"... 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."
Palin cracks wise at Gridiron dinner
Tags:Sarah Palin, Barney Frank, Washington’s Gridiron Club Listen Print Comment Email Subscribe By JEANNE CUMMINGS & ANDREW GLASS | 12/5/09 9:43 PM EST Text Size- + reset
Sarah Palin shows up after a book signing in Fairfax where she said they were lined up in the snow.
Photo: Reuters
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The Gridiron Club's usually low key winter meeting was anything but this year as the politican who's defined herself in opposition to Washington elites and the mainstream media stood before the Washington media elite
A crowd of 195 — about double the average attendance of Gridiron members and their guests — came to hear Palin along with Rep. Barney Frank, a liberal, openly gay Democratic congressman from Massachusetts.
Palin, in a smart black suit with what appeared to be a fur-lined purse, showed up to burnish her political credentials after a stop in Fairfax for her nationwide tour to flog her bestselling book, “Going Rogue.” Frank was also in full biographical dress: “Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman,” by Stuart Weisberg was published in September.
During the cocktail hour, Frank 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 her 11-minute speech 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.
Staying with the book theme, she joked that “If the election had turned out differently, I could be the one overseeing the signing of bailout checks, and Vice President Biden could be on the road selling his book, 'Going Rogaine.'”
As President Barack Obama, 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."
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 was permitted, though not during the speeches or songs. At a morning meeting, 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 was the case with the spring dinner, the event remained closed to general media coverage so that only reporters who are members of the club or their invited guests could cover the proceedings. In theory, no photographs were allowed; in practice, shooters abounded.
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."
The night closed with the Gridiron Singers rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas, with gifts bestowed by a certain Ruth Limbaugh rather than the traditional “True Love.”
“On the first day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: A Marxist in a dead tree.
On the second day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Two tea-bag goons.
On the third day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Three hell-no's
On the fourth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Four bawling Becks
On the fifth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Five Sarah swoon-ins
On the sixth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Six health care death squads
On the seventh day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Seven bug-eyed birthers
On the eight day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Eight Cheney boomlets
On the ninth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Nine ACORN busters
On the tenth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Ten thundering mossbacks
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Eleven loony liberals
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: twelve flaming liberals, hunted down in the wild and field dressed, medium well-done, seared on the fatty edges—“
And then Palin joined the chorus for the final line:
"Right next to the mashed potatoes," she sang.
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