Ever since I made my first Sarahpalooza! video at her book signing in Birmingham, I have wished to see Sarah Palin’s rider. Yesterday, part of it leaked via some enterprising college kids aware of Supreme Court precedent and a helpfully incompetent secretary. The internet is abuzz with revelations: she’s made $12 million since leaving office, meaning she obviously quit to cash in. She requires bendy-straws and a private jet (first-class tickets if the appearance is abroad). None of the diva-stuff surprises me, least of all this at the beginning:
Due to the Speaker’s professional endeavors and high profile, arrangements of the highest order are necessary for the maintenance of the Speaker’s security and the security of the audience. Customer agrees to provide security arrangements as deemed necessary by the WSB and the Speaker.
Sarah is not afraid of some liberal assassin. In terms of personal security, she has more to fear from infatuated crazy men than liberals. What actually scares Sarah is her own foot in her own mouth caught on camera. For example, the rider requires all audience questions to be pre-screened; her show on FOX consists of reading from a teleprompter to introduce segments. Audiences are prevented from bringing cameras or cell phones into venues.
This, and not fear for her life, is the reason police presence was at least three times bigger and private security far more ubiquitous for Palin than it had been for Mike Huckabee the day before. It is also why every FOX affiliate within 200 miles sent vehicles to occupy the space where Huckabee’s bus had sat the day before.
Sarah’s rider also contains diagrams for how photo opportunities should be arranged to speed up the line. At $10,000 a pop, it pays to get as many suckers through the door as you can.
