Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Like a proverbial swarm of locusts, book buyers are descending on stores coast-to-coast to devour endless stacks of a new publication. Talk and news shows are devoting so many hours to discussing the author, even John Grisham might be jealous. And the subject of all this literary wonder: Sarah Palin.

The ubiquitous former governor of Alaska is once again blasting over the American political landscape, this time astride her super-charged snowmobile of a memoir, “Going Rogue.” The actual sales figures are changing by the hour, so let’s just say she moving more paper than Dwight Schrute. Harper Collins reportedly planned to print 1.5 million copies in the first run, and industry insiders say they’ve rarely seen such pre-release demand for a non-fiction book. Although, having done some fact-checking, I must say putting it into the non-fiction category may be a stretch.

Anyway, with her custom bus rumbling from one town to the next for these Take-Back-America tent revivals, it’s like a Shania Twain concert tour without the band.

Keep reading

Mary Matalin
CNN Contributor

In today's publishing market, "Going Rogue" is a fat book at 432 pages, at a high price point of $28.99, with a massive (rumored 1.5 million) first printing, launched on the book world's version of a Royal Tour, where Oprah is Queen of the Universe and Barbara Walters is Duchess of the D.C.-Manhattan cognoscenti.

In today's political market, well before it was officially released, "Going Rogue" was reduced to a pinprick-sized, petty insiders squabble. How do we square these disparate perspectives?

As a person with alternating publisher and political hats, who knows the players but wasn't inside the John McCain campaign, who cares deeply about the current conservative movement and the future of the country (which are inextricably intertwined), may I offer a few thoughts to the friends on CNN.com's site?

Keep Reading...

Richard Kim and Betsy Reed
Special to CNN

Sarah Palin begins her manipulation of the readers of her book "Going Rogue" in the title, embracing as a badge of honor the accusation leveled at her by McCain campaign staffers during the last bitter days of election 2008 - even though she's exemplified the political insider throughout her career.

In "Going Rogue," she describes the campaign as disorganized and defeatist and writes that Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's aides had a "jaded aura" about them.

She's a "diva" who is "playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party," one anonymous McCain staffer alleged at the time. Now, Palin wants payback.

It's not yet clear who will emerge the victor in this Republican Party version of "Thunderdome." But it's telling that Palin intends to twist the meaning of "rogue" - an untrustworthy and unprincipled person - into its very opposite.

Keep Reading...

Matthew Continetti
Special to CNN

Sarah Palin appears on Oprah on Monday to mark the launch of her book, "Going Rogue." She'll follow up with an extensive interview with Barbara Walters, a multicity book tour and appearances on the Fox News Channel and talk radio.

She'll grab plenty of headlines. As you read about Palin's old-media tour, it's important to remember that she's also a pioneer in the political use of new social media. Not that she gets any credit.

Sometimes the most important revolutions are the quiet ones. This is especially true in the case of technology, which has a way of sneaking up on us.

Take cell phones, for example. A decade ago, they were a luxury item. Suddenly, everyone seemed to have one. What had once been a sign of status became commonplace, all with hardly anybody noticing - and without any central direction.

Keep Reading...

CNN Poll: Most Americans say Palin is not qualified to serve as President.

Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Director

Fewer than three in 10 Americans think Sarah Palin's qualified to be president, according to a new national poll – the least of any of the five potential candidates included in the survey.

But another woman tops that list in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday: two-thirds of the public thinks that Secretary of State HIllary Clinton's qualified for the Oval Office. That's more than Vice President Joe Biden, who's currently next in line for the presidency.

According to the poll, 28 percent of Americans say Palin is qualified to run the White House, with seven in 10 saying the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee is not qualified.

Keep Reading...

Palin wrote on her Facebook page that the AP got parts of her book wrong in their report.

Peter Hamby
CNN Political Producer

Sarah Palin's memoir has leaked, but the former Alaska governor is telling supporters – and potential customers – to be cautious about the early reviews.

"As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release," Palin wrote Friday on her Facebook page. "And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book."

"Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it!," she wrote. "Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain. We can't wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first ... "

Read More...

Palin will bypass several major cities in her upcoming book tour.

Alexander Mooney
CNN Ticker Producer

Those living in the country's biggest cities who hope to catch a glimpse of Sarah Palin while she is on her much-anticipated book tour may be disappointed: the former Alaska governor will instead hit a string of mid-size cities, many of which voted for her and John McCain last November.

According to Harper Collins, the publisher of Palin's forthcoming memoir "Going Rogue," Palin will bypass several of the major cities that are often the pillars of any big book tour, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia.

Palin's schedule instead takes the former Republican vice presidential candidate to smaller – and in many cases more conservative – cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana, Washington, Pennsylvania, Roanoke, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida.

Keep Reading...

Store owner Shannon Cullip on Sarah Palin: People either completely ... have her on a pedestal or don't like her.

John King
CNN Chief National Correspondent

At Pandemonium Booksellers, the Sarah Palin 2010 calendars are hot sellers, and since the election, the traffic in political books has been decidedly to the right.

"Glenn Beck outsells President Obama at the moment?" is our question as owner Shannon Cullip leads us on a tour of the bookstore.

"Oh yeah," she responds with a laugh. "Big time."

In the window, there is a small Wasilla Chamber of Commerce sticker and an image of the town's famous mayor-turned-governor-turned-GOP vice presidential nominee.

"Going Rogue" is shattering the presale record at Pandemonium Booksellers and reigniting the Palin political divide, even here in her hometown.

Keep Reading...

Mark Halperin
Time

The title of Sarah Palin's memoir, Going Rogue, is a little misleading. The gerund suggests that the woman who went from obscurity to the GOP ticket to the exit door of the Alaska governor's mansion in less than a year is still on a journey toward rogue-dom.

In fact, when Palin emerged from a self-imposed semi-exile on Nov. 6 to speak before 4,000 fans just outside Milwaukee at what organizers called the largest pro-life gathering in Wisconsin history, two things were abundantly clear: Palin is now a thoroughly professional rogue — and she is going to sell a ton of books. She has become her own reality show.

The line began forming at the state fairgrounds more than three hours before the main event and stretched longer than half a mile. The crowd wore buttons bearing her image and passed the time making jokes about the media while eagerly snatching up T-shirts a local talk-radio station was giving away that labeled Palin "America's Conservative Conscience." Once inside the cavernous exhibition hall, they chanted, "Sarah!" with growing fervor until their heroine appeared, flexing her distinctive charisma in a killer red dress, high heels and her trademark glasses. The event was closed to the press, and cameras were barred from the hall, not only to preserve the mystery and anticipation before her formal debut but also to protect against unflattering YouTube postings. I bought a public ticket for admittance, as did several other journalists.

Read More...

Program Note: Don't miss Anderson's conversation with the book's authors Scott Conroy and Shushannah Walshe tonight. AC360° 10 p.m. ET.

Scott Conroy and Shushannah Walshe
'Sarah from Alaska'

Introduction: Lights Out

IN A CONDOMINIUM SUITE at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin read over the election night victory speech that she would never have the chance to deliver. Thank you all so much. And thank you, America, for the great responsibility that you have given to President-elect John S. McCain.

It was just minutes before the stirring moment when the official results would begin to trickle in, but as the sun descended toward the desert horizon, her fatigue must have been crushing. Palin’s two months on the trail had been not just physically exhausting but mentally draining. This short, strange trip had tested her in ways that might have broken even the most hardened political pro, and she had suffered more than her fair share of setbacks and embarrassments.

Still, it was Palin’s gripping story and alluring personality that had breathed life into a once flatlining campaign. Her addition to the ticket had sparked a flood of donations, standing-room only crowds at rallies, and a surge in the polls for the Republican ticket. But along with Palin’s many positive contributions to the campaign had come as many ruinous malfunctions. In the final hours of this frenzied voyage, she would discover just how expendable she had become, as the McCain campaign was literally about to turn the lights out on her.

How had she skyrocketed so quickly into the stratosphere of American politics? Who had really been at fault for her many public stumbles? And what was it about Sarah Palin that drew such passion from both her fans and her foes? Even with the benefit of the thousands of hours of media attention that had been devoted to her candidacy, the heat of the moment did not afford the perspective for anyone to answer these questions adequately, least of all the candidate herself. On this last night of the campaign, Palin remained focused on the momentous judgment that the American people were about to deliver.

Keep reading