Will 'petty' bio win Sarah Palin some sympathy?
Sarah Palin is the subject of a racy new biography, if you haven鈥檛 heard. 鈥淭he Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin鈥� by Joe McGinniss contains allegations that the former governor of Alaska has used drugs, committed infidelities, and is a bad parent, among other things.
Predictably it鈥檚 drawn a strong response from the Palin camp.
The book is nothing but 鈥渄isgusting lies, innuendo, and smears,鈥� said husband Todd Palin in a statement issued Thursday.
Will the book sink Sarah or win her some sympathy? It鈥檚 possible that Mr. McGinness 鈥� who rented the house next door to the Palins' in Wasilla, Alaska 鈥� will help the "mama grizzly" more than hurt her.
First of all, the initial reviews are less than kind. You can see the word 鈥渟cathing鈥� from where you鈥檙e standing.
Much of 鈥淩ogue鈥� is 鈥渄ated, petty, and easily available to anyone with Internet access,鈥� .
鈥淢r. McGinniss used his time in Alaska to chase caustic, unsubstantiated gossip about the Palins, often from unnamed sources like 鈥榦ne resident鈥� and 鈥榓 friend,鈥� 鈥� writes Ms. Maslin.
Even the supposed are fairly mundane for a person of Ms. Palin鈥檚 generation, wrote Los Angeles Times reviewer David Ulin.
Palin may be narcissistic and unqualified for office, but 鈥淚 want more than innuendo to make that point,鈥� Mr. Ulin concludes.
Second, the McGinniss book isn鈥檛 even the only pointed Palin tome coming out this month. Ex-almost-son-in-law Levi Johnston, father of Bristol Palin鈥檚 child, is publishing 鈥淒eer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin鈥檚 Crosshairs鈥� on Sept. 20.
Getting lumped in the same book racks (or news stories) as Mr. Johnston, whose tabloid exploits are approaching Lindsay Lohan levels, won鈥檛 help McGinniss gain credibility. It might also cut into his sales.
Finally, we鈥檒l note that racy bios aren鈥檛 Palin鈥檚 biggest problem anyway. Her biggest problem is that some of her poll numbers are slowly deflating, calling into question her political future.
According to Gallup, Palin鈥檚 Positive Intensity Score (the percentage of people who really like her, minus the percentage of people who don鈥檛) . Her current score is 10, which ties her for fifth in the GOP presidential field.
A recent put her support for the GOP nomination among Republican voters at 15 percent. That鈥檚 not great, though in the CNN survey her support has remained fairly steady since midsummer.
But some of her subsidiary numbers in the CNN poll are sinking. Only 6 percent of respondents now believe she will be the eventual nominee, down from 14 percent in June. At a time when 鈥渆lectability鈥� is increasingly a GOP mantra, 6 percent consider her the best bet to defeat President Obama. And 9 percent believe her to be the best candidate to get the country鈥檚 economy moving again.
But she still does well among GOP voters who value scrappiness. Asked which candidate is most likely to fight for their beliefs, 23 percent picked Palin, putting her just behind Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the choice of 29 percent of those polled.
