Oprah Winfrey wants her, and so do other US TV show hosts. Fresh from her political defeat, Sarah Palin is juggling offers to write books, appear in films and sit on dozens of interview couches at a rate that would be astonishing for most Hollywood stars, let alone a first-term governor.
The failed Republican vice presidential candidate, who is still Alaska’s governor, crunched state budget numbers this week in her 17th-floor office as tumbling oil prices hit Alaska’s revenues.
Meanwhile, her staff fielded TV requests seeking the 44-year-old Palin for late-night banter and Sunday morning Washington policy.
Agents, including those from the William Morris Agency, have come knocking. There’s even been an offer to host a TV show.
“Tomorrow, Governor Palin could do an interview with any news media on the planet,” her spokesman Bill McAllister said. “Tomorrow, she could probably sign any one of a dozen book deals. She could start talking to people about a documentary or a movie on her life.That’s the level we are at here.”
McAllister said he had “multiple conversations” with producers for Winfrey as well as some late night TV hosts and other shows.
Asked whether Winfrey was pursuing Palin for a sit-down, Michelle McIntyre, a spokeswoman for Winfrey’s Chicago-based Harpo Productions Inc, said she was “unable to confirm any future plans” for the show.
Palin may have emerged from the Nov. 4 election politically wounded, with questions about her preparedness for higher office and reports of an expensive wardrobe, but she’s returned to Alaska with an expanded, if unofficial, title — international celebrity.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain plucked Palin out of relative obscurity in late August and put her on the Republican ticket. They lost to president-elect Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden.
Now, Palin has to decide how and where to spend her time, which could have implications for her political future and her bank account, with possible land mines of legal and ethical rules.
Palin is considering about 800 requests for appearances from next month through next year, with 75 percent coming from out of state. A year ago, just a sprinkle of requests came from beyond Alaska’s borders. They range from invitations to speak at the Chief Executives’ Club of Boston to attend a five-year-old’s birthday party, from a prayer breakfast in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to a business conference in Britain.
Michael Steele, the former Maryland lieutenant-governor who wants to be the next chairman of the Republican National Committee, is seeking face time.
She has invitations to make appearances in 20 foreign countries, typically with all expenses paid, McAllister said. She has more than 200 requests for media interviews, again from around the globe.
“She has to pace herself,” suggested veteran Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman. “She wants a career made in a Crock-Pot, not a microwave.”
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