Sarah Palin Blamed by the US Secret Service Over Death Threats Against Barack Obama

By Tim Shipman, The Telegraph (UK). Posted November 11, 2008.

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues."

Irate John McCain aides, who blame Mrs Palin for losing the election, claim Mrs Palin took it upon herself to question Mr Obama's patriotism, before the line of attack had been cleared by Mr McCain.

That claim is part of a campaign of targeted leaks designed to torpedo her ambitions, with claims that she did not know that Africawas a continent rather than a country.

The advisers have branded her a "diva" and a "whack job" and claimed that she did not know which other countries are in the North American Free Trade Area, (Canada and Mexico). They say she spent more than $150,000 on designer clothes, including $40,000 on her husband Todd and that she refused to prepare for the disastrous series of interviews with CBS's Katie Couric.

In a bid to salvage her reputation Mrs Palin came out firing in an interview with CNN, dismissing the anonymous leakers in unpresidential language as "jerks" who had taken "questions or comments I made in debate prep out of context."

She said: "I consider it cowardly. It's not true. That's cruel, it's mean-spirited, it's immature, it's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news that's not fair and not right."

She was not asked about her incendiary rhetoric against Mr Obama. But she did deny the spending spree claims, saying the clothes in question had been returned to the Republican National Committee. "Those are the RNC's clothes, they're not my clothes. I asked for anything more than maybe a diet Dr Pepper once in a while. These are false allegations."

Speaking as she returned to her native Alaska, Mrs Palin claimed to be baffled by what she claims was sexism on the national stage. "Here in Alaska that double standard isn't applied because these guys know that Alaskan women are pretty tough, on a par with the men in terms of being outdoors, working hard," she said.

"They're commercial fishermen, they're pilots, they're working up on the North slope in the oil fields. You see equality in Alaska. I think that was a bit of as surprise on the national level."

interesting

I'm of the opinion that the urge was already there, she just provided the blasting cap for the dynamite.

as the plot thickens

what will be the next turn in the evil workings of the diversionary plan and scap goating called the salin plan

will she prove them wrong

will the true evil doers fix a lot of blame on her

and get everyone to start thinking hmm she probably did do that

and then will they hire a garbage man to take out the garbage

and then eliminate the garbage man

stay tuned to the ever twisting theme of politics in the u s

a always changing staff with a never changing theme

who really controls this place they call america

is it not the one with the purse strings

continue you observation till you no longer will be permitted to observe not have a say

Nicely put and as far as the last sentence, observation is only a tool used to educate, and I will continue to educate until I no longer have a say and then I'll do whats best for my family.

i am with you

Now we only need to hear that from a few million more Americans and then we can really effect some change!

Oh please! Only anarchists are ones who would love to see this happen. they make this stuff up to cause friction. That's the only thing that is ABSOLUTELY HATEFUL about this thread!

Disgusting indeed!

tell that to the kennedy family (they got ted in line tho didn't they

Both Palin and McCain were remiss in not issuing statements that repudiated the calls for violence against Obama that occurred at their rallies.

I hated good old George Wallace but even he did not deserve to be shot for his views.

Had Obama heard or seen news reports of people calling for the assignation of McCain at his rallies and not denounced it you members of the rabid right would be howling!!

What's more important is will OBAMA really keep us safe & defend this nation or let our enemies in thru the front door?

It's plain we have plenty of home grown enemies as well.

what i want is to have the treasonous laws removed from the books

anyone involved with passing the patriot act and the anti-terrorist act that tries to stop its resentation should be tried for treason and when found guilty shot

or better yet lets just arrest them all throw them in prison with no explanation and not let them see a judge

after all it is their laws that permit that to happen

or better yet lets just arrest them all throw them in prison with no explanation and not let them see a judge

after all it is their laws that permit that to happen


You are so right adj4u!

More garbage...those things kept us all safe...to say otherwise shows warped thinking by those who lack the self control or common sense to know better.


BTW...I'm glad to see that you all are finally exposing your own evil thoughts & intentions. Hateful...just hateful indeed.

PLEASE CAN WE LET "THAT WOMAN" FADE INTO OBSCURITY!!!

Well actually I find it annoying that people would bring her up just to cause friction. The implication is just as abhorant.

The truth is there are those who hide behind their anarchistic views & want to create wars in this nation. Posts like this contribute to that & I find it disgusting.

SURPRISE SURPRISE!!

haha This from someone who still brings up Bill Clinton?

Palin's actions are relevant and fodder for discussion because she is being mentioned as a possiable candidate in 2012.

Not our fault that she is such a mess.

If she ceases to be mentioned as the future of the party then I am sure these discussions will fade.

You know lynann...if you spent as much time just stating your own case than commenting on what others say you just might have some crediblity. Stop making other posters the issue here.

Your finger pointing at other posters points right back at YOU.