On Oprah today, we are told that Palin says she desperately wanted to go on Saturday Night Live - "I thought it would be fun." She says that the campaign was terribly apprehensive about it and thought the appearance could be "atrocious." She also sticks by the transparently incredible story that she watched the priceless Tina Fey skits with the volume down.
Moreover, Palin insists that the campaign opposed the appearance but she wanted to do it because it would "neutralize some of the parody" she hadn't, by her own account, ever heard.
Well: what does objective reality tell us about this latest story of Palin's?
We actually have emails from Steve Schmidt and Palin that provide contemporaneous evidence to allow us to judge this self-serving tale:
In one email thread, dated October 14, 2008, Palin says she is "not thrilled" with the idea of going on Saturday Night Live as a way of marginalizing the show's unflattering impersonations of her.
"Not after seeing clips of what they've been playing re: my family," Palin writes to campaign manager Steve Schmidt, as well as top strategists Rick Davis; and Nicolle Wallace.
"I had no idea how gross 'celebrities' on that show and in other celebrity venues could get when it comes to family and other aspects of my life that have nothing to do with seeking the vp slot. These folks are whack - didn't know it was as bad as it is... what's the upside in giving them any celebrity venue a ratings boost? That's Todd's input also," she concludes, in reference to her husband.
So we find out first off that Palin was lying when she said she never watched the SNL skits with he volume up. This was obvious at the time, but it's good to have it proven in her own words. We also found out that she is lying to Oprah when she says she wanted to do SNL, while Schmidt (for whom one almost feels pity) was opposed.
Again: this is not an artful spin. It is a lie that can be revealed by reading her own fricking emails!
C'mon, Levi. Tell us what you got.