outlandish and politically flamboyant television personality, Bill O'Reilly took the time to sit down in civilized discussion with perhaps the least politically biased lady (well, sort of) in the country.

Who else, but Sarah Palin. Among her more level-headed and balanced comments was that the President is in no rush to stop the leak, but instead just wants to get as much money out of it as he can by increasing the cost of energy.

Exactly what evidence there was of such thoughts was non-existant, and any possible motive unclear.

Anyway, I thought that trying to pay off your donors was your thing, Sarah.

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Sarah Palin wants to meet Margaret Thatcher

The Alaskan Governor and 2008's Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, says that she wants to meet the former prime minister of Britain Margaret Thatcher. Isn't that friendly of the Baroness?

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Sarah Palin denies that she has had implants, has a go at Newsweek magazine

Sarah Palin, everybody's favorite former Republican vice-presidential candidate, appeared on Fox News both to take a stab at Newsweek magazine over a cover depicting her with a halo around her head with the headline "Saint Sarah".

In addition to this, the Alaskan governor denied rumors (dubbed 'Boobgate') that she had undergone breast enhancements - after Fox News' Greta Van Susteren popped the question to her.

Looking to set the records straight, Palin remarked that she had never had implants, adding "I can't believe, yes[sic], that we're even talking about this" 


Palin didn't stop at the rumors about her breasts, however, also having a go at Newsweek, saying that it is because of covers like the one depicting her as a saint (clearly she didn't realise it was sarcasm) that the magazine is doing badly right now and nobody wants to read it. Newsweek, for the record, has a circulation of almost 2 million - even more than Vanity Fair or the New Yorker.

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