Sarah Palin has decided, but she does not want to tell us what she's decided.

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire got a preview of Sarah Palin's appearance, last night, on Fox Business Network. Their story begins:

In case you were wondering, Sarah Palin has no plans to announce tomorrow whether she’ll run for president.

“This is a serious decision, and I’ve engaged in serious deliberations. So within the next 24 hours don’t look for me to make a decision,” she said, according to excerpts of an interview on Fox Business Network set to air tonight.

Ms. Palin, who has taken no serious steps toward a run, had said over the summer that she would have to announce her intentions by the end of September – that would [be] tomorrow — in order to meet a long list of logistical requirements for getting on state ballots. But lately, she has suggested she has until later in the fall. Florida for instance, does not require state parties to submit the names of presidential candidates until Oct. 31.

Let's stop right there. Sarah Palin said, "I've engaged in serious deliberations." Let's expand the contraction I've: "I have engaged in serious deliberations." Should we doubt grammar? Isn't verb tense still meaningful? Sarah's "serious deliberations" were complete when she made that statement. She's decided! She didn't say, "I am engaging in serious deliberations," or "I am engaged in serious deliberations," both of which would indicate an action continuing in the present. No! She said "I've engaged in serious deliberations," which is to say, "I have engaged in serious deliberations ," which is to say "I am not presently engaged in serious deliberations."

The takeaway is: Sarah Palin has decided or Sarah Palin is not deliberating seriously at the present time. Is there any other choice? Possibly: Sarah Palin does NOT know what she is talking about.

See Palingates' "Sarah Palin's dilemma" for what may be an explanation of why Sarah Palin is scared to say what she's decided.

Well! Recently, I've outdone myself: Four posts, yesterday; three the day before. So, I may take the rest of the day off, and Saturday and Sunday, too. I'll be watching the news, and be back if Sarah Palin does or says anything newsworthy. She'll try ... she's has to have that attention. It's all part of the tease.

BREAKING!!! Joe McGinniss' book to debut at #10 on NY Times bestseller list!

I was in a Target store, this morning, and saw Joe McGinniss' book “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” on the bestseller, nonfiction shelves. I thought about driving back with a camera, but thought, "Nah, why burn a gallon of gas?"

No matter! Salon's Dave Weigel has posted "Palin Book Round-Up: McGinniss Sells, Johnston Flops," in which he writes, "Now that the books have been out for a week, we have a better idea of how they're selling. According to the New York Times's books reporter Julie Bosman, The Rogue will debut at #10 on the paper's nonfiction list, making it McGinniss's first bestseller in more than a decade. According to Nielsen BookScan, McGinniss moved 6,000 copies in the first week."

Weigel didn't provide a link, so I checked Julie Bosman's articles at the NY Times and found nothing. Aha! It's something she tweeted:




Don't believe it? -- screencaps can be faked -- see what she tweeted.

Recent reviews of Nick Broomfield's film "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!" are generally positive

Several positive reviews of Nick Broomfield's film, "Sarah Palin: You, Betcha!" have recently appeared. Here is an excerpt -- in italics -- of one from msnbc, chosen mainly because it's a good backgrounder and somewhat of a linkfest:

The Frommer's travel guidebook on Alaska describes the city of Wasilla as “the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots.” With a population of about 8,000, it's also filled with an abundance of churches and, oddly enough, has the distinction of being the state meth capital despite its citywide ban on strip clubs. But in Nick Broomfield's new documentary, Sarah Palin: You Betcha!, the city more closely resembles Twin Peaks, with its most popular resident, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, serving the role of the malefic killer BOB, having brainwashed her former constituents into believing she's someone worthy of their undying admiration.

Things began innocently enough. Broomfield and his co-director, Joan Churchill, moved to a house in Wasilla and were invited into the homes of many of Palin's acquaintances and family members—including that of her parents, Chuck and Sally Heath.

“We tried incredibly hard to ingratiate ourselves to Sarah Palin and her family,” said Broomfield in an interview. “I didn't go out there in any way whatsoever to do a hit piece on her. We were like the best-behaved Boy Scouts there could be.”

The title of the film comes from a promise the Tea Party figurehead and former vice presidential candidate made to Broomfield at a book signing when he requested an interview, but it soon became readily apparent that Palin was just leading the filmmakers on. ...

... Broomfield is known for his in-your-face filmmaking style, which has influenced Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, among others. He's often depicted ambushing subjects in his films clutching a sound boom with a tape recorder dangling from his neck. The cheeky Brit's most famous documentaries include Kurt & Courtney, in which he suggested that Courtney Love drove Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain to suicide, and Biggie & Tupac, which supported the popular theory that the LAPD was in on the rappers' murders.

“I'm very drawn to these subjects that have a bigger reflection of the world and the society we live in,” said Broomfield. “In this particular one, it's this evangelical politician who is very much reflective of a Michele Bachmann or a Rick Perry, and who is unfortunately very representative of where the Republican Party is going, and the diminishing separation of church and state, which I think is one of the most dangerous things that could happen in this country.” ...

“[Sarah Palin's] irrational way of dealing with people, and the way she gets rid of people and makes them enemies, should have people thinking twice,” said Broomfield. ...

The review ends with quotes of several of Nick Broomfield's remarks: '“The Rick Perrys and the Sarah Palins have created this romantic fiction of a piece of American history that never existed that people have bought into,” said a fired-up Broomfield. “Until the liberals come up with their own equivalent, and come up with their own heroes, and actually have the balls to stand up and argue their beliefs in a consistent way in terms of a larger political framework, the Perrys, Bachmanns, and Palins are going to be very powerful, and I think the country will go into a very dark period—both within the country, in terms of the dwindling middle class, and the world stage.”'

Although I'll go to see Nick Broomfield's film, I disagree with his assessment of voters, because the Perrys, Bachmanns, and Palins have a problem: electability. The "romantic fiction" these people have created isn't a mainstream, majority view. Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are being pilloried, everyday. Rick Perry is going to have to answer for some of the things he wrote in his book "Fed Up!" which was written when he thought he wouldn't run, and about which he told ABC News, "If there is a better signal of my plans for the future of not running for the presidency of the United States, it's this book," Perry said last November. "Anyone running for the presidency is not going to go take on these issues with the power that I do." In the end, it's a matter of confidence in the country's voters. People who don't have any confidence in the voters will feel afraid. Let's hope that they're not too scared or too lazy to vote.

Yet another review is Cinespect's "Q&A with Award-Winning Documentarian Nick Broomfield," which is an in-depth interview that clearly separates the interviewer's questions and Nick Broomfield's responses. Recommended!

And, yet another review is The New York Observer's "Northern Exposure? You Betcha!"

The msnbc review, excerpted above, is "The Documentary Palin Will Hate."

I think the film will recoup its production costs, at least, then go on to be an important film, if Sarah Palin dares to throw her wig in the ring.

The film's poster was found here, at IMDb.

Sarah Palin's gone hunting and is wearing the Cookie Monster's pelt. What will we tell the children?

On his Daily Show, Jon Stewart played a role that Greta Van Susteren failed to play when she had Sarah Palin on her show the other night. According to The Atlantic Wire's Eric Hayden, Stewart's point -- he's quoting Stewart -- is:

"So, here's the thing. You can have a colorful bus and drive to early primary states or you can go around telling people what you would do if you were president. But when you put those two together, there's really only two possibilities: you are either running for the president of the United States, or you are a crazy person."

The video is hilarious and trenchant. Some things may be best expressed through comedy. Jon Stewart's "interview" of Sarah Palin is intercut with sarah-palin-answerthons from Greta Van Susteren's show and has dubbed-in a laugh-track:

Ha! Where does Sarah Palin get off talking about a "nail in the coffin" of anyone else's candidacy?

Before reading The Atlantic's post, "Jon Stewart: Either Sarah Palin Is a Candidate or She's 'Crazy'," bear in mind, in this age of short attention spans, that sometimes the punchline needs a buildup. Timing is everything with comedy.

A video and transcript of Sarah Palin's appearance on Greta Van Susteren's show can be found at Fox News' "'Maverick' Palin vs. 'Quasi Reality' Show."

Bonus: Salon has "The Christie/Palin tease."

Sarah Palin inspired Nicolle Wallace's character "Tara," a "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" Vice President -- VIDEO

Nicolle Wallace, former Communications Director for President Bush and -- Is there any way to put this delicately? -- Sarah Palin's chaperone during the 2008 campaign, has written "It's Classified," a novel whose characters include "Charlotte," as President, and "Tara," as Vice President.

The book's prologue can be read here, at Simon & Schuster's website. The Daily Beast has an excerpt from Chapter Twenty-four, where "Tara" -- is she Sarah? -- has difficulty with an interview. Or, look inside the book, at Amazon. And, last but not least, Nicolle Wallace (and Steve Schmidt) were interviewed by Rachel Maddow. On Maddow's show, Wallace says that "Tara" was inspired by Sarah Palin. Nicolle Wallace begins talking about 2:18:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Gryphen has "Just in case there are NOT enough nails in Sarah Palin's political coffin, let me present the devastating Rachel Maddow interview with ex-McCain staffers Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace." It has video of Rachel Maddow's entire show and gives times for the best parts -- there are more than this short clip shows -- so you can skip ahead and easily find them.

P.S. I've figured out when Sarah Palin may announce her candidacy. She may try to scare us with an announcement on Halloween, October 31st. Hey! Everyone else has been sure when she'd announce and been wrong. Besides, it would be an "October Surprise." CBS has "How late can a Chris Christie or a Sarah Palin wait before it is too late?" Their story indicates that October 31st is the last day to enter the Florida primary.

Update: Corrected the Amazon link, above. It was a link to Nicolle Wallace's "Eighteen Acres," an earlier book.

Update: Rachel Maddow comments on Nicolle Wallace's statement at her Maddow Blog, in "The left, the right, Sarah Palin and 'cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs'."

Major news/wire service publishes story about Joe McGinniss' book: Surprise! The book is mostly about Sarah Palin's lack of interest in governing.

Reuters has "Publisher stands by Palin book despite legal threat," which states, in part:

The book, "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin," by veteran political writer Joe McGinniss was published last week as speculation mounted about whether the 2008 vice presidential candidate will launch a late bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

"We are confident that the reporting in 'The Rogue' is solid, reliable, and well-substantiated. We stand by our publication and our author," said Stuart Applebaum, spokesman for Crown Publishers.

In a letter from her lawyer, Palin, 48, put McGinniss and Crown Publishing on notice that they face possible legal action for defaming Palin.

Among the more sensational allegations contained in the book is an account of a one-night stand Palin is purported to have had as a 23-year-old sports reporter with a future professional basketball player.

It also contains passages by acquaintances describing Palin as a neglectful mother and accounts of cocaine use by both Palin and her husband.

But most of the book is devoted to Palin's actions as mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska, up to her abrupt resignation from that post in July 2009.

It portrays Palin as fascinated with celebrity and self-advancement but disinterested in governing. ... [emphasis added]

Imagine that! We may still be in the early innings of "inside baseball."

Bonus: Geoffrey Dunn, author of "The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power", has written a critique of Janet Maslin's review of Joe McGinniss' book. Dunn's critique is "Blood in the Snow: Maslin’s NYT Review of The Rogue Is Intellectually Dishonest."

Some authorities on lawsuits weigh-in on Sarah Palin's threat to sue

From ABC News' The Note:

Sarah Palin may have threatened to sue the publisher and author of a scathing book about her life, but her rise to fame and public prominence since her failed 2008 vice presidential bid could make her case difficult to prove, according to attorneys who deal with similar cases.

Palin’s attorney sent a letter to Crown Publishing, a division of Random House, Monday evening, informing them Palin may sue the publishing house and author of “The Rogue,” Joe McGinniss, “for knowingly publishing false statements” in the book released last week.

But attorneys who handle defamation and libel cases involving public figures say it’s not easy to prove the legal standard of whether an author either knowingly published false reporting or had malicious intent. James Janowitz, a New York attorney who has defended celebrities in defamation cases, says the bar for Palin’s potential suit ”is as high as it gets.”

“The standard is very high. It requires falsity of the statements of the reports or actual malice, and maybe they could meet that standard, but there is nothing here that would indicate they could,” Janowitz said after examining the letter sent to Crown.

“The reporter or the author is not libelous merely for repeating or reporting false things about the subject, and that’s really the key thing. It doesn’t matter that’s he’s wrong. It matters whether or not he knew what he was writing was false,” Janowitz said. “If he had contrary information or if he made it up and it was false and he had no source at all and he did it for the purpose of either hurting her or boosting the sales of his book when he knew what he was saying was probably false, then he’s in trouble. But that’s a very high bar.” ...

ABC News' article is "Sarah Palin May Have a Hard Time Proving Defamation," and it contains much more information (and opinion) than I've excerpted, here.

My opinion is here and has an example from the book illustrating how the book's author did not "present as fact" something that may be troubling Sarah Palin. That is an example of what Janowitz is talking about in the last excerpted paragraph, above. At one point in ABC's article, it's said that legal discovery might be painful for a lot of people, but consider Palingates' "Sarah Palin wants to know who said what."