Sarah Palin returns

Sarah Palin returns

Back in the spotlight, former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin sat down with talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey on Monday, promoting a new autobiography and perhaps relaunching her political career.

In a mostly rather bland interview, Winfrey, a vocal supporter of Barack Obama in 2008, asked few probing questions, instead spending much of the hour-long show discussing Palin’s family life, relationship with husband Todd, and experiences as the mother of a baby with Down Syndrome.

There was little talk of policy, with Palin offering up such vague but patriotic-sounding nuggets as: “I'm gonna fight for whats good for America from a different plane and that’s what I am doing.”

Palin’s folksy style energised conservatives in last year’s campaign. Her blockbuster speech was the highlight of the otherwise grim gathering of Republicans at the National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota,

“Ya know the difference between a hockeymom and a pitbull? Lipstick!” Palin hollered - bringing down the house with thunderous roars and cheering.

But her apparent lack of preparation and knowledge and penchant for odd statements made many other voters uneasy.

A defining moment came in Palin’s interview with CBS News presenter Katie Couric, when she responded to a question about her experience in international relations thus: “As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska.”

The book, titled “Going Rogue: An American Life”, hits the bookstores on November 17th. It's part score settling, part image makeover attempt.

Palin blames senior aides to presidential nominee John McCain for mismanaging her role in the campaign, keeping her away from the press, and bungling the news of her teenage daughter’s unwed pregnancy.

She says the campaign stuck her with a $50,000 legal bill. Former McCain staffers called that and other Palin charges “total fiction”.

Palin, who resigned prematurely from the Alaska governorship in July, lashes out at the news media, accusing reporters of partisanship and “badgering” her in interviews.

Will “Going Rogue” make money? Oh yeah. Or as Palin herself might say, you betcha. Publishing industry sources say she got a $5m advance, and pre-publication orders have already made it a bestseller on sites like Amazon.com

But Palin also seems to be using the book launch to relaunch her own political career, perhaps with an eye on the 2012 presidential election. She insisted on the Winfrey show that running for president then is “not on my radar screen”.

The Palin media blitz includes a campaign-style bus tour of politically important states - all but one of which was won by Obama last year, as he crushed the McCain-Palin team.

Palin still has an avid following amongst conservatives, who hold sway in the Republican party.

Her tweets and Facebook postings are influential with the party base and some right-wing candidates seek her blessing. She was instrumental in spreading the false “death panel” rumours about Obama’s healthcare reform plans.

But if Palin has her sights set on the White House, the road ahead will be bumpy: a new poll shows 60 per cent of Americans think she’s not qualified to be president, and over 50 per cent say they would not vote for her under any circumstances.