The XX Factor

It’s Palin Time

Intra-party warfare starring Sarah Palin-who can resist the leaks about the jagged bits of her new book, Going Rogue ? She makes the bizarro accusation that the McCain campaign stuck her with a $50,000 legal bill for her own vetting. (Convenient confusion over the cost of defending herself against ethical accusations in Alaska?) She goes after Katie Couric while at the same time claiming the McCain people said “right on” about her first interview with Couric. (Blinded by those lights from Russia?) She was awed by the clothes and told they were “part of the convention.” That one actually sounds plausible to me.

There is something more than rubbernecking in our continuing fascination with Palin, I think. We mine her for insight into class conflict, rule breaking, and, of course, sexual politics. Another tidbit: Animal Farm is reportedly one of her favorite books; the lesson, Gawker says , is if those pigs can beat the odds, so can I. The Palin twist on Orwell: Forget who is holding power, to what ends, and go grab some.