The tale of the plane
It's one of the big applause lines for the Republican ticket: Sarah Palin, cleaning house when she became Alaska's governor, sold the state jet on eBay.
It turns out it's not quite that simple.
Palin's office did put the plane on eBay, but couldn't get a bid close to the $2.7 million asking price, so hired a broker and sold it for $2.1 million to an Alaska businessman.
On CNN this afternoon, Palin's former aide Meg Stapleton gave her account of selling the plane:
"That was one of the No. 1 priorities, to be honest with you, when she took office because it was that symbol of corruption, it was a symbol of the previous entrenched establishment that she took on and succeeded in beating.
"It was a luxury jet that no one in Alaska wanted the governor to ride in, the legislature didn't want the governor to ride in.... It couldn't even land on half the strips in Alaska as it was. And this governor said, 'Enough.' This is exactly what we're fighting -- wasteful spending....
"With that symbol, she said let's get rid of it. What's the best way to do it? Before we go ahead and hire that broker, why don't we do it in a free manner where it costs minimal dollars... let's put it on eBay. We put it on eBay, let we it go through a couple rounds. We didn't get the attention because ...the state paid too much money for it.
"And eventually...a broker came in. We brought the broker in and said, 'Find a buyer.' We found a buyer. It went for 2.1 million bucks. And we did save the state dollars. And that jet, she never stepped in. And we got rid of the symbol of corruption in Alaska."
And now, Palin does have her own jet, delivered yesterday, a 100-seat plane freshly painted with the "McCain-Palin" logo for the two months of campaigning before Election Day.
Natural born liar.
Is there anything about Palin that isn't a tissue of lies? It would nice to see her step forward and answer some questions, but it looks like the GOP isn't going to allow her to do anything that isn't scripted. Then, they'll gamble that she'll exceed low expectations in the debate with Biden and then they'll go back to hiding her in the attic like the crazy uncle until after the election. Who knows, it might work.
So far she's a fraud who can read a teleprompter full of one liners. So far she is using her children for political gain. So far the GOP is one angry group of spoiled kids who didn't even mention "veteran" once while using the very men and women as symbols of their devotion to soldiers.
McCain is a very old warrior. He is to be applauded for his duty that happened 30 years ago. His using his status of former POW is used up.We need jobs, health care, the end of a war built on lies and not one liners. Let her take on Joe Biden, let John take on Obama. They will talk issues while the GOP gets even more angry.
Check the tape... she said she *put* it on eBay. The fact that it sold outside of the eBay umbrella is quite unimportant. It was put on eBay for sale, it sold after the auction expired.
You sound kinda bitter, Max. Try to be a little more courteous, especially if you're going to take your facts from an inaccurate "news" article.
Type your comment here...max you are scared of a woman in power.
Uh, Max.
Is this the extent of your powers of discernment? SHe's a liar because the plane didn't actually sell on eBay after a while?
Bet you also believe Barry didn't know who Bill Ayers was.
Max,
How do you know she is a liar. Did you see the ad for the jet on Ebay. My brother saw it. I'm glad she sold it and got 2.1 million dollars for it. Government spending can really get out of hand if you keep politicians who are greedy attention getters. Those types only look out for themselves and not the people they represent.
She didn't lie she said and I quote "That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay. "
She never said it sold on eBay. She said she "put it on eBay." That your brain can't see the difference, I'm sorry. But she didn't lie. Anything else you'd like me to refute max
Palin stated she put the jet up for sale on eBay.....which she DID! Disposing of Alaska's jet saved Alaska millions in reduced operating costs. This was a very good move on her part.....AND a very good move for the taxpayers of Alaska. We need a person who understands the need to reduce needless government spending in Washington. McCain/Palin will win in November as Obama has been exposed!
She fits right in with the Republicans. Use a symbol, whether it be a plane, abortion, gays or guns, to distract from backoffice deals spending taxpayer dollars. Palin has been sucking at the Federal TEET like a good Alaskan for years. She left her tiny town in BIG debt - $27 MILLION in DEBT, after becoming mayor with 0 debt. Yeah, that's just like W.
McSame/Palney '08!
Good for her. She didn't just say she would get rid of it, she did it. The fact that she tried E-bay first to save more money is not to her discredit. She was still coming up with "NEW IDEAS" TO SAVE THE STATE MORE MONEY.
tHIS CALLIING HER DISHOEST BECAUSE SHE DID HAVE TO SELL WITH A BROKER IS SOOOOOO PETTY AND SEEMS TO BE THE BEST THE DEMOCRATS CAN DO TO TRY TO PUT HER DOWN.
IT'S NOT WORKING AND IS REALLY HELPING HER WITH ALL THE BACKFIRE THIS TYPE OF MEDIA IS GAINING FOR HER.
So if this is the best you got, Bring It On!!!
I'm sure Palin didn't ask for the plane but this is a campaign mission for the vice president of the United States.Candidates must be on schedule in all 50 states so the idea of a private jet is not bad.If you run for a local office say for example a state or city now that's not a good idea to need a private plane.
Seems a lot different than the items Deval Patrick requested when he took office.
Wonder if Deval Patrick knew about this when he took office. He couold have the taxpayers of Massachusetts buy him a plan so he could travel to meeting with his book publishers more easily.
The plane- publicity ploy that apparently worked in Alaska. I would really like to know who ended up with it and whether or not he was involved with Palin and her cronies. i am also concerned that apparently McCain/Palin seem to think losing $600,000.00 is making a profit. Our economy is in shambles already- maybe we need to elect someone who is smart enough to add. I would also like to see the media stand up and start vetting both Mccain and Palin. There is a very hands off approach by the media to both of these candidates. We can't question McCain because 40 years ago he was a POW. We can't question Palin because she is a woman and"one of us". Well, I do not identify with her- she is the antithesis of everything that I believe in and I think that her purpose was to get the "female" vote and of course to take the attention off McCain. I want the media to examine both of these people and get the truth out there now. Frankly, knowing what I do know, both of their convention speeches left me feeling quite nauseous.
And you must be a unatural born democrat who views things from an unnatual perspective,
The point is - she got rid of an excess that the former governer thought was a necessity - on the taxpayers dime! Wheher it sold on ebay or sold to someoen else not on ebay; whether it sold for $1,000,000 or $1. The larger point is that she got rid of it and the operational expense taxpayers would have to pay for....
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