Review: Sarah Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’

by John P. Hanlon

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On the “Tonight Show” recently, William Shatner dramatically read from the former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s new book. The scene made national news not because of Shatner’s comedic timing but because after he read from her book, Ms. Palin herself walked onstage and read dramatically from one of Mr. Shatner’s books to audience applause. Instead of standing on the sidelines in silence, Palin had decided to go on the show and respond in a humorous way to the comedic skit. After having innumerable criticisms leveled at her since she was chosen as the GOP running mate last year, Ms. Palin recently responded to her critics in her new bestselling book “Going Rogue” but the book is about much more than that response.

Since Palin was selected as the vice presidential candidate by Senator John McCain, many people have told us about Sarah Palin. Many liberals and some conservatives have attacked who Palin is and her experience. Many members of the media have joined in and they have tried to tell viewers what Sarah Palin stands for. Instead of listening to and believing such people, I decided to read Palin’s book myself to find out who she really is and if the media hype about the book was true.

The media hype suggested that Palin’s book focused on her campaign to be vice president. Some analysts seemed to believe that Palin wrote the book to justify her “going rogue” last year and to attack people from the campaign she felt had not served the campaign well. However, after finishing the book recently, I realized that the book is not a vengeful account of what transpired but Palin’s own accounting of her public life, including her bid to become the first female vice president of the United States.

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