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'Going Rogue,' the new Sarah Palin book, will be released in November. Palin wrote 'Going Rogue' with the help of Lynn Vincent, a features writer for World Magazine.
Lynn Vincent, the other voice behind the Sarah Palin book
By Matthew Shaer | 09.29.09
By now, you’ve probably heard the news. Sarah Palin – prolific Facebook user, Twitter poet, and former Alaskan governor – is writing a book. The title is “Going Rogue: An American Life,” and if early buzz is any indication, sales of the 400-page tome, which hits shelves in November, will be through the roof. Palin’s publishers are already preparing for boffo returns: more than 1.5 million copies of “Going Rogue” have reportedly been ordered.
Fair enough. November is holiday book-buying season, and Sarah Palin is a hot commodity. No reason to think Palin’s book won’t skyrocket to the top of the best-seller list. But let’s pause for a second: Did Palin really write “Going Rogue” all by herself? As MSNBC’s Chris Matthews noted back in May, “She’s got this book deal, she obviously is not gonna write it.”
Matthews was right. Palin had help.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that – unofficially, we’d estimate that 90 percent of the books published by politicians are heavily ghost-written. (A notable exception: Barack Obama, whose “Dreams from My Father” was considered by many critics to have real literary merit.) In Palin’s case, help came in the form of Lynn Vincent, a senior writer for the conservative Christian publication World Magazine.
And to judge by Vincent’s record, Palin’s choice was a sound one. Vincent has proven commercial success: “Same Different as Me,” a book which described the friendship between an art dealer and a homeless person, sold 560,000 copies, and logged 75 weeks on the best-seller list. That’s no small achievement at a time at a time when the publishing industry is shrinking faster than an Alaskan summer.
Vincent’s politics also seem to align pretty well with Palin’s. In 2006, Vincent helped write a book called “Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party.” (”Donkey Cons” was co-written with Robert Stacy McCain.) The book’s tagline advertised a chronicle of “shameless bribery, illicit sex, [and] sweeping corruption.” Meanwhile, promotional copy posted to World Magazine’s Amazon page promised to reveal the following:
- How Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy were elected with the help of the Mob.
- What two eyewitnesses said about JFK’s obsession with hookers.
- Why Democrats ignore crime victims and take the side of rapists, robbers, and cop-killers-then stump for the right of felons to vote!
A review of Vincent’s most recent stories in World reveals a strong focus on abortion, religion, and gay marriage.
—
Chuck Norris to America: Hoist that ‘tea-stained’ flag!
Chuck Norris has never been known for his subtlety. After all, this is the karate master who brawled his way through the “Delta Force” franchise. The man who zealously patrolled the borders of Texas, his cowboy hat artfully askew. And now Chuck Norris is telling true American patriots that they should proudly fly the flag dip their flag in warm tea.
Comments
2. Offthegrid | 09.29.09
Given Palin’s inability to string together two coherent sentences, it’s no wonder she invited a ghost writer to help her. Good luck to Vincent in making any sense of Palin’s right-wing gobbledygook.
3. Kurt | 09.29.09
Re Vincent’s other book: “Why Democrats ignore crime victims and take the side of rapists, robbers, and cop-killers-then stump for the right of felons to vote! ”
Well, I’m not saying that all Democrats are flocking to the defence of Roman Polanski. But all those flocking to the defence of Polanski ARE Democrats.
4. Tom | 09.29.09
Are you sure that Bill ayers that help Obama out with his book? That’s at least what sources close to Obama claim.
5. Art Wallis | 09.29.09
A notable exception being Barack Obama’s “Dreams From My Father?” Where have you been? There is plenty of evidence that Obama had lots of help, and from a notable source. Your bias is showing.
6. jc | 09.29.09
More on Sarah’s ghostwriter in today’s San Diego Union/Tribune:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/sd-ghostwriter-mum-sarah-palin-memoir/?uniontrib
7. captbilly | 09.29.09
An interesting quote from the article “That’s no small achievement at a time at a time when the publishing industry is shrinking faster than an Alaskan summer.” when referring to the fact that the author of Palin’s book was able to sell a lot of books in a shrinking market. Seeing as summers in Alaska are very likely to be growing in length due to global warming, rather than shrinking, I am not sure what the author was trying to say.
I also find it interesting that they say that Palin is writing a book (as if!) when we all know that Lynn Vincent is the actual author (that’s actually what most of the article discusses). This tasty little piece of propoganda written by Vincent is going to be presented to America’s most gullible segment, conservative christians, as proof both of her writing skills and of her qualifications to be a politician. Of course anyone who followed Palin over the past year would have to know that she is probably nearly the least qualified politician in America, not just to be President, but even to be mayor of Wassilla. We must learn to distinguish one’s ability to get elected from their qualifications to hold the office to which they were elected. We all know that GW Bush was able to get elected, with the help of tons of money, back room deals, daddy’s connections, and sleazy campaiging, but almost everyone in America would agree that he wasn’t qualified for the office he held. Likewise Palin did get elected as mayor of a town of 5,000 and then actually was elected Governor of Alaska, but the fact that she resigned only half way through her term should finally put the nail in the coffin of any notion that she was actually qualified to be Governor.
Look, I am quite sure that I could find an author to write a book about me that would make a great case for my qualifications to be President, but the fact that it is written doesn’t mean that it is true. I hope people read this book with more than a grain of critical thinking.
8. mogwai | 09.29.09
I got as far as (A notable exception: Barack Obama, whose “Dreams from My Father” was considered by many critics to have real literary merit.) and jumped down here. I didn’t follow the link to read about some socialist goof and do not see any merit in bringing up the evil ones name.
9. Chuck P | 09.29.09
Is anyone else tired of all the ghost-writing going on in Washington DC for celebrity politicians who get to claim credit for penning these books? For me personally, it borders on fraud.
10. Dick | 09.29.09
Can anyone seriously picture Sarah Palin even READING a book, much less writing one?!? Whatever her merits as a “hockey mom”, gal next door, and so on, let’s not kid ourselves: she is pathologically incurious and probably has not read a book on U.S. history since highschool. The fact that someone like Sarah Palin can stand a hair’s breath from being the Chief Executive of the most powerful nation-state in world history is enough to put the fear of God into any proponent of unqualified democracy.
11. Dave Smirly | 09.29.09
It is amazing to read left wing nuts criticize a great lady like Palin when in fact they forget that it was a terrorist (Ayres) that wrote the Messiah’s book.
Wake up!!!!
At least Palin’s book will be selling millions and she will be making millions of $$$ (good for her) that the Messiah would love to tax. You see, his money, is his money. He gets to keep it. But others people’s money is the government’s money. This is exactly how class warfare starts - it is called class envy.
12. Kansas City | 09.29.09
RE: Ayers and Obama book.
I lost track of this story after it was debunked by the Oxford professor who detailed the Republican attempt to have him use computer analysis to discredit Obama during the election. Is there something new being claimed?
13. Gary | 09.29.09
Hey Captbilly Obama wasn’t and isn’t no more qualified to be President than you say Palin is. And his book was not entirely written by him. And Sarah has done a lot for Alaska if you actually did some research instead of critisizing. She has done more for Alaska than any other Governor in any other State. My wife has spent part of her life in and out of Alaska, she has friends that life there especially Wasilla and they are pretty damned happy with the way things are. You know its the only state that pays no sales tax, no gas tax, and very little if any property tax so I would say shut the heck up. Its also the only state that gets money back as dividends from the Oil companies there and most of it is because of Sarah. She is also the only governor in the US that kept a jar with the residents namesand drew a name each day and called to see how they were. Look past all the Obama sided media and actually think for yourself.
14. BigTexPatriot | 09.29.09
FREE AT LIBRARY!
Why spend your money? If you want to give lil’ Ms Palin money, any one of her PAC scams will be happy to take it. Plus, you will have a tax write off. Be a true fiscal conservative, do not pay for this book.
15. TimO | 09.29.09
Hearing about Sarah Palin’s book reminds me of paperback published in the ’70s called “The Wit and Wisdom of Archie Bunker.” It was filled with blank pages.
I wonder if her or her ghost writer has access to a dictionary, where the word “rogue” is defined as “vagrant, tramp — a dishonest or worthless person.” I guess she’s more honest than I thought.
16. RCharles | 09.29.09
Sarah Palin will probably have trouble reading the book, unless Vincent holds to a 4th grade level of english. At this point it seems clear Sarah is out to make money; she did a speech in China that was closed to reporters. She will be out pedaling this book and maybe raising money for Repubs in the mid-terms next year.
It will be fun to see her join the ranks of Republican presidential candidates, any one of whom could win a debate with her on any subject. Then we’ll get Tina Fey back on SNL to extract every possible laugh. Sarah is the “income security” gal for every politician.
President Barack Obama, of course, will win the 2012 elections.
RCharles
17. Voice of Reason | 09.29.09
Let’s hope that the book is a fantastic success!! That way the imbecile that is Sarah Palin will maintain her poularity with the ultra conservative and equally out of touch righteous right..be nominated and get slaughtered in 2012….Question if Palin ran against GWB who would win…Thank the good Lord for the blind that lead the Republicans…
18. Rob | 09.29.09
Yeah Ok…Sarah “My IQ is below 100″ Palin is claiming to have written a book which of course she did not in fact write. The gullible under 100 IQ crowd will gobble it up and keep the rogue “I’m too incompetent to complete my term as Governor” Palin in plenty of $$$. Palin quits and gets rewarded by the Republican base. These same idiots that kept Bush in office for 8 years and sleep with their guns. No wonder this country is in such bad shape. The populace are a bunch of unconscious morons.
19. ELI | 09.29.09
You liberals might want to come up with something new. Your stuff is getting very old indeed.
21. Patrick | 09.29.09
Don’t confuse ghost writer with collaborator. Palin had 20k words down before she even left for San Diego post resignation to work with her collaborator. No doubt, she will rightly take credit for the book– every writer has editors and collaboration of some sort, so let’s be square here. Of course, many of Palin’s critics will be unwilling to accept the simple truth because it doesn’t fit with their poorly constructed view of reality.
22. vavoter | 09.29.09
#15 It is actually funny if you include the entire definition from MW dictionary:
Main Entry: 1rogue
Pronunciation: \ˈrōg\
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1561
1 : vagrant, tramp
2 : a dishonest or worthless person : scoundrel
3 : a mischievous person : scamp
4 : a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave
5 : an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation
23. Christopher | 09.29.09
Those making baseless claims, I’m looking at you Art Wallis, please cite some credible ‘evidence’ that President Barack Obama did not write his two books. Sounds more like the right-wing smear machine trying to discredit by any means necessary.
How about acting like Americans and coming together to solve our country’s problems and not just lashing out because a non-republican and non-white man is running the country.
The ignorant must evolve for our country to truly be great again.
24. Juliann Barbato | 09.29.09
As a book editor in the NYC publishing industry since 1980, I can tell you that no author’s manuscript gets by unscathed by content and copy editors (thank heaven). And often, when the crybabies refuse to accept this or that editorial alteration, they’re roundly criticized in the reviews for the very flaw or error we dutifully called to their attention. You might be surprised to know which authors are functionally illiterate.
In fairness to Mrs. Palin, Ms. Morgan, the many frivolous lawsuits filed against her by the likes of such bloggers as Celtic Whale–er, Diva–have caused her to amass debt for legal representation.
Political extremists, Left and Right, are so deeply entrenched in the ideological ruts they’ve dug for themselves that their various and sundry assessments–of anything–are irrelevant; out of touch with reality and far from truth.
25. DemandSide | 09.29.09
Dipping the flag in tea is disrespectful as any boy scout knows.
Also disrespectful.
Flying the flag at night without a spotlight
Flying it in the rain.
Letting it drag on the ground.
No other flag should be flown higher.
26. joe | 09.29.09
where do the residents of Alaska think the money they get from the government (for oil) comes from? are the oil companies giving it to the wonderful citizens from the heart or because the GOVERNMENT requires them to pay royalties (taxes)? I guess big government is okay if it paves your roads and provides you with hospitals and rebate checks.
27. Mike | 09.29.09
…and all the people who defend Hitler and Goebbles are conservatives, so what. Liberals are lovers and conservatives are fighters. There are bad apples in each bunch, but we still need each other.
28. dom youngross | 09.29.09
Palin and Obama are the flip sides of the same coin — both media creations. That’s why both sides can’t stand each other, it’s like looking into a mirror and not liking what you see.
30. Cris Chapman | 09.29.09
Greed, Greed, Greed, is that all we care about.
I would like to see her donate all of her book sales to the Special Olympics, and to down syndrome organizations.
Then she can put her money where her mouth is.
31. dan dren | 09.29.09
QUOTE: “90 percent of the books published by politicians are heavily ghost-written. (A notable exception: Barack Obama, whose “Dreams from My Father” was considered by many critics to have real literary merit.)” END QUOTE
It just came out in the news last week that BILL AYERS ghostwrote Obama’s book.
32. HummDinger! | 09.29.09
This shows a disturbing trend in American political discourse & politics: instead of our leaders being well-versed on the issues of the day and working for real solutions to our problems, we get pundits taking fortified positions on top a pile of talking points slinging catch-phrases and politicians pandering to the extremists who have partially succeeded in hijacked our government. I fear this book will not only slingshot Palin into a more prominent & respectable position than she currently occupies, but it will also further poison our nation’s political dialogue with demagoguery, emotionally appealing to the lowest common denominator and feeding into the rising nationalistic fervor.
33. mg | 09.29.09
Apparently the only things one needs to be a “leader” among the Republicans is flashy charisma, a heartland-ish accent, a level of knowledge about the outside world that is about on par with a 3rd grader’s, and a “personal relationship with Jesus.” The dumber they are, the more they love ‘em. I’m not a conservative, but I actually miss the days when at least a good number of those who conservatives looked to for leadership could actually be respected for having some insight and/or intelligence. Such conservatives still exist, but they are now largely marginalized as the mental patients continue to take over the hospital.
34. Eric | 09.29.09
Off topic but relevant to comments posted…
Can we stop telling each other to “wake up”? What you think you’re acutely aware of that seems to be lost on everyone else isn’t based in fact. It’s opinion and speculation, YOUR opinion and YOUR speculation.
You see this call to “wake up” in just about every comment section for articles covering politics. And it comes from both the right and the left. It’s an ineffective means to argue a point so if you feel compelled to write it, maybe you should just close your browser.
35. Guest | 09.30.09
Hey, Gary, those things that you claim Palin has done for Alaska? Hate to tell you, they were all in place years before she plopped down in the government. And as for her being a great lady, can’t speak to it personally, as I don’t know her personally, but I find her as a potential candidate for president, reprehensibly and voluntarily ignorant, hypocritical (screaming about the need for abstinence only sex education with a pregnant teenager at home), and over all a right wing nut job. People who seek to inform the country, to lead, should be at least reasonably versed in the duties of the office they seek (she had no idea what the vice president did), world geography (referring to our “neighbors” in the middle east) and basic knowledge of important laws and events in our country.
I fear her, yes, because people listen to her, because people listen to her because she claims to be a “Good Christian”, because they say she’d make a good leader because she’s just a regular person. GW Bush was “just a regular person” and look how that turned out.
And before people start screaming and moaning about how Obama is a socialist who’s dragging out country into debt, consider that when GW Bush took office in 2001, this country had a surplus (coming off of 8 years of “socialist” democratic rule) of 2 trillion dollars. When he left office in 2009, this country was 3.5 trillion in the hole.
GW Bush dug this country into this hole, do you really want to hand it over to “just a regular person” who couldn’t hack 2 years as leader of a state of 650,000 people to screw up again.
Try giving Obama at least a few years before you start shrieking about how bad a job he’s doing.
Because your hate-mongering is showing.
36. M Colins | 09.30.09
“And before people start screaming and moaning about how Obama is a socialist who’s dragging out country into debt, consider that when GW Bush took office in 2001, this country had a surplus (coming off of 8 years of “socialist” democratic rule) of 2 trillion dollars. When he left office in 2009, this country was 3.5 trillion in the hole”
What laughable about this is that checking the Bureau of Public Debt as anyone can, you can see that there was no Clinton Surplus only a lessening of the deficit brought about in part from cuts in defense spending. There was a projected surplus which never materialized. But clearly “guest” has a hard time with large numbers. A two trillion dollar surplus would have wiped out all American debt for the last 50 years. What is also apparently beyond guests powers of comprehension is that Obama in 6 months quadrupled the evil Bush deficits and will double the national debt, which is to say he has overspent the total of all adminsitrations going back to JFK.
The beauty of these memes is how they get embellished from person to person. $2 trillion, that is priceless!
37. MOGWAI | 09.30.09
drawing party lines is stupid. democrats and republicans are both stupid. clinton was a great president as far as getting the countries assets together but obama is a socialist icky doombaba for bending over at the G20 summit and pushing more stupid socialist ideas on the country. Bush was also evil and socialist for creating the evil socialist patriot act. sorry, i didn’t vote republican or democrat but instead voted for BOB BARR with PALIN as VP because she ROCKS and is HONEST!! POINT IS DEMONCRAT OR REPOOPLIGAN!! THEY ARE ALL PUSHING BIG GOVT AND I HAVE NO NEED FOR IT!!!!!
38. Fred | 10.01.09
Wow! You really know your politics. I know you don’t even know what Socialism is? We already have socialism in the US. That doesn’t mean we are socialized country. Which services do you want to halt? We have medicare, medicaid, VA hosiptals, the military, the fire and police depts, Border patrol. FBI, CIA and every government worker. Which is paid by the public. We are the only Demoratic country in the world that doesn’t have healthcare for everyone. I bet you don’t think everyone should have the right to healthcare. WWJD? Also I wouldn’t trust Palin with the keys to the car! Much less be a heart beat from the Presidency.
39. cindylou | 10.19.09
“for the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” I Timothy 6:10 (Bible)
40. Jack | 10.23.09
As MSNBC’s Chris Matthews noted back in May, “She’s got this book deal, she obviously is not gonna write it.”
Matthews was right. Lynn Vincent is the actual author.
Vincent’s politics seem to align pretty well with Palin’s. In 2006, Vincent helped write a book called “Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party.” (”Donkey Cons” was co-written with Robert Stacy McCain.) The book’s tagline advertised a chronicle of “shameless bribery, illicit sex, [and] sweeping corruption.”
This is the wackjob who wrote Palin’s book and God help the nation if these crackpots somehow manage to con the US into making Sarah Palin another puppet President of the extreme right.
41. John | 11.14.09
I have a great idea. Let us search high and low and nominate a truly independent political party for competition to the moronic choices we have had so far. The politics in this country is striving to be one of the most corrupt in the world.
42. LizF | 11.14.09
Nothing anyone of you say will hurt Obama or Palin. If Palin did not write this book I hope she has memorized every word in it. Otherwise, she will look and sound like a dimwit. I have watched closely how the opposing party has treated Pres. Obama and called him everything but Pres. Obama but he has stood firm. As shaky as Sarah Palin is, she seems to get shaken very easily and I can’t imagine her surviving this kind of scrutiny for 30 days, but it might prove interesting in 2012 I say bring her on if she doesn’t quit in the middle of the race.
43. LB | 11.18.09
It is unreal that people actually believe that Bill Ayers “ghost wrote” Dreams From My Father. Seriously. If you believe that, you will believe just about anything. This may come as a shock to you, but the Editor in Chief of the Harvard Law Review can generally write reasonably well.
Anyone who would make such a claim has obviously never read “Dreams”…or this:
44. A | 11.20.09
I’m tired of people throwing out the word socialism like its some dark form of black magic. The general principle of sharing our resources and working together as equals to create a better society is exactly what is needed in this country. Capitalist greed may have been a catalyst for the industries in our society; and maybe we can be grateful for where it has taken us, but when the majority suffers; it is time to put greed aside and evolve to fair balanced equality. Sheer ignorance and self-serving greed are ruining this country. The question people need to ask is: would I rather have country where the self-serving ambitions of a wealthy class rule, or a country that actually attempts to serve the interests of the entire population? I fear that too many people believe it is their god-given right to be at the top. We are not animals, we do not need to selfishly horde the resources, this is not a Jack London novel, it does not have to be a game of survival of the fittest.
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Heidi Morgan | 09.29.09
I mean obsessions with immoral behavior is in the eye of the beholder. Sarah Palin QUIT being governor to do WHAT? MAKE MONEY!!! And in some quarters , money IS the ROOT of all evil! So look who’s casting dispersions on whom and what are THEIR underlying reasons? HYPOCRASY!!!??