Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sarah Palin reads The National Enquirer -- Updated

Katie Couric once asked Sarah Palin what she reads. How many years has Couric's question been dogging us? More than two years. Now we know, unless someone reads to her, that Palin reads [but see the update, below] The National Enquirer, because Sarah Palin said, referring to a National Enquirer story claiming that Todd Palin had an affair with a massage therapist, "Look at this recent b.s. about Todd being all caught up in this prostitution ring in Anchorage. Heck, all they needed to do was to ask him, 'Hey, Todd, you been hanging out with hookers in Anchorage?' He'd tell the truth!"

It is good to know that Palin reads the Enquirer, but I don't know what to make of either the Enquirer's or Palin's claim. Obviously the thing to do is buy the current National Enquirer and compare its claim with what Sarah Palin and the Anchorage police department have said about the Enquirer's claim. Last night, I saw the Enquirer on a newsstand; apparently, John Travolta is a bigger draw than Sarah Palin, because he got more of the Enquirer's cover space than she did. But I didn't buy it, even though it is possible that the denials are half-truths or outright lies. Perhaps the denial depends on the definition of "hanging out," and I have no idea where Todd hangs out. I may reconsider, but I am sure that Sarah Palin is finished politically, so why bother? The National Enquirer has part of the story online, in "TODD PALIN SEX SCANDAL: ALASKA COPS ISSUE STATEMENT."

The quote from Sarah Palin was obtained from New York magazine's "Sarah Palin Encourages Enquirer to Call Her More Often," which quotes a NY Daily News article, "Todd Palin sex scandal claims: Sarah Palin calls ... 'b.s.'," which has audio of Sarah Palin's claim.

This post's photo can be found in a NY Daily News gallery, here. It is number 32 of 43 and is captioned, "During the vice presidential debate on Oct. 2, [2008], Palin had more than a few uncomfortable moments ... ."

Update: The Enquirer's article can be read here. It doesn't appear as though Sarah Palin is denying what the Enquirer claims, because the Enquirer doesn't claim that Todd Palin is involved with a prostitution ring or that he hangs out with prostitutes in Anchorage. It's possible that Sarah Palin doesn't read the Enquirer; or is she trying to get in front of a bigger story? Assuming that Palin's "denial" is true, what we have from her is a half-truth: the Enquirer's claim wasn't disputed.

2 comments:

Joie Vouet said...

We have the question "What is the definition of "hanging out?" Didn't one case turn on the definition of "is?" And we have that old Nixonian question, "What did she know, and when did she know it."

I have inferred that Palin read about the alleged affair in the Enquirer. Perhaps she read it in the blogs!? Perhaps she's known about it all along, so didn't have to read about it anywhere!? Then, too, perhaps the Enquirer's story is bunk.

Gryphen has a post about something posted at ADN's Alaska Ear column.

Joie Vouet said...

NY Daily News' quote of Palin's denial: "Look at this recent b.s. about Todd being all caught up in this prostitution ring in Anchorage. Heck, all they needed to do was to ask him, 'Hey, Todd, you been hanging out with hookers in Anchorage?' He'd tell the truth!"

Gryphen has the text of the Enquirer's article, here. Did the Enquirer write anything about Todd being involved with a "prostitution ring" and "prostitutes?" I don't think so.