Governor Palin and Cherry Picking Media Memes

by Whitney Pitcher

In another display of the media’s complete lack of objectivity, McClatchy published a piece last week arguing that even Republicans activists do not want Governor Palin as president. In doing so, they attempted to cram in as many of media talking points and memes as possible that are consistently parroted about Governor Palin. She’s not serious in her decision making to run for the presidency. Her poll numbers show she’s not electable. She doesn’t have the leadership skills or policy chops needed to be president. She’s a quitter.

First, McClatchy writer, Steven Thomma, states:

As Sarah Palin wonders whether to run for president, she might want to talk to people in places such as South Carolina.

The word “wonder” in a decision making process generally refers to what you’re going to make for dinner or what kind of jeans you’re going to buy. In using that wording to describe Governor Palin’s decision making process in potentially running for the presidency, Thomma attempts to paint Governor Palin as one who would make such a decision on a whim or flippantly. In the numerous interviews where Governor Palin has been asked about 2012, she has mentioned that she would look at the “lay of the land”, pray, and consult her family in addition to contemplating her electability and potential to add to the presidential discussion. Moreover and arguably most importantly, Governor Palin frames a decision to seek the presidency as a “call to serve” not as a decision be president. Should she choose to run, she will make the moves, albeit as she says, unconventionally, necessary to forge a solid campaign throughout America in general and in early primary states like South Carolina specifically. Let’s not forget she ran a successful primary and general election gubernatorial campaign in a state twice the size of Texas, and she is a masterful retail politician.

Next, Thomma trots out Governor Palin’s poll numbers:

While national polls show that Palin still would win the support of about one in five Republicans in a national face-off today for the nomination, she no longer can claim the dominant role she enjoyed when she burst out of the 2008 campaign as the undisputed star of the party. She’s also losing ground quickly among independents, who hold the keys to the White House.
…

A Gallup poll taken in September 2008, for example, found that 53 percent had favorable views of her and 28 percent held unfavorable views. Last month, the same poll found the numbers were almost reversed, 38-53.

It is amazing how much the media think polls matter at this point. No one has officially announced they are running for president. There have been no debates to allow candidates to juxtapose their positions and records against one another. At this point, polling data are only used as a talking point to paint Governor Palin as unelectable. If polling data a year prior to the first primary were a predictor of presidential nomination, then we would have seen a Giuliani vs. Clinton race in 2008. Additionally, even if one puts stock in the polls, then it must be noted that Governor Palin is indeed statistically tied with Governor Romney and Governor Huckabee in the polls, despite how Thomma tries to represent where potential candidates stand. If Thomma reports a loss of support by a potential candidate, he really should note that Governor Romney has lost 15% of his support since November while Governor Palin’s support has remained steady. While Thomma claims that Governor Palin loses support among independents, the most recent Gallup poll shows that Governor Palin is statistically tied for the lead with Governor Romney among both Republican-leaning independents and moderate to liberal Republicans.

Thomma also egregiously brings out Governor Palin’s poll numbers from just weeks after she was announced as Senator McCain’s running mate to compare them to last month’s favorability numbers. In the last two and a half years, the media has created a caricature of Governor Palin that has become the false perception of many Americans. After all, Governor Palin has been portrayed as unintelligent and unaccomplished when in actuality, she negotiated the largest private sector infrastructure project in the nation’s history. She has spoken to business leaders in Hong Kong and on Long Island, yet the focus when she speaks is that she supposedly requests bendable straws. She is involved in a medical mission visit to Haiti where she spent time touring earthquake ravaged Haiti and holding cholera infected children, yet the false takeaway is that she brought a stylist on the trip (who, of course, was simply her daughter Bristol fixing her hair in an AP photo). Just last month (when the poll cited was conducted), the media reached a new low with constant, scurrilous assertions that a campaign map and political analogies used by Governor Palin were the driving force behind a madman killing several Arizonans and attempting to kill Congresswoman Giffords. With this media drawn caricature, it’s no wonder Governor Palin’s favorability has decreased. Should Governor Palin run, she will be given a greater opportunity to create her own narrative and correct the fallacies reported by the media. Ian at Conservatives4Palin addressed some of the other issues with Thomma’s polling assertions here.

Thomma also cherrypicked GOPers at a South Carolina fund raiser to promote their false narratives. He also fails to detail the fact that the event he drew his quotes from was a fundraiser headlined by Congresswoman Bachmann:

“I like Palin,” said Joseph Kejr, a Republican from Rock Hill who works in information technology for a Christian ministry. However, he added, “she’s not polished in national government. In terms of leadership, I don’t know about her.”
…
She’s not really creative,” said Swain Shepperd, a retiree from Rock Hill. “She just repeats what’s already been said by others.”

The word “polished” has been used to describe our current president, and we’ve seen how that has worked out for us. “Polished” doesn’t provide economic solutions or lead on foreign policy. The assertion that Governor Palin simply repeats what others have said is quite laughable, as is the claim that she cannot lead. In 2008, she first showed her prescience when she warned of then candidate Obama’s stance on jobs, taxes,energy, spending, growth of government, foreign policy,etc. She drove the debate against President Obama’s government takeover of health care. She was the only one of the potential 2012 presidential candidates to lead on border security issues when she stood with Governor Brewer. In addition to Congressman Pence, she was one of the few to address the dangers of quantitative easing. In her support for Congressman Ryan’s roadmap, she was the first potential candidate to seriously addressing entitlement reform. Not to mention that with increased turmoil in places like Libya, potential issues with oil transport through the Suez canal, and the Obama administration’s complete disregard for drilling for oil, Governor Palin leadership on energy issues will be at the forefront of a 2012 campaign.

The last meme Thomma addresses is the ubiquitous “quitter” meme:

Some said she hurt herself by quitting halfway through her term as governor of Alaska, robbing herself of a platform in government.

That shortfall’s become more glaring as party activists have cheered on people who are now governing and fighting to cut spending, such as Govs. Chris Christie in New Jersey, Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Rick Scott in Florida and Scott Walker in Wisconsin, as well as Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives such as Bachmann.

Through three legislative terms as Governor, Palin reduced state spending by more than 9% (part of which was during of time of economic prosperity, which shows great fiscal discipline), reduced earmark requests by 80%, forward funded education, signed ethics reform, addressed oil tax structures, and initiated the largest private sector infrastructure project in American history. Needless to say, her platform in government is quite strong. As much of Governor Palin’s staff’s time was taken up by dealing with frivolous ethics complaints, her resignation allowed for state government to be less inhibited while still maintaining the same platform. As a byproduct of stepping aside from office, Governor Palin has been able to constructively criticize the Obama administration, provide conservative solutions, and endorse candidates without the potential for a baseless ethics complaint to be levied against her. In actuality, her platform has broadened.

It must be noted as well that if a resignation from office disqualifies one from the presidency, Congressmen Gingrich is not qualified. Additionally, if currently holding office is the only way one’s budgetary record can be highlighted, then potential candidates like Governor Romney, Governor Huckabee, Governor Pawlenty, Senator Santorum cannot be considered either. Such “qualifications” would essentially reduce the field to zero.

Thomma attempts to highlight almost every meme directed against Governor Palin by cherry picking poll results and comments from GOPers. However, campaigns are run by creating one’s own narrative, and campaigns are won by the voices of the whole of the electorate, not a small portion.

Correcting Gossip Huckster Shushannah Walshe

By Stacy Drake

I realize that many Palin supporters are tired of hearing about Frank Bailey and his hideous manuscript. However, we cannot let members of the press continue to regurgitate the lies within the text of that unpublished book, with their charges going unanswered. A few days ago, Shushannah Walshe published a couple of articles pertaining to the Bailey manuscript. Since the links to her pieces are still bouncing around, all over the internet, her repeated assertions deserve to be highlighted for what they are, and the record corrected.

I addressed the most insidious segment her first article in the piece I posted at Big Government, last week, dealing with Bailey’s lie in regard to the RGA. Today, I want to tackle some of the other assertions Walshe made. She began:

“Bailey Quashes Gossip About Trig Palin’s Birth”
Although most of the tell-all is incredibly scathing, Bailey—who was not only an administrative staffer but also booked personal travel for the Palin family and worked around the clock to please his boss—aims to put the gossip about Bristol Palin giving birth to Sarah’s fifth child, Trig, to an end.

How noble of him… Considering how detestable that piece of “gossip” is, I’m not too impressed with Bailey’s effort. I gather it’s nice to have the sort of source that the fruitcakes who push that theory would trust, out there. If only to get them to think twice before pushing their conspiracies on to the public. Obviously Bailey addressed this issue because it was easy for him to do so, and to give himself an ounce of credibility.

What strikes me is that Shushannah opens her double hit-piece with this item. It’s a classic Walshe move. Play nice in the beginning, then turn around to take shots and push horrible lies later. They say, “every good lie has some truth to it.” Perhaps Shushannah thought the same goes for her gossipy sourced tabloid-style attack articles.

Next, Walshe offers up a host of segments in which she uses the title of each as a stated fact, then attempts to back it up with blurbs from Bailey’s manuscript. Posting demonizing titles such as “Palin Used Her Children for Political Gain,” “Palin Helps Publicize Rumors About Her Family,” and “Palin Said She Hated Being Governor.”

By the way, even after you read the section that insinuates Governor Palin publicized “rumors about her family,” you realize that what the governor was alleged to have done is correct the record for her family’s sake. It would be the same for Shushannah Walshe to claim that this piece is also publicizing rumors about the governor’s family. Earth to Walshe – You have to repeat a charge in order to clear it up. Where’s the scandal in that?

The words Walshe pastes into her article under the other sections, are words that have already been discredited. Most of them are old left-wing attack lines, recycled for the once prospective readers of this non-book, and now by a columnist for the Daily Beast. The majority of the insinuations referenced by Walshe cannot be verified, and Bailey usually offers no evidence in the form of communications (i.e. emails) with the governor to back them up. Essentially, these people (Walshe included) are partaking in character assassination using hearsay, and in some instances, using the governor’s children as a weapon.

In the second installment of the Bailey infused hit-pieces, Walshe once again uses the governor’s husband and children to attack her. She states the following:

“Todd and Sarah Palin Had Marital Problems, Neglected the Kids”
Sarah Palin appeared to trust Bailey and confided in him on all topics, including family matters. In an email, Palin told him that Todd was working behind her back on the Troopergate affair, writing to Bailey: “We’re not like normal couples, Frank. We don’t talk.”

Walshe is either lying or that was just a lazy guess on her part. She wrote that “In an email, Palin told him that”… Ah no, there was no email cited. As I have stated elsewhere, I have read the manuscript and can even tell you what page Walshe should have been looking at to write this section. Bailey’s assertion is printed as a quote (which I guess we are all supposed to believe came from his vast memory bank) not an email. This quote is hearsay, not documented proof that the governor ever said such a thing.

Then, from the mind of the discredited disgruntled former employee, Walshe repeats the manuscript’s attempt to twist normal behavior from children, into a damning critique of the governor’s parenting skills. He cites events (without proof) such as a child not wearing a seat-belt (for however long) and alleging that one of her kids may or may not have received a bad grade. All in an effort to paint the governor as a horrible parent. It’s one of many dirty avenues the writers of the manuscript, drove down to trash Governor Palin.

Walshe continues her piece in the same fashion, repeating the many claims of Frank Bailey. From demonizing the governor’s use of basic political strategies, to trashing her faith, to trashing her husband’s alleged response to a prankster, to trashing the people who vetted the governor for the McCain campaign, to scapegoating Bailey’s own record, Shushannah’s pieces is another heap of unsubstantiated garbage.

It didn’t surprise me to see these articles from Shushannah Walshe, given her recent history writing about Governor Palin. After she co-wrote a book with the governor as the center-piece, Walshe took a turn for the worse. I imagine that it’s possible that her need for attention directed her shift. After all, MSNBC is the only network who gives her any exposure, so it’s a possibility that she’s playing to the owners of the cameras.

Walshe, who once had the opportunity to interview the governor’s family, is now trashing that family. From writing multiple hit-pieces (designed to appeal to a left-wing audience), to openly communicating with the likes of Palingates, this woman has developed into quite the smear merchant. I have to wonder what kind of character a person has to have in order to make their living by perpetually slandering and libeling another individual. Does Walshe not possess any redeemable qualities or skill-set to make an honest living? I know Palin supporters who once regarded Walshe as an objective writer. That is no longer the case. Shushannah Walshe has now reduced herself to irrelevancy. You cannot expect to be successful by repeating discredited information, while trashing another person, when there are hundreds of other vulture columnists doing the same thing. At the very least, maybe Shush should consider picking a different topic to write about once in awhile.

As Obama’s Hangover Subsides, WH Reportedly Decides to Take Governor Palin’s Advice on Libya

By Stacy Drake

Friday evening, Allah Pundit posted a piece stating that the Obama administration is asking for a contingency plan regarding the implementation of a no-fly zone over Libya, in the wake of the recent unrest.

He writes:

Just a blurb on Twitter, but Jackson Diehl’s a longtime WaPo columnist with plenty of contacts, no doubt:

I hear Obama administration has asked for contingency planning on a no-fly zone for #Libya

Let’s hope so, because the White House’s new plan to impose sanctions is so palpably lame as to operate as an admission that they’re not planning to do anything to stop protesters from getting shot. […]

As for the no-fly zone, if they’re going to do it, it has to begin immediately. Rebels beat back an attempt by Qaddafi’s forces to retake the areas around Tripoli, and in Benghazi they’re vowing to march to the capital and take Qaddafi’s palace.

The final standoff is coming, so if President Present wants to make a difference, he needs to give an order ASAP. Just one question: Has Qaddafi already lost control of his air assets? The Guardian claims that rebels have taken Mitiga air base near Tripoli, which means…

If Mitiga air base near Tripoli is confirmed as having gone over to the Libyan popular uprising it would be a serious blow for the regime close to the heart of the capital. The military base is adjacent to a civilian airport used for domestic and some short-haul international flights.

Mitiga has figured before at dramatic moments in Libyan history. It was a primary target of the US bombing in 1986 — retaliation for Libyan involvement in alleged terrorist attacks on US servicemen in Europe. Soviet personnel were based the during the cold war. Until shortly after Gaddafi’s 1969 revolution June 1970, the US air force used the facility, then known as Wheelus air base.

So even the no-fly zone may come too late, days after it might have prevented demonstrators from being strafed by Libyan jets.

I was wondering what was taking the administration so long to take serious steps in dealing with the threat Gaddafi poses to his own people. Then, remembering the president’s priorities, I recalled that Obama had indeed been focused on what is truly important to him.

AP reports:

White House jams to the Motown sound

The White House reverberated like a long-ago basement sound studio in Detroit as the likes of John Legend, Seal, Jamie Foxx, Nick Jonas and Sheryl Crow channeled their inner Motown before Michelle and Barack Obama.

So, I’m not surprised that Obama was, in all likelihood, nursing a little hangover after the event. He must have felt the need to blow off some steam Thursday, after his gallant effort to get 300 US citizens out of harms way in Libya, and on to a ferry… At least, out of the way of the stray bullets being fired from Gaddafi’s mercenaries. The passengers aboard the US-chartered boat were actually stuck off the coast of Tripoli for more than two days, due to weather.

There is said to be over 6,000 Americans registered at the US Embassy in Libya. I know the administration is doing everything they have thought to do, but perhaps they should give China a call to see exactly how they managed to get 12,000 of their nationals out of Libya, up to this point.

I will give credit where credit is due, and some credit is due to whoever on Obama’s team reportedly decided to take Governor Palin’s advice. Even though she offered it last Tuesday. She wrote:

Now is the time to speak out. Speak out for the long-suffering Libyan people. Speak out for the victims of Gaddafi’s terror. NATO and our allies should look at establishing a no-fly zone so Libyan air forces cannot continue slaughtering the Libyan people.

While reportedly taking her advice on the no-fly zone, Obama hasn’t really spoken out so much for the people of Libya as he has tip-toed around the issue for days.

Brad Wilmouth at Newsbusters reported on Friday, that the Libyans who are standing up to Gaddafi in protest, are seeking a “strong message” from the president:

On Friday’s NBC Nightly News, during a report which focused on a group of Libyans helping to organize protests against dictator Muammar Qadhafi, correspondent Richard Engel gave viewers a glimpse into oppressed people looking to America for support as he concluded his report by relating that these protesters “have been waiting for a strong message from Washington.” He also recounted that he had seen graffiti at the rebel headquarters calling on President Obama to “choose between the Libyan people or Qadhafi.”

I wouldn’t hold my breath, for anything “strong” from this administration.

Outside of the snarky tone of most of this post, I want people to understand the seriousness of the situation in Libya. Muammar Gaddafi has a big arsenal, including a large stockpile of mustard gas. He has shown a willingness to slaughter his enemies throughout history, and in recent days, his own citizens. Setting up a no-fly zone would disable Gaddafi’s ability to gas the people of Libya, and perhaps save thousands of lives.

Time is crucial, but the Obama administration has been behaving as though they have all the time in the world to deal with this problem. They don’t. Throughout the last two years, they have proven themselves to be incompetent on all things regarding foreign policy. Now is the time for this administration to take the training-wheels off, grow up, and act like world leaders… If not for the sake of this nation, then perhaps for the people of Libya.

ESPN Outside the Lines: Wasilla Warrior Sarah Palin

By Gary P Jackson

This is a neat video from 2008, when Sarah Palin was running for Vice President. It describes how she led her basketball team, the Wasilla Warriors to the 1982 state championship, broken ankle, and all. Sarah talks about this being one of the defining moments in her life. It’s an early example of a tenacious woman who never gives up, never backs down.

Flashback Sarah Palin, Sportscaster

By Gary P Jackson

This is a neat little video our friends over at iOwnTheWorld.com unearthed for All Palin February. It’s shows a young Sarah Heath talking sports. I’m not sure of her exact age here, but she has to be in her early 20s. She does quite well for someone so young.

In her book, Going Rogue, Sarah wrote that her dream back then was to go to work for ESPN. It looks like she would have been good at it too. Thankfully, she decided to take a different path. ESPN’s loss is our gain.

Interesting to note, one of Ronald Reagan’s first jobs was working as a radio sportscaster.

The video was put together by the loons at the now defunct Air America, which is why you see the “boom goes the dynamite” guy inserted over and over. Not sure how the liberal mind works, but I guess those pitiful creatures thought this video was some kind of “gotcha” or something. If anything, this serves as a reminder why Air America went belly up.

Enjoy.

Obama’s Union Bosses

A short, effective ad from the RNC

WTF? Obama Tells Businesses Not To Worry About Inflation!

By Gary P Jackson

Win The Future?

Our genius President tells businesses not to worry about inflation, or the situation in Libya.

From Robert Schroeder at Market Watch:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. companies shouldn’t worry about inflation if they’re planning on expanding their business, President Barack Obama said Thursday. “We’re not seeing a broad-based inflation trend,” Obama said at the first meeting of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. At the same meeting, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said substantial world oil reserves should help with any disruptions to oil supplies, amid worry over turmoil in oil-exporter Libya. Obama said he thinks “we’ll be able to ride out the Libya situation” and that it will stabilize.

Libya is bad, and oil is prices are about to go through the roof, but thanks to Obama’s overall policies, food prices are rising incredibly high as well. It’s a one-two punch that will only cripple the American economy more. Instead of leading, we have Obama doing his best Alfred E. Newman “what, me worry?” impression.

I bet Jimmy Carter wakes up every day and thanks God for Barack Obama! Thanks to Barry, Jimmy C is no longer our worst President in history.

A spokesman for the Obama regime reacts to the upcoming disaster:

Jedediah Bila Talks Energy Independence

Drill baby, drill! Jedediah Bila is spot on in this Fox and Friends interview.

Mitt Romney Didn’t Create Jobs As A Businessman, He Destroyed Them

By Gary P Jackson

One of the greatest myths floating around these days is the one claiming Mitt Romney would be a “great president” because of his business experience and ability to create good jobs.

First off, it’s been proven time and time again that “business experience,” even at the executive level, doesn’t always translate into the ability to successfully govern. Mitt Romney just happens to be Exhibit A!

We reported earlier that Mitt Romney, who ran for Governor on his ability to create jobs, was totally unable to fulfill that promise, and his state was ranked 50 out of 50 at job creation after a full year of his “expertise.”

But still you say: “He was a successful businessman.” Well, as Josh Kosman at the New York Post points out, Romney’s “success” came on the back of the employees of businesses his company, Bain Capitol, destroyed. What this shows is, rather than creating successful businesses, Romney and company engaged in the “turn and burn” quick buck artisty many corporate raiders are known for. This is a devastaing read:

Romney’s private equity firm, Bain Capital, bought companies and often increased short-term earnings so those businesses could then borrow enormous amounts of money. That borrowed money was used to pay Bain dividends. Then those businesses needed to maintain that high level of earnings to pay their debts.

Romney in 2007 told the New York Times he had nothing to do with taking dividends from two companies that later went bankrupt, and that one should not take a distribution from a business that put the company at risk.

Yet Geoffrey Rehnert, who helped start Bain Capital and is now co-CEO of the private equity firm The Audax Group, told me for my Penguin book, “The Buyout of America: How Private Equity Is Destroying Jobs and Killing the American Economy,” that Romney owned a controlling stake in Bain Capital between approximately 1992 and 2001. The firm under his watch took such risks, time and time again.

Bain and Goldman Sachs, for example, put $85 million down in a $415 million 1994 leveraged buyout of Baxter International’s medical testing division (renamed Dade Behring), which sold machines and reagents to labs.

Former Dade CEO Scott Garrett, who managed the business for the first few years after the takeover, said Romney “was far more in tune with what was going on throughout his firm, and even the portfolio companies, than you might expect.”

Bain reduced Dade’s research and development spending to 6 to 7 percent of sales, while its peers allocated between 10 and 15 percent. Dade in June 1999 used the savings as part of the basis to borrow $421 million. Dade then turned around and used $365 million from the loan to buy shares from its owners, giving them a 4.3 times return on their investment.

A Dade executive, who requested anonymity, said he confronted new CEO Steven Barnes after a boardroom meeting within a week of the distribution.

“You really think it’s a good idea to borrow, you know, one times sales?” he asked.

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah. You know, that’s fine,” Barnes responded. “You know companies do that all the time.”

The executive then told Barnes, “Well, that’d be like me going out and borrowing the amount of money I make in a year and then trying to pay it off and pay for my house and feed myself and everything else. That doesn’t make sense.” The executive said he let it drop after that.

In August 2002, Dade filed for bankruptcy.

No one is against making lots of money, but this is not the way to do it and also create jobs, or even preserve them.

Read more here.

Caveat emptor.

Sarah Palin Rumor Of The Day

By Gary P Jackson.

OK, this is more like the rumor of a couple of days ago, but it’s interesting enough to talk about.

From Hollywood Life:

Sarah has said all along she’s going to launch her prez pursuit on her favorite Anchorage radio show, Bob & Mark. Guess when she’s on the show next?

Believe it or not, it’s already high time for presidential hopefuls to kick off their campaigns even though the election isn’t until November 2012 — and we’ve connected some dots that strongly suggest where and when Sarah Palin will be announcing.

HollywoodLife.com has learned that Palin has booked an appearance in April on The Bob and Mark Show on 106.5 KWHL-FM in Anchorage. Sarah has said all along — including on the final episode of her TLC show Sarah Palin’s Alaska — that she would announce her candidacy on the radio via Bob and Mark.

While the exact date hasn’t been confirmed, we’re told that with Sarah’s schedule, her appearance on the show — especially booked so far in advance — can mean only one thing: That she’ll be kicking off her campaign on the radio.

And with Sarah hiring a chief of staff, Michael Glassner, and the impending entrance of potential competitors Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, and Mitt Romney, ex-gov of Massachusetts, the time is certainly ripe.

Calls to Palin’s lawyer weren’t returned.

If you think it’s awfully early for the candidates to get started, remember that Barack Obama announced his candidacy in February 2007. At the time, it was a surprisingly early announcement almost 20 months in advance of the 2008 election.

But, then again, look where Obama lives now.

We’ve got some inquiries out trying to confirm Sarah has “booked” time with Bob and Mark. So far, can’t confirm anything.

It’s still fun to speculate on this, especially since Sarah has indeed promised to announce her candidacy on the show. Most of us heard this when she said it, and since Sarah was an executive producer of her TLC travel/adventure series, and had editorial control of the content, one can make of it what one will, that Sarah included her radio interview in the final show of the series, which was leading up to “what’s next.”

For those that may not be familiar, Sarah is a frequent call in guest on the Bob and Mark show, as are her daughters Piper and Bristol. Again, we don’t even know if this rumor is true, but if it is, the very fact a date was actually booked, certainly makes one think something is up.

Sarah will be in India in March speaking at an important international policy conference. Could be she’ll just want to talk about that. None the less, it’s fun to contemplate what this advance booking may be all about!