Sarah’s been busy! And the media’s fit to be tied. What? A bus tour ripe for a media circus, and the ringmaster offers no itinerary, no advances, no press conferences, no respect?
That fact that Palin’s One Nation bus tour hasn’t been about catering to the media, but about connecting her family and fellow citizens to our nation’s roots, has driven them mad-dog crazy — and your faithful PalinTracker is here to document the day-by-day craziness for you.
First, catch the spirit with The Case of the Missing Hare. Then enrich your reading experience with the Looney Tunes Theme Song as background — remember to refresh when the press starts going crazy — with a reporter “forced” to relieve himself roadside while pursuing the Big Bad Bus.
But let’s begin at the beginning and watch the momentum build, following Palin’s announcement of her One Nation bus tour:
May 26
At Restoring the Good in America!, Palin lays out the purpose of her bus tour:
Our nation is at a critical turning point. As we look to the future, we are propelled by America’s past. It’s imperative that we connect with our founders, our patriots, our challenges and victories to clearly see our way forward. A good way to do this is to appreciate the significance of our nation’s historic sites, patriotic events and diverse cultures, which we’ll do in the coming weeks on our “One Nation” tour. (Read more)
Christian Science Monitor: Sarah Palin bus tour: Why won’t she say where she’s going?
May 27
Karl Rove: Sarah Palin Thinks The Rules Don’t Apply To Her
Rush Limbaugh: GOP and Dems Both Fear Palin:
[…] The Republican Party is really royal right now, inside-the-Beltway intelligentsia, power base is not oriented towards conservatism.
Conservative Republicans make them nervous. The inside-the-Beltway ruling class — the elite — they’re more oriented toward candidates they can attach the word “serious” to — which is another way of saying someone who is boring, who doesn’t ruffle feathers, someone who exudes an air of formal education and sophistication — she doesn’t exude that, and I think it’s going to shake a lot of people up.
[…] They’re just as frightened in their own way as the Democrats are of Palin and one thing I think is inescapable — particularly in looking at the Democrats — the Democrats and the media will always tell you who they are afraid of by virtue of who they spend time trying to destroy.
First media pounce: Rolling Thunder: Sarah Palin not invited
Au contraire, reports Ed Morrisseey of Hot Air: Yes, Palin was invited to Rolling Thunder
Either way, in reality Palin branded Rolling Thunder and POW/MIA into public awareness big time — a boost for Rolling Thunder’s charity and legislative efforts.
May 28
Boston Globe: As Palin hits trail, some old fans wary: Tea Party movement support not a given
Government According to President Palin:
For starters, there would be a vast reduction in the size of government instead of an exponential growth of the same: the record spending spree would stop. Palin has said repeatedly that she supports “cutting taxes and shrinking government,” that we need to “go back to what Reagan did in the early 80s, [and] stay committed to those common sense free market principles that work.” As she said during her speech in India in March of this year: “We need job growth. And that won’t come from ‘top-down government planning’ [but] from the ‘Free Market Ingenuity’ of ordinary American entrepreneurs.
Larry Flynt’s Vile Bigotry Against Trig Palin:
She did a disservice to every woman in America. She knew from the first month of pregnancy that kid was going to be Down’s Syndrome. It’s brain dead. A virtual vegetable. She carries it to all these different political events against abortion, she did it just because she didn’t want to say she’d had an abortion. How long is it going to live? Another 12, 15 years? Doesn’t even know it’s in this world. So what kind of compassionate conservative is she? I don’t think anybody will want her near the White House.
May 29
John McCain Says Palin Can Beat President Obama in 2012
Palin’s Path May Be Unclear, but Her Ride Is Revved Up:
For sheer mastery of celebrity theater, Sarah Palin cannot be beat.
Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, let the anticipation build for hours on Sunday in the Pentagon’s North Parking Lot, where thousands of bikers (and their rumbling Harleys) had gathered for the annual Rolling Thunder rally ahead of Memorial Day.
And then, suddenly, there she was: Ms. Palin, with her husband, Todd, and the rest of the family. Wearing matching black Harley-Davidson helmets, they rode motorcycles toward the front of the procession through a crush of cameramen, photographers, reporters and leather-clad bikers, all jostling for just a peek at the woman who might be president.
Don’t miss the video — Leather Sarah on a Harley!
George Will: Everyone Knows Sarah Palin Should Not Be Trusted With Nuclear Weapons
Andrew Sullivan: “I’m Too Terrified For The Country” To Urge Palin To Run Because She Could Win
Bloomberg’s Albert Hunt: Republicans Can Stop Waiting for 2012 White Knight
May 30
Palin Family Tours Washington “Incognito” — first stop, the National Archives.
David Brooks: Does Anyone Think Sarah Palin Can Handle A Crisis? The White House Isn’t American Idol
Oh, really? Wasn’t that what Obama’s handlers were banking on?
Confusion on Day 2 of Palin Bus Tour:
“This isn’t a campaign bus,” Palin said, according to reports. “This is a bus to be able to express to America how much we appreciate our foundation and to invite more people to be interested in all that is good about America and to remind ourselves we don’t need to fundamentally transform America, we need to restore what’s good about America.”
For supporters and reporters looking for more details, Palin isn’t providing them. Palin’s staff has been unresponsive to reporters’ requests or told them to check the SarahPAC website, which updates with information only after she’s stopped somewhere […]
Twitter, it seems, is about the only way to follow the former Alaska governor — unless you’re Fox News host Greta Van Susteren or her husband, John Coale.
Palin makes stop at Washington’s Mount Vernon, then Fort McHenry (where Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner), then Gettysburg: Palin Talks to the Media, for Three Minutes
For those who believe that a field of national political contenders should contain unlimited men but only one woman: Bachmann: GOP race can handle me and Palin
May 31
Palin Dismisses the Media, but They Come Back for More:
GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Sarah Palin has apparently decided that she can treat the media any way she wants — and they will be there regardless.
And she might not be wrong.
On Monday night, the media following the former Alaska governor were hot and sweaty, sitting in 100-degree weather at the Gettysburg battlefield, when they got the word: Ms. Palin was at the Courtyard by Marriott a few minutes away.
Within a half-hour, about a dozen reporters were lined up at the Courtyard counter, asking for rooms overlooking the hotel’s parking lot. As a reporter noted, one could keep an eye on Ms. Palin’s “One Nation” bus that way.
At SarahPac, Palin posts:
Reminding Reporters, too, of America’s Foundations
It’s interesting when (for the 100th time) reporters shout out, “Why are you traveling to historical sites? What are you trying to accomplish?” I repeat my answer, “It’s so important for Americans to learn about our past so we can clearly see our way forward in challenging times; so, we’re bringing attention to our great nation’s foundation.” When that answer isn’t what the reporters want to hear, we’ve asked them if they’ve ever visited these sites like the National Archives, Gettysburg, etc. When they confirm that they haven’t, it’s good to say, “Well, there you go. You’ll learn a lot about America today.”
Palin ditches press and tours battlefield
ABC: Rogue Is Vogue: What Is Sarah Palin Trying To Tell Us?
Sarah Palin Punks Press as Tour Begins Third Day
Palin: “I don’t think I owe anything to the mainstream media”
Bus Stop: Independence Hall
Bus Stop: Philadelphia: Liberty Bell
Todd Palin on possible 2012 campaign: “This family has been tested”
Washington Post: Palin rewrites the rules but is that enough?
Sarah Palin is spending the week breaking the rules again. Everything about her “One Nation” bus trip, except the bus, is the antithesis of how most politicians would do what she’s doing. The question is whether she could ever run for president this way.
Daily Kos: Memo to Very Serious media about Sarah Palin:
Oh, my. Someone grab a hanky.
The dozen or so Very Serious reporters from such Very Serious outlets as CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and The Times of London are “grumbling” because, in the words of Time’s Jay Newton Small, Sarah Palin has “turned the Washington press corps into a bunch of paparazzi stalking your every move.”
[…] These Very Serious reporters from Very Serious media outlets are cranky because Sarah Palin has them following her around like a bunch of dopes, while refusing to give an interview to anyone but Greta Van Susteren–the most influential journalist ever! — because only Greta is part of the “the new social media — fair-and-balanced reporters who will just allow the facts to get out there.”
Twisted into Pretzels: Press Pursues Palin in Philadelphia
Policy issues: Sarah Palin wants to terminate all energy subsidies, including ethanol
Palin confident she could beat Obama
Rush: Palin is driving the MSM nuts!
MSNBC’s Charlie Cook says Palin won’t run: “She’s making more money now than God ever intended her to make”
June 1
After Gettysburg and Philadelphia: Palin’s visit to Dillsburg coffee shop: A mocha and a “mob scene”
Palin shares pizza with Trump as bus tour hits NYC — the point being? Maybe just a media tweak?
L.A. Times: Sarah Palin plays the media like a violin: Her turn now
Where to next? The media waited for tweets: Palin to Visit the Statue of Liberty
After days of keeping her itinerary a secret, Sarah Palin on Wednesday sent a Twitter message about her plans for the day, telling reporters and others that she planned to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Bus Stop: New York: Ellis Island and Liberty Island
Palin takes the media for a ride
June 2
Palin Tries to Join the Mishpachah
News reports yesterday were chattering about Sarah Palin touring New York wearing a Star of David around her neck. Palin wore the same one when she toured Israel in March.
While Palin’s display of this particular piece of her jewelry collection in places where she would expect to encounter a lot of Jews looks like strictly Jewish pandering, it’s actually not at all uncommon among Christian Zionists — evangelicals who see Israel through the lens of biblical prophecy. Politically speaking, they couch their affection for Israel in terms of “love” and “support,” which may explain why Palin feels especially moved to display her alleged sympatico with the Jews in New York and Israel, but not, say, in Gettysburg. In reality, though (or at least in their reality), “love” of Israel is a biblical mandate, as Israel plays a vital and particular role in the Second Coming of Jesus.
Baby Grizzly: LITTLE PIPER PALIN Protects Her Mother, Shoulder-Checks Reporter
Irish Times: Palin steering new course on bus tour — and it’s driving media wild
Bus Stop: Boston: Old North Church, Paul Revere House and Bunker Hill
Palin fires shot at Romney at Bunker Hill
In remarks made at Bunker Hill in Massachusetts — of all places — Sarah Palin fired a shot at Mitt Romney over the health-care mandate that Romney signed into law in the state in 2006.
The remarks came just before Romney formally announces his presidential bid in nearby New Hampshire, which Palin also plans to visit later today.
Having an effect? Romney, Palin tied in PPP poll
The Economist: Magical mystery Palin: A beaming and unpredictable problem for the Republican Party
Palin Bus Trip Makes Stops In Boston, NH
Bus Stop: Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative — Seabrook, NH
June 3
MSM’s Latest Anti-Palin Narrative: Politico Blames Palin for Reporters’ Traffic Violations
Palin’s gambit builds her strength, exposes media hypocrisy
At The Daily Caller, Amy Siskind offers Top 10 reasons Palin should run for president — compelling!
Sarah Palin Bashes Obama’s Job-Killing Fishing Regulations While She Pets Lobster in New Hampshire — Gotta love the picture!
Palin Disputes Debt Warnings, Urges Resistance to Raising Cap
Media caught in another smear… Palin Did Not Misspeak on Paul Revere
The state-run media is having fun today smearing Sarah Palin on her historical knowledge. Yesterday she told reporters Revere warned the British that the colonial militias were waiting for them. Sarah Palin was right. Paul Revere did in fact tell the British that the colonial militias, who had been alerted, were waiting for them.
June 4
Howard Dean warns Democrats Sarah Palin could beat Obama in 2012
Sarah Palin: “President Obama is Lying”
June 5
Palin: GOP needs a “fighter” to take on Obama
Pam Geller, of Atlas Shrugs, attended an exclusive screening of the new Palin documentary:
“Undefeated” Palin: Authentic, American, Exceptional — Game on!
Conservative women enthusiastic about Bachmann, Palin
They don’t like identity politics and aren’t crazy about the word “feminist.” But a lot of conservative women here can’t help but rejoice that they may have a couple of tough-talking, tea-drinking mothers to choose from in the Republican primary.
Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is on the verge of announcing her intentions, and former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is contemplating a bid. If either runs, it would be the first time since Elizabeth Dole’s bid in 1999 that a viable female candidate has sought the Republican nomination for president.
The prospect has energized conservative women who four years ago were deeply uncomfortable with Hillary Rodham Clinton but who see in Bachmann and Palin the kind of family-focused, overtly spiritual candidate whose lifestyle and values seem to mirror their own.
June 6
Los Angeles Times: You know how Sarah Palin said Paul Revere warned the British? Well, he did. Now, who looks stupid?
June 7
Pruden: She gets it right, you betcha
Palin to London — hopes to meet with Margaret Thatcher
Following her One Nation bus tour of the US East Coast, Sarah Palin is hoping to take her pre-presidential campaign international with a visit to London. A lull before the bus tour resumes in Iowa, where the first Republican primary will be held, means that Palin will have an opportunity to brush up on her geography.
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