The Desperate Left

A bunch of Lefties at the California State University have sifted through Sarah Palin’s trash to find out the details of her speaking engagements contract, handed it to a local Democrat pollie, who dutifully handed it to their propaganda department the media. And now Democrat California Attorney General, Jerry Brown is investigating.

Gee, nothing desperate going on there.

And as for Palin’s speeches, shock horror, she makes some decent coin from them – and with a few perks thrown in. We’re talking $100,000 bucks a speech.

OMG, it’s “embarrassing” writes Tim Reid at The Times and reprinted in The Australian.

Yes, it is. Even I’m embarrassed that the Left is getting so desperate nowadays. Noteable also is that the Australian places Reid’s article in the “news” section.

Bollocks his article is “news”.

SARAH Palin faced embarrassing revelations yesterday about lavish demands that she makes before speaking engagements, including first-class air travel or large private jets, suites in hotels and even bendable straws in her water bottles.

…

The latest revelation will do little to damage her reputation among the party’s grassroots activists, who view her as a straight-talking hero, but it undercuts her claim to be a down-to-earth “hockey mom” who is fighting for ordinary working Americans.

Sounds more like Leftist opinion to me, and a media beat-up, Chris Mitchell.

Anyway, let’s just have a look at who earns the big bucks for speaking engagements. There’s Al Gore who gets over $250,000 to peddle speculation. Australia’s Tim Flannery get’s $50,000 to do the same.

And here’s a tidy list from the website whose company drew up Palin’s contract.

The following receive upwards of $40,000 per engagement. Is Palin’s deal out of the ordinary?

Bertie Ahern
Prime Minister of Ireland (1997-2008)

Madeleine Albright
Secretary of State (1997-2001) and Distinguished American Diplomat

Christiane Amanpour
Chief International Correspondent, CNN and Incoming Host, ABC’s This Week

Shaukat Aziz
Prime Minister of Pakistan (2004-2007)

José María Aznar
Prime Minister of Spain (1996-2004)

James Baker, III
Former Secretary of State and Distinguished Senior Statesman

David Blaine
World-renowned Magician and Endurance Artist

Ken Blanchard
Legendary Management and Leadership Expert

George Bodenheimer
President, ESPN and ABC Sports

Terry Bradshaw
Co-host and Analyst, FOX NFL Sunday and NFL Legend

Zbigniew Brzezinski
Counselor, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Marcus Buckingham
Author, Four International Best Sellers Including Now, Discover Your Strengths

Ken Burns
Historian and Film Maker

Frank Caliendo
America’s Best-known Impersonator

*In Partnership with Creative Artists Agency
Ram Charan
Global Management Expert and Best-selling Author

Clayton Christensen
Harvard Business School Professor

John Cleese
British Comedic Actor, Screenwriter and Co-founder of Monty Python’s Flying Circus

*In Partnership with Creative Artists Agency

Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN

Katie Couric
Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

Stephen Covey
Internationally Acclaimed Author, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

Jim Cramer
Host, CNBC’s Mad Money

Geena Davis
Academy Award-winning Actor

*In partnership with Creative Artists Agency

Lou Dobbs
Legendary Business and Financial Journalist and Best-Selling Author

Sam Donaldson
Veteran Washington Correspondent, ABC News

Ken Dychtwald
Futurist, President, Age Wave and Author

Martin Feldstein
Harvard Professor and Economic Advisor to Presidents

Niall Ferguson
Historian, Professor and Author, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

Richard Florida
Renowned Economist and
Author, The Rise of the Creative Class

Gen. Tommy Franks, USA (Ret.)
Renowned Leader, American Hero

Louis Gerstner, Jr.
Former Chairman and CEO, IBM

Joe Gibbs
Legendary Head Coach, Washington Redskins and Championship NASCAR Owner

Newt Gingrich
Conservative Political Visionary and Thought Leader

Doris Kearns Goodwin
Presidential Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author

David Gregory
Moderator, NBC’s Meet the Press

Gary Hamel
Strategic Innovation Expert and Author, The Future of Management

Regina Herzlinger
Harvard Professor and Author, Who Killed Health Care?

Lou Holtz
Legendary Football Coach and Analyst, ESPN

John Howard
Prime Minister of Australia (1996-2007)

Ted Koppel
Iconic Newsman

Mike Krzyzewski
Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Duke University and Team USA

Jim Lehrer
Anchor and Executive Editor, PBS NewsHour

Pat Lencioni
Management Consultant and Best-selling Author

Martin Lindstrom
Respected Global Branding Expert and Author, Buyology: Truth and Lies About What We Buy

John Lithgow
Actor, Author, Singer and Arts Advocate

*In Partnership with Creative Artists Agency

The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major, KG, CH
Former Prime Minister, Great Britain and Northern Ireland

John and Doris Naisbitt
Futurists and Authors, China’s Megatrends, The 8 Pillars of a New Society

The Rt. Hon. Lord Patten CH
Last British Governor of Hong Kong, Former European Union Commissioner and Author

T. Boone Pickens
Energy Activist and Chairman, BP Capital Management

Pat Riley
President of the NBA’s Miami Heat

Charlie Rose
The Charlie Rose Show, PBS

Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
(1975-1977; 2001-2006)

Joe Scarborough
Host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Former Congressman

*In Partnership with the William Morris Agency
Bernard Shaw
Award-winning Principal News Anchor, CNN (1980-2001)

John Snow
Secretary of the Treasury (2003-2006)

Ben Stein
Actor, Economist, Raconteur and Author

George Stephanopoulos
Anchor, Good Morning America and Chief Political Correspondent, ABC News

Joseph Stiglitz
Nobel Prize Laureate, Author, Columbia University Graduate School of Business Professor and Former World Bank Chief Economist

Chesley B. Sullenberger, III
“Miracle on the Hudson” Hero Pilot

Pat Summitt
Head Women’s Basketball Coach, University of Tennessee

Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner, National Football League (1989-2006)

George Tenet
CIA Director (1997-2004)

Sarah, The Duchess of York
Member of Britain’s Royal Family, Media Personality and Author

Joe Torre
One of the Greatest Managers in Baseball History

Dara Torres
Five-time Olympian Swimmer

Donald Trump
Chairman and President, The Trump Organization, and Star of The Apprentice, NBC

Peter Ueberroth
Entrepreneur and Humanitarian

Meredith Vieira
Co-anchor, NBC’s Today

Dick Vitale
College Basketball Analyst, ABC Sports and ESPN

Elie Wiesel
Writer, Nobel Laureate and Human Rights Leader

George F. Will
America’s Foremost Political Columnist

James Wolfensohn
President, The World Bank (1995-2005)

Bob Woodruff
Anchor and Reporter, ABC News,
Author, In an Instant and Anchor, Planet Green’s Focus on Earth

Bob and Lee Woodruff
A Journey of Inspiration and Best-selling Co-authors, In An Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing

Daniel Yergin
Chairman, Cambridge Energy Research Associates and Global Energy Expert, CNBC

Paula Zahn
Distinguished News Anchor

Benjamin Zander
Conductor, The Boston Philharmonic and
Co-Author, The Art of Possibility

Mark Zandi
Chief Economist and Co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com

So Palin gets a comparable deal to any other high profile speaker.

Keep grasping at those straws, Leftards.