[Swiftwater Gazette] Hu's The Communist

[Brad Haslett]

Don't know who's writing for Sarah these days but there were some
"zingers" in her Gridiron appearance.

Brad

---------------

Palin cracks wise at Gridiron dinner
By: Jeanne Cummings and Andrew Glass
December 5, 2009 09:43 PM EST

Sarah Palin's 11-minute speech before Washington’s Gridiron Club at
its Winter Dinne tossed a few barbs at the gathering of journalists,
who she compared to "death panels."


"Sometimes you got to trust your instincts, and if you don't, you end
up in a place like this," said the former GOP vice presidential
candidate.



While the Gridiron winter meeting is usually a small, low key affair,
Palin’s appearance attracted a crowd of 195 — about double the average
attendance of Gridiron members and their guests.

These ho-hum media values, however, were upended when Rep. Barney
Frank, a liberal, openly gay Democratic congressman from Massachusetts
was matched up with Palin, the perky and pretty former governor of
Alaska. For Palin, fortune followed fame when she became the darling
of the populist wing of the Republican Party as the 2008 GOP’s
vice-presidential nominee.


Palin, in a smart black suit with what appeared to be a fur-lined
purse, showed up Palin showed up to burnish her political credentials
after a stop in Farfax for her nationwide tour to flog her bestselling
book, “Going Rogue.” Frank was also in full biographical dress:
“Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish
Congressman,” by Stuart Weisberg was published in September.

During the cocktail hour, Frank held court by the appetizers while
Palin set up about 20 feet away by the ballroom doors.


Addressing the crowd of journalists, the former Alaska governor poked
fun at the penchant of political reporters to leaf through campaign
book indexes to find their names, noting that she decided to skip the
index on her book.


So, at the dinner, she created one: "A: Alaska, media not
understanding it, page 1-432.


"B: Biased, Page 1-432."


But Palin also took the opportunity to take a few shots at her running
mate from last year, and also her Democratic rival.


“The view is so much better inside the bus than under the bus," she
said, neatly putting together a reference to her book tour and a crack
at the former ticket mate, And if she ever need a bald campaign
manager, "I'm left with James Carville," a reference to President
Clinton’s 1992 campaign manager and a dig at Steve Schmidt, McCain's
manager in 2008.


Staying with the book theme, she joked that “If the election had
turned out differently, I could be the one overseeing the signing of
bailout checks and Vice President Biden could be on the road selling
his book, 'Going Rogaine.'”


As for the president, Palin joked that she was looking at a magazine
cover of Obama and Chinese president Hu Jinato during an airplane
flight. A nearby passenger stated, "Hu's the Communist," she related.


And, Palin said, "I thought he was asking a question."




This is the first year that Gridiron officers have dropped the
off-the-record rule that had been in place for more than a century.
Modest twittering is permitted, though not during the speeches or
songs. At a meeting this morning, the officers explained that the
change is a bow to media realities – the rule was often broken and
Palin's appearance was certain to leak anyway.

As was the case with the spring dinner, the event remained closed to
general media coverage so that only reporters who are members of the
club or their invited guests could cover the proceedings. In theory,
no photographs were allowed; in practice, shooters abounded.


As for her own presidential ambitions. Palin was mum.. She did tell
the crowd that on Sunday she'd be in Iowa — "from noon to three at
Barnes and Noble. Come early, long lines are expected."


The night closed with the Gridiron Singers rendition of the 12 Days of
Christmas, with gifts bestowed by a certain Ruth Limbaugh rather than
the traditional “True Love.”


“On the first day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: A Marxist in
a dead tree.
On the second day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Two tea-bag goons.
On the third day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Three hell-no's
On the fourth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Four bawling Becks
On the fifth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Five Sarah swoon-ins
On the sixth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Six health
care death squads
On the seventh day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Seven
bug-eyed birthers
On the eight day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Eight Cheney boomlets
On the ninth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Nine ACORN busters
On the tenth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Ten
thundering mossbacks
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Eleven
loony liberals
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: twelve
flaming liberals, hunted down in the wild and field dressed, medium
well-done, seared on the fatty edges—“


And then Palin joned the chorus for the final line:


"Right next to the mashed potatoes," she sang.