Political Hotsheet
By

Brian Montopoli /

CBS News/ November 30, 2009, 1:51 PM

Sarah Palin Flying During "Bus Tour" for Book?

(AP)
Former GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who has been emerging from a bus emblazoned with her name and photograph during her publicity tour for her memoir "Going Rogue," may be flying between her promotional appearances.

A blog called "Palingates," citing the flight log, first reported that Palin has apparently been traveling on a Gulfstream II 12-passenger jet from stop to stop.

Joe McGinniss at The Daily Beast then picked up the story. Before the tour, Palin's publicist had claimed that Palin would be "making two and sometimes three stops a day, traveling in a bus painted with the cover of her book." The former Alaska governor also gave interviews from the bus, driving home the notion that it was her mode of transportation for the tour.

But flight logs show that the Gulfstream jet, which costs $4,000 per hour, has been flown from stop to stop on the book tour, prompting McGinniss to speculate that she "hasn't been on the bus, except for short hops between local airports and hotels and book-signing sites."

HarperCollins did not respond to questions about who was paying for the jet or who flies on it. But Palin has acknowledged flying during at least some portion of the trip, tweeting that she "Just got off flt" on November 21st.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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EyeNeverSayNo says:
Talk about a weak sauce non-story.

As long as she's not flying to NYC for date night on the public dime (as the Pres and Ms. Obama recently did, with a GIII for them, another for security and a third for friendly reporters!) or fear mongering about global warming to sell books and movies, encouraging us little people to consume less, while simultaneously flying about in her own private jet(s) to multiple homes in various locations, as does Al Gore, then what's the big deal?

And if you think Palin's the first author to set out on a "bus tour" to promote a new book while having the audacity to actually fly (gasp!) when possible, well then you are an idiot.
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justausertoo says:
http://palingates.blogspot.com/ Posted this from Sarah's facebook notes today.Note the date. It proves that she was touting the fact that she was going on a road trip. haha since when did hitting the road mean jetting about on a luxury jet? Palin is a phony.

Road Trip! Book Tour Announcement
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 4:40pm
I am very, very excited about the upcoming road trip for my book. It will be an honor to meet as many of you as possible!

?Going Rogue? publisher HarperCollins is working hard to schedule book signings across the nation, and we?ll be announcing the locations in the next day or two. I?ve decided to travel to cities outside of the typical book tour venues, and I hope to cover as much of the country as I can.

We?re in the process of arranging interviews with local and national media. An interview with Oprah Winfrey is already scheduled, and I?m also hoping to have the opportunity to talk with Bill O?Reilly, Barbara Walters, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Tammy Bruce, and others, including local Alaska personalities Bob & Mark and Eddie Burke. (Variety is the spice of life!)

Can?t wait to hit the road. Can?t wait to see you!

- Sarah Palin
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Danno_a_Jyd replies:
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CBS gets another black eye as Sarah responds ...

It?s really comical at this point! Despite all of the important events happening in the world today ? the president?s speech tonight on the strategy in Afghanistan, the Senate debate over health care reform, the disturbing details of the ?Climategate? scandal, the continuing challenges facing the world economy ? the media is concerned about my travel and lodging arrangements on my book tour?! Does this sound familiar? It should. The media showed the same out-of-proportion obsession with my personal arrangements, clothes, and hairstyles last year instead of focusing on the crucial issues involving the election.

So what is this news ?story?? That I fly on an airplane to complete some of the stops on my book tour when it?s impractical or physically impossible to reach the next event on time by bus. Some news outlets are behaving as if my travel was a secret that they didn?t know about ? despite the fact that I?ve tweeted about my flights and at least one local newspaper reported on the arrival of my flight into Rochester, NY. What?s even funnier is that these same media outlets think it?s shocking that we stay in hotels. I guess they expected us to pitch a tent alongside the road. We love the great outdoors, but such an arrangement is hardly practical for a book tour. Using common sense, it was determined that traveling by plane between some stops would save time and energy and allow me to go to more events. Economically speaking for HarperCollins, it?s more efficient to travel by charter, and I am very grateful to the publisher for providing my family and me with this incredible opportunity to shake hands with as many Americans as possible on this book tour.

If you?re scratching your head wondering why my flight and hotel logistics warrant news coverage, join the club. They can, of course, report on whatever they like, but in my opinion CBS loses whatever professional integrity it still has when it links in its report to a website devoted to the bizarre conspiracy theory that I?m not the real mother of my son Trig.

Read the rest INCLUDING her comment about AlGorbal warming at ...
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=186948573434
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seog says:
There was no end to the slander & smearing of Hillary by the right wing crackpots now all of a sudden they love strong women. What a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites. Unlike Hillary this woman is a bimbo and completely unqualified to be in national politics.
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kmgjackson says:
The guy who wrote the article did exactly what he wanted to do--make everybody think that this is a big deal. She rides in the bus, and has logged lots of miles, when expedient. When there isn't enough time between stops she flies. So? I don't think she ever said that she was absolutely not going to fly and that she was going to camp out in the bus. Perhaps the traveling entourage should buy some sleeping bags and tents. Oh yeah, marshmallows for smores!! Would that make that haters happy?
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widowglick says:
Who is running the news room? Jerry Springer? You guys really underestimate the intelligence of the average American. So her publicist is paying travel expenses to get her to as many book signings as possible. AND, she's saying whatever she wants. It's called free enterprise and freedom of speach. Get over it. My son leaves for Afghanistan in January. I want to read real news on a real time plan of action regarding our efforts in helping the Afghan people regain control of their country, build out or rebuild their infrastructure, education efforts, etc. I think you folks have slipped into National Enquirer mode.
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widowglick says:
Who is running the news room? Jerry Springer? You guys really underestimate the intelligence of the average American. So her publicist is paying travel expenses to get her to as many book signings as possible. AND, she's saying whatever she wants. It's called free enterprise and freedom of speach. Get over it. My son leaves for Afghanistan in January. I want to read real news on a real time plan of action regarding our efforts in helping the Afghan people regain control of their country, build out or rebuild their infrastructure, education efforts, etc. I think you folks have slipped into National Enquirer mode.
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justme7456 says:
WHOA! Sarah Palin flies in airplanes???!! Somebody STOP the insanity!! I mean GEEZ, what do OTHER people do when they go on BIG book tours all across the country? She was NOT hiding this fact. This is NOT news. This is STUPID.
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BradPuett says:
Are a lot of you people that stupid (and therefore probably Republicans!): I know you're not used to it, but *REAL* news agencies point out lies! "And there she goes again!" Yep, it's another lie! If she had said "We're taking a book tour of America" and not made it a point to add "on a bus", it wouldn't be news. But she didn't!!

When are you Republicans going to learn that "Getting away with a lie is *not* the same thing as telling the truth!" Geez, no wonder we've got people dumb enough to believe the lies by Faux News, Hush Limburger, and "Cry-me-a-River" Heck; educate yourselves or you're going to fall for enough mistake like Bush League and Dick Head!
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GadsdenGurl says:
Nothing, repeat NOTHING can compare to the nazis and their crimes and deceits --- the ones in OFFICE NOW under BHO.
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democracy1 replies:
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Oh puh-leeze! Give us all a flipping break! What a load of hyperbolic horse-hockey!
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GadsdenGurl says:
Two words: SO WHAT.

This is news? CBS, this is why your ratings are so bad.
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