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September 3, 2008 4:48 PM

McCain Camp Knocks Down Enquirer's Palin Rumor

Posted by John Bentley
(CBS)
From CBS News' John Bentley:

(ST. PAUL, MINN.) – John McCain’s campaign threatened legal action against the National Enquirer today for running a story about McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, allegedly having an affair with her husband’s business partner.

“The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov. Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie,” said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt.

“The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American people will reject it.”

The Enquirer also alleges that Palin unjustly fired a public safety official while she was governor of Alaska, but the story is based entirely on unnamed sources. The Enquirer has also paid sources in the past to speak with them, something mainstream media outlets do not do.

“Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin look forward to discussing the issues that Americans care about, fixing broken government, creating jobs, making our country energy independent and securing the peace for the next generation by bringing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a victorious end,” said Schmidt.

“Legal action will be considered with regard to this disgraceful smear.”
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National Enquirer
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by scd2008-2009 September 6, 2008 5:40 PM EDT
Andir,

The Enquirer does its homework??? Are you for real?? What planet did you fall from? "Elvis is alive and spotted in Cancun", "Oprah is really a man", "Little green martians spotted in Lake Eerie", "Shroud of Christ found in a cave", "Big Foot seen in downtown Arkansas", "Woman gives birth to 45 pound baby". GIVE ME A BREAK!!! Now, that''s fine investigative reporting for you. Too bad Elvis, Oprah, Big Foot, Christ, and Oprah couldn''t sue. P-L-E-E-Z-E!
YOU and millions more like you are the very reason the Enquirer/Star and other trash making papers of such caliber stay in business. You''re still looking for Elvis.

Oh, hold on!!! I think I just spotted the lastest edition of the Enquirer fresh off the press. The headline states; "Elvis living on planet mars". You see, the Enquirer ran out of stories since Brittany Spears decided to put her panties back on, and Brad Pitt/Jolie gave exclusive rights to People Magizine to photograph their twins for a cool million, and they can''t figure out how to get to Mars to look for Elvis. Please go back to sleep. You need a long nap. ''Oh, wait, I just spotted a UFO...quick kids grab the camera. Is that a bird, plane, superman? No it''s Elvis!
I''ll give my exclusive to the Enquirer.

Susan Davis
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by peteward5 September 6, 2008 3:22 PM EDT
SARAH PALIN BETTER SUE FAST. THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT IS NOT SOMETHING TO FOOL WITH. IF CLINTON DID NOT HAVE THE MONICA AFFAIR AL GORE WOULD BE PRESIDENT NOW.THE MORAL RIGHT BELIEVE IT NOT WHAT YOU SAY BUT THE DEEDS YOU DO. IF SHE DOES NOT SUE THE ENQUIER SHE WILL BE PERCIEVED AS A LIER TO HER FAITH AND TO GOD AND TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.IF SHE HAD THIS AFFAIR WHILE TRYING TO TEACH HER CHILD MORALS WHAT DOES THAT SAY? MANY CHRISTIAN MOTHERS DO NOT LIKE THE FACT THAT A MOTHER OF A 6 MONTH CHILD WITH MANY MANY NEEDS IS PUTTING MANY OF THOSE BURDENS ON THE REST OF HER FAMILY.SO I WARN YOU NOW IF SHE DOES NOT COMPLETLY PROVE THE ENQUIER FALSE THIS SAYS SHE IS NOT ONLY NOT READY TO BE VICE PRESIDENT BUT I SEROUSLY BELIEVE SHE IS NOT A FIT MOTHER!!!!
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by ltcjack1 September 5, 2008 1:27 PM EDT
I agree with others--the McCain can legally sue-it will be up to Gov.Palin. 1) Lyda Green, President of the Alaska Senate is concerned that she will harm the U.S.government they way she harmed the state of Alaska, She is from the town of Wasilla, where Palin was Mayor. (2)Gail Phillips (republican) former Speaker of the Alaska House was shocked by her selection as VEEP candidate (2)Palin received $4,500.00 in campaign donation from the same group for which Senator Steven of Alaska is being charged. (3) Palin espoused she rejected the bridge to no where project--what she didn''t say was that she originally APPROVED IT! (4) The Bush Administration is being investigated for firing several Federal Prosecutors for other than merit--Palin is being investigated for firing of the Public Safety Officer for other than merit--her sister''s ex-husband.(5) Palin indicates she has rejected Pork Barrel projects--quite the contrary she has approved and accepted many of them. (6) As her husband was a member of a fringe organization which advocated that Alaska secede from the U.S.--if he had been successful--would that have made Palin ineligible to be a VEEP? (7) Her husband is reportedly going to assist her , if she becomes VEEP, with the children. Do we know whether he has conquered his alleged alcohol problem? (DUI Conviction). (8)Palin indicates that it was her daughter''s "CHOICE" to keep the baby; yet Palin would deny all other American women that "Choice" --a little hypocrisy.
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by barbara_roko September 5, 2008 8:33 AM EDT
I''ve never in my 57 years heard such a sarcastic, bitter & uneducated "political" speech in all my life until hearing Sarah Palin speak. Guess being a hockey mom & beauty queen makes for a good V.P. Shouldn''t she stay home with the special needs baby? Senator Obama would never stoop so low as to go on & on, like a sarcastic UNfunny comedian in getting his message across to Americans, on how to make our country a BETTER place to live He has depth of an ocean. She acted like a mud puddle when she gave her speech. Not very "Christian" as she professes to be. Shame on her. Sort of like a "Valley Girl" Hitler in her remarks. The roar of the audience was scary! She is off the wall, and not Vice Presidential material at all!
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by barbara_roko September 5, 2008 8:32 AM EDT
I''ve never in my 57 years heard such a sarcastic, bitter & uneducated "political" speech in all my life until hearing Sarah Palin speak. Guess being a hockey mom & beauty queen makes for a good V.P. Shouldn''t she stay home with the special needs baby? Senator Obama would never stoop so low as to go on & on, like a sarcastic UNfunny comedian in getting his message across to Americans, on how to make our country a BETTER place to live He has depth of an ocean. She acted like a mud puddle when she gave her speech. Not very "Christian" as she professes to be. Shame on her. Sort of like a "Valley Girl" Hitler in her remarks. The roar of the audience was scary! She is off the wall, and not Vice Presidential material at all!
Reply to this comment
by nothappyatall September 5, 2008 5:18 AM EDT
The Law 101. How can McCain sue for slander regarding Palin. Doesnt Palin have to sue?

Posted by xargaw

She would yes, however, now that she is a PUBLIC FIGURE, it''s too late and too bad for her, she can''t win because she is now officially a public figure and this comes under different rules where legal liability for libel/slander otherwise would come in for a NON public figure.

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by tex805 September 5, 2008 4:53 AM EDT
Hmmm -

The National Enquirer is a "liberal rag"? Then why did they expose John Edwards, arguably the most liberal of all presidential candidates?

The National Enquirer "posts false BS all the time"? Hmmm - why did Edwards acknowledge his problems? And why did the N.E. send their Edwards team to Alaska to check out the many rumors about Palin?

Be worried, Palin supporters - be very worried!
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by Teri Foss September 4, 2008 10:37 PM EDT
Obama%u2019s an amazing negotiator, which is absolutely crucial in today''s geopolitical world and the most essential character trait in forging our national security. With his instinctual and well-honed people skills and the uncanny ability to form unique bonds and build rapport, even with some of the most unlikely characters, he%u2019s the one we want out their negotiating on our behalf in the greater global community. I can understand why those of you who voted the current criminalistic pair into the White House want to now vote in McCain and Palin, as, excuse me, your judgment has been seriously undermined, but turn off your screaming conservative radio programs and gain some critical balance to your information gathering. Whoever gets into the White House is going to have a daunting task on their hands of cleaning up the current mess and restoring America''s balance, as our current state and the future it beholds is in horrible arrears. I know that the Republican Party wants you to believe that everything is okay so they can get your vote, but you''ve got to get a clue about whose just playing politics and who genuinely has the integrity and the capacity to lead. Obama/Biden 08 deserves your second look. For the sake of America, don''t serve our children''s future up on a sacrificial platter by voting in this unqualified pair of McCain and Palin. Peace
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by Teri Foss September 4, 2008 10:33 PM EDT
This is precisely where you need to be in order to develop a real heartbeat for reality. With the keen instinctual knowledge he gained by humbling himself to another%u2019s cause, sharing their burdens, working side by side to make a difference, enacting programs that lent solid footing, he took on God%u2019s greatest burden%u2014the outcasts of society, as spelled out in the pages of Isaiah, and gained the invaluable experience that has shaped his leadership skills. All other experience on the table, this is the essential firsthand knowledge one needs in order to know where and how government needs changing. You fix it from the bottom up, not the top down%u2014hence, a real democracy. That''s why politicians tend to be so out of touch with their constituent base, because THEY''VE NEVER BEEN THERE!!!! For this he took a meager salary of $13,000. Call him elitist and arrogant all you want, but his character is standing the test; as he is a tactful, well-rounded individual, full of integrity and humility. And as far as his "movement" goes, which has been cruelly mocked by the "conservative" media and all things "red," this is exactly where he got the kind of experience that not only gave birth to a movement, but to lead it, in his grassroots organizing at the community level, bringing people together and empowering them to overcome their hardships, organizing them in a unified bloc to challenge the systems that fail the people. Wake up, injustices are real. Continued%u2026
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by Teri Foss September 4, 2008 10:26 PM EDT
Obama is a wonderful family man and he, with his wife, puts his family first. Michelle is the kind of honorable woman our country needs right now, when family values have been so horribly displaced. It is the key to getting our country back on the right track. By putting families first and holding everything else up to that light, we can achieve true north; from there, we can use the wisdom that unfolds to guide our country back to wholeness. Besides impeccable family values, he also has an amazing resume, one that has been twisted, distorted, and downplayed to deplorable degrees by the Conservative base. Not to mention outstanding character traits of which you%u2019ll never see unless you choose to. First of all, we could be addressing him as Dr. Barack Obama, as he happens to have his PhD, graduating magna *** laude from Harvard Law School in constitutional and civil law. This is where he served as president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review overseeing a staff of 80 editors. He has also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for 12 years and served for several more years as a civil rights attorney. Upon completing his Bachelors (political science/foreign affairs), he could have chosen his own professional ticket with an amazing salary, as even then his star was seen rising, but instead he chose to work as a community organizer in Chicago''s South Side, working with the people who were hit the hardest by the injustices of society. Continued%u2026
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by xargaw September 4, 2008 9:38 PM EDT
The Law 101. How can McCain sue for slander regarding Palin. Doesn''t Palin have to sue?
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by elite59 September 4, 2008 9:36 PM EDT
another smear piece by a liberal rag... http://www.wwlp.com/Global/story.asp?S=8838089
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by elite59 September 4, 2008 9:34 PM EDT
The enquirer posts false BS all the time and then settles out of court when sued... example:
http://www.wwlp.com/Global/story.asp?S=8838089
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by thesamurai7 September 4, 2008 9:18 PM EDT
"Senator Obama would never stoop so low as to go on & on, like a sarcastic UNfunny comedian in getting his message across to Americans, on how to make our country a BETTER place to live."

You''re right. He just goes on and on telling the correct story for the correct audience he happens to have at the time. Tomorrow? A new story. If he wants to get rid of the sarcasm, let him start talking about the issues and what HE is going to do about them -- for everyone.
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by andir-2009 September 4, 2008 9:05 PM EDT
Only one person in the past has ever successfully sued the Enquirer...and that was Carole Burnett who settled for a one dollar award.

The Enquirer, for all its sensationalism, does its homework, and stands behind its stories. They informed Sarah that the were about to break the daughter pregnancy story, - and she was forced to make the announcement to the press. The Enquirer is not a political tabloid.. it''s a scandal sheet that does some very good investigating. Wait and see. There will be no law suit...but the main stream press will ignore any dirt on Palin. She''s not Bill.
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by wandafdv September 4, 2008 9:02 PM EDT
Screwin'' your husband''s business partner is not cool!!!!!!!!

But you go, girl!!!!!!!
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by nckoalagal September 4, 2008 9:00 PM EDT
If the Enquirer is a tool of the liberals, why would they have outed John Edwards?
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by nirak2-2009 September 4, 2008 8:53 PM EDT
I love Obama, Sarah is TOAST
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by jspy619 September 4, 2008 8:31 PM EDT
I love sarah. Obama is toast
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by andir-2009 September 4, 2008 8:08 PM EDT
Only one person in the past has ever successfully sued the Enquirer...and that was Carole Burnett who settled for a one dollar award.

The Enquirer, for all its sensationalism, does its homework, and stands behind its stories. They informed Sarah that the were about to break the daughter pregnancy story, - and she was forced to make the announcement to the press. The Enquirer is not a political tabloid.. it''s a scandal sheet that does some very good investigating. Wait and see. There will be no law suit...but the main stream press will ignore any dirt on Palin. She''s not Bill.
Reply to this comment
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