Sarah Palin signs deal to be a Fox News commentator
 

updated 4:15 p.m. ET, Mon., Jan. 11, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, will return to her broadcast roots and take her conservative message to Fox News as a regular commentator, the cable channel announced Monday.

"I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News," Palin said in a statement posted on the network's Web site. "It's wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news."

Fox said that according to the multiyear deal, Palin will offer political commentary and analysis on the cable channel, as well as Fox's Web site, radio network and business cable channel.

She also will host occasional episodes of Fox News' "Real American Stories," a series debuting this year that the network said will feature true inspirational stories about Americans who have overcome adversity.

"Governor Palin has captivated everyone on both sides of the political spectrum and we are excited to add her dynamic voice to the FOX News lineup," Bill Shine, executive vice president of programming, said in a statement.

Palin, 45, is hugely popular with conservatives and has more than 1.1 million Facebook followers.

She stepped down as Alaska governor in July, 17 months before the end of her first term in office and less than a year after she vaulted to overnight fame as John McCain's running mate.

The bombshell resignation stunned even supporters and fueled widespread speculation on her next career step — with predictions ranging from seeking the presidency in 2012 to hosting a conservative talk show. She told Barbara Walters in November that a 2012 presidential bid was not on her radar but added she wouldn't rule out playing some kind of role in the next presidential election.

Since resigning, Palin has had colossal success with her best-selling memoir Going Roguereleased four months after she left office. She finished a nationwide tour in December after hitting some of the political battleground states from the 2008 election and drawing thousands of fans.

If she were to seek the presidency, her new job would provide yet another stage from which to advance her conservative platform. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who sought the presidency in 2008, also hosts a talk show on Fox News and hasn't ruled out another run for president.

Palin majored in journalism with an emphasis on broadcasting at the University of Idaho and worked part-time as a weekend sportscaster in 1988 for KTUU-TV in Anchorage, using her then-maiden name Heath. The station's sports director, John Carpenter, said the young broadcaster left after a few months because of the low pay.

Carpenter said he was sorry to see her go. She was a hard worker who enjoyed the entire process, not just being in front of the cameras, he said.

"She knew sports, she could talk sports, she looked OK on TV," Carpenter said. "She had the aptitude, no question."

Palin's upcoming commentary career had her Facebook fans giddy with excitement Monday.

"Tell 'em like it is girl!!!!!!," one person wrote on a post.

"I look forward to seeing you on Fox....but I hope it doesn't prevent you from running in '12!," another wrote.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34809566...sion?GT1=43001

How do I say this without offending hard-core Sarah Palin supporters?

Hmmmmm . . .

Uhm - - - I WISH her LUCK with that!!! ....:angel:

I don't think she'll need luck at all. She has an opportunity to enjoy what Beck does: a network that will coddle her and a position to spout her opinions as facts without any justification or any fear of backlash. Palin's career is based on her face value as an entertainer; it's about time her ambitions reflected that.

I actually agree 100%

And I disagree with the commentators that are already saying that she could possibly use this as "a springboard to the Presidency." I don't think that's ever been remotely possible to
do and no sorry, I don't think that things have changed to the
point where it's become possible simply "because it's the 21st
Century." Lawyer, fine - - - Senator, fine - - - Ex-actor/Governor -
fine. Commentator on Fox? Sorry Charlie, get to the end of the line.

I think it's gonna be Giulliani vs. Obama.

I'm not sure if I agree with you that being a pundit would eliminate all chance of running for office, but I think most of the commentators realize that they're in a position to spread their message without getting any blood on their hands. I don't think many of them would want to give that up. Limbaugh 2012? Beck? Never, but to pretend that those men don't yield power without an actual position is senseless.

Romney vs Obama, and Romney has my vote.

Ahh, joy. Now we can all look forward to Palin spewing out her idiotic rhetoric in the media on an even more regular basis :rolleyes:. Just what the world needs right now... more divisive, self-serving political grandstanding :rolleyes:.

giuliani's done with. to say that there wasn't a single domestic terrorist attack while bush was in office? his goose is cooked. even if he did mean post 9/11, it's not even accurate.

the man built his entire post-9/11 career on domestic terrorism and his heroism in the face of it. this gaffe was major and frankly i'm glad to see him go down in flames.

yeah. you are correct. at least politicians, as slimy and useless as they are, are accountable to the electorate. these dudes just have to feed the hateful, fear-mongering religious right in order to stay in business. it's an easy task, and they can shape public opinion while they're at it. they're in the sweet spot.

You mean the "sweet spot" created by the green-anti-religious left?
The left that has such a strangle hold on the press that it left such a
vacuum that Fox News stepped in and now thrives.

i wasn't really talking about an ideological sweet spot, i meant they're in a sweet spot as far as power/influence/accountability are concerned.

the left is complicit, for sure. frankly i think both sides are useless and evil :shrug: i used to be a party-line democrat but i can't vote for them anymore. they're just as absurd and corrupt as the republicans. and on the topic of political commentators, i hate keith olbermann just as much as i hate glenn beck or bill "we'll do it live!" o'reilly. so my issue with fox news is not right vs. left thing.

what i do think is particularly pernicious about fox news is the way they fan the flames of this alleged culture war. i understand that many people feel that their traditional values are being left behind in favor of more progressive policies, but to pit people against each other and profiting from it is reprehensible. the US was intended to be a haven for a wide range of ideologies. our government was based on progressive policies, not tradition (although there was that whole manifest destiny thing ...).

if fox news were truly conservative and not just a profiteering mouthpiece of the fear-mongering right, they would advocate everyone's right to privacy, personal liberty, and freedom from government interference. but they don't.

i understand how it all came to be, but i still think they are dangerous.

I see.

We do agree on some things though.

five and a half sentences, apparently. :laugh:

I couldn't have said it better myself! :nod:

Friendships are built on less than that!

true. you do own at least one trisha album, right? that's enough.