A Single Remark

by Chris Bodenner

Peter Suderman, trying to make sense of Palin like the rest of us, settles on three major traits: ambition, incoherence, and paranoia. Regarding the latter, he points to a now-familiar story containing a key detail the Dish had missed:

After hearing someone from a crowd shout a derisive remark about his membership, Palin sent an email to Schmidt grossly exaggerating what had happened, saying that she'd seen protester signs and received questions about her husband's [Alaska Independence Party] membership from multiple reporters. She wanted a statement released addressing the issue. But the statement she wanted released that secession isn't part of the group's platform and that Todd's membership was an "error" was untrue.

Schmidt called her bluff and refused to send out any statement about Todd's membership, arguing that doing so would only draw attention to what was really a non-issue.

The incident seems revealing: Palin, faced with a single comment in a rope line, built up substantial threat in her mind where none previously existed and then attempted to readjust the facts of the case to make her and her family seem more victimized.

Now imagine a President Palin perceiving a slight from the likes of Ahmadinejad or Kim Jong Il.