Dan Riehl and Michelle Malkin are on top of it tonight, reporting on Sarah Palin’s comedy gold at this evening’s Gridiron Dinner. (tip of the hat to both).
Palin’s zingers sparkled. On being on the same program as Barney Frank, she quipped, “And I’m the controversial one?”
From Politico…
In an 11-minute speech before Washington’s Gridiron Club at its Winter Dinner, Sarah Palin tossed a few barbs at the gathering of journalists, comparing them 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.
Palin, in a smart black suit with what appeared to be a fur-lined purse, showed up after a book signing in Fairfax where she said fans were lined up in the snow. During the cocktail hour, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) 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.
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.”
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.
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 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.”
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And now, more comedy gold (h/t Marie in NY):
Well, there is good news and bad news about my Christmas decorations this year
Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations.
The bad news is that I had to take him down after two days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.
First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.
Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75-pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn’t realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that.
My yard couldn’t take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard.
Kind of feel like I gave in to the man by taking him down but my neighbor did confirm to near miss accidents on the busy street next to my house. I think I made him too real this time
So it was fun while it lasted! Merry Christmas!
