Martin Eisenstadt’s Blog

For those of you who want to relive the McCain/Palin campaign this weekend, check out Anderson Cooper interviewing my former colleague Steve Schmidt about me on CBS’s 60 Minutes this Sunday:

Anderson: “The person in charge of her debate prep made a desparate call to Steve Schmidt.”

Schmidt: “[Marty] told us that the debate was going to be a debacle of historic and epic proportions. He told us she was not focused, she was not engaged. She was really not participating in the prep.”

Watch CBS News Videos Online

From what Anderson told me, he actually did the interview with Steve in reference to my book (I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man’s (wildly inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans) two months ago, but due to cost cutting at the Tiffany network, they held the footage and used it for their piece on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s new book Game Change.

The similarities between the two books are striking:  Steve Schmidt is a major character in my book, and I have several chapters about the Sedona debate prep (that was the time Sarah confided in me that she didn’t know where Africa was and was confused about what countries were in NAFTA).  Here’s a picture of me from my  book - in Sedona, with campaign aides Randy Scheunemann and Nicolle Wallace. Coincidentally, I’ll be appearing this weekend on C-Span (the Tiffany of basic cable) on their critically acclaimed show BookTV this Saturday at 3pm ET. And I think we all know that serious political book readers are more likely to pay attention to C-Span on a Saturday afternoon than to what’s left of 60 Minutes after the AFC Wild Card Game goes into overtime (go Ravens!).

To be clear, “Game Change” is easily the second-best political memoir of the 2008 campaign next to mine. (and yes, John and Mark, feel free to use that blurb in promoting your book). Full disclosure: I’ve known John Heilemann for 20 years - we frequently take the “Pundit Express” (aka the Acela) together after episodes of Hardball, and we like to reminisce about our salad days living on Capitol Hill  (where I distinctly remember carving presidential faces into old potatoes on Thanksgiving before devolving into vicious rubber band fights around the fireplace).  I can’t speak for Mark, but John’s a smart writer with surprisingly good aim.

And let me remind my good readers that while John and Mark were allegedly out there “interviewing 200 people” for their book (myself included), I had already finished mine. Even before Sarah Palin’s own book came out, I might add.  And let me also remind you of some of the stellar reviews I’ve gotten since:

“Martin Eisenstadt’s new memoir…is essential reading for all political junkies.” - Ken Silverstein, Harper’s

“Consistently funny…I intend it as real praise when I say that ‘I Am Martin Eisenstadt’ is the best fake memoir of the campaign season.” - Atlantic Monthly Sr. Editor Joshua Green in The Washington Monthly

“What Stephen Colbert is to Bill O’Reilly, Martin Eisenstadt is to countless political pundits. Hilarious…biting commentary on Washington, DC.” - Jeremy Jacobs, Politics Magazine

“It’s a fiendishly fun book, full of startling revelations: Eisenstadt lost his virginity to Oliver North’s secretary, Fawn Hall; was taken hostage by Somali pirates en route to Egypt; and tipped the press to Mark Foley’s career-ending text messages….A very clever book certain to delight political wonks.” - David Pitt, ALA Booklist

“Amazing!” – Howard Kurtz, CNN

“This Martin Eisenstadt character is pure genius.” - Mori Dinauer, The American Prospect

On Thursday night, I was at Lou Dobbs’ going away party and snagged his advance copy of Sarah Palin’s new book Going Rogue. The book may have a lot going for it, but an index apparently isn’t one of them. Now I don’t like to be meanspirited, but despite Sarah’s school-marmish good looks, I can tell you she does not have the library science or alphabetizing skills of say, Laura Bush. This is one of many issues I address in a video I shot in Georgetown with my assistant Danny Sadler.  Maybe in Alaska with those long winter nights, people have time to read books, Sarah, but not here in Washington.

I also responds to her claims in the book that the rumor about her not knowing Africa was a continent was taken out of context and leaked by McCain loyalists (”I never said you said Africa was a country not a continent; I said you said Africa SHOULD be a country not a continent”).  And yes, I reveal that the reason the RNC paid for silk boxer shorts for Todd Palin during the Palin’s $150,000 shopping spree is because he’s “hung like a walrus” and needed the extra wiggle room.  For those of you who have already read my book, I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man’s (Wildly Inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans which just came out from Farrar, Straus, Giroux, you’ll agree that much of what I say is alluded to in my book (which does have an index).

What do Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, Acorn, Sarah Palin’s new book, Michael Jackson, Oprah and zombies have to do with each other? Not much. Until, that is, you see how I weave them all together while providing a stinging indictment of so-called “Community Organizers.”

A full year before James O’Keefe and his prostitute friend exposed Acorn as being nothing more than “community organizers,” I went undercover in Baldwin Hills to expose the Acorn “front” group the Marcus Garvy Community Outreach Program (the militantly acronymed MG-CORPs) as hucksters and conmen. But instead of pandering to my friends at FoxNews (which, as O’Keefe found out, seemed too “on the nose”), I allowed a BBC documentary crew to follow me in my own sting investigation. You can watch the full excerpts of that investigation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2K4Om
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLklw48Pe3g

I was surprised as anyone when I heard the news today that Sarah Palin was resigning as governor of Alaska. Speculation is rampant on why she made the decision, and Gov. Palin herself has been more than coy on the matter. But Alaska sources confirmed to me tonight that among other reasons, she was “very concerned” about damaging revelations that will be coming out in several upcoming campaign books, including my own. Irrespective of whether she ultimately makes a run for the White House in 2012, she felt it best to escape the media glare for a while as increased accusations come to light.

Recent articles in Vanity Fair, Politico and CBS News reports (from an upcoming book) accusing her of being a “rogue diva” and tying her to damaging emails about her association with the secessionist Alaska Independence Party continue to hound her. But I can’t personally help but wonder if she also became aware of related allegations I make about her in my own upcoming book, “I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man’s (Wildly Inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans” due out in October from Faber & Faber, a division of Farrar, Straus, Giroux (FSG).

While I continue to enjoy a warm relationship with my publisher and editor at FSG, I can’t help but wonder if the timing of Palin’s resignation is somewhat suspect. Just this very week, FSG started to send out early galleys of the book for review. I have no reason to initially suspect any of FSG’s direct employees of leaking the galleys to Palin. But did someone in the media who got an advance copy somehow slip it to a Palin ally? Or maybe an outsourced subcontractor at a print shop? At this point, there’s no way to be sure.

But come Monday, I will be speaking with my lawyers and to executives at FSG to demand a full investigation into the alleged leak. Stay tuned.

[apologies, my comments still not working on the blog - but feel free to follow and reply to me in Twitter: @MartyEisenstadt or my fan page on Facebook ]

 ”Rush Limbaugh is a corpulent brute who’s making money off the self-destruction of the GOP… about 3 hours agoRush Limbaugh is a corpulent brute who’s making money off the self-destruction of the GOP. How does he sleep at night? Right: Oxy.”

That’s what I twittered a couple hours ago over an Irish coffee while watching FoxNews. Clearly, that’s an incendiary combination.   Was I too harsh on Rush? Hard to say yet. But after Rush bullied Michael not-so-Steele into apologizing to him - all for the sake of Rush’s precious ratings, then that’s the only conclusion a fair-minded member of the grown-up wing of the Republican Party can come to.  A warning to all GOP members of Congress: the “R” after your name stands for “Republican”, not “Rushin.”

I just wanted to let everybody know that I’ll be hosting and analyzing incoming President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on January 20, 2009, in Park City, Utah.  I’ll also be making an announcement on behalf of the Harding family congratulating incoming President Obama, and acknowledging the long-standing rumor that Warren G. Harding was actually the first African-American president. I’ll be available for interviews and analysis at:

Treasure Mountain Inn
255 Main St.
Park City, Utah
9:30am-Noon, January 20, 2009

Washington is being dominated by the false euphoria of the nation’s liberal elite this week, so I felt that I would be at home in the solidly red state of Utah where I could give a more objective analysis of this important day. I’ve been authorized to spread the message that the Harding family is ready to come clean about how proud they’ve always been of the 29th president’s contribution to the mosaic of American diversity.

It was an honor having dinner with Barack Obama and some of my fellow neocons last night.  It’s always great to see George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, and David Brooks again, and especially after we’re finally starting to get our grounding after the election.  I think the neo-con-munity will find a way to try to build bridges with the Obama Administration, and given the cabinet he’s appointed, I suspect we’ll find considerable common ground. Obama, himself, was very gracious with his time and his consideration for our viewpoints, especially those of us who were perhaps not always the most complimentary towards him during the election.I’ll say this for him; he’s a good listener, and that will serve him well, as it did Eisenhower and Ford.

It was terrific being in George’s house again - he’s got the most amazing collection of baseball artifacts, so naturally, with this crowd, the conversation veered towards the upcoming Think Tank Softball League, and Will’s consideration of taking over as commissioner. Not sure he will ultimately, but the League could use a strong hand to guide us. (Heritage has been running roughshod with the rules the last two seasons.) Otherwise, I’m sworn to secrecy on any substantive policy issues that were discussed at the dinner.

Through the looking glass…. The hoax version of the New York Times put out by the infamous Yes Men actually put me on the cover, and then wrote a long piece describing how two losers are claiming to be me in order to pitch a TV show. Ridiculous!

As anyone who’s been reading my blog knows, I deny any and all accusations that I somehow don’t exist. I’ve posted it before, but it’s worth doing one more time, here’s a rebuttal to the  BBC documentary, “The Last Republican” wherein I refute my naysayers (and of course, also see my responses to this series, too):

For all you fellow travelers spewing such venom in my direction, bite on this for a moment. Before I announced that I was the source for the Palin/Africa story, everyone, without exception, believed it to be true. The only question was who leaked it. Now, as a result of me outing myself, there is doubt about even the original allegations. A smell of fishiness has crept into the whole story. And MSNBC is finally being called out for its rampant biases and sloppy journalism. I believe that’s what they call “taking one for the team”.

UPDATE (scroll down for original post)…. MSNBC did a nice “Breaking News” piece on me with David Schuster interviewing my fellow pundits, “Republican strategist” Todd Boulanger and “Democratic strategist” David Goodfriend about my difficult decision to come clean as the source of the Africa story. MSNBC tried to reach me today for an on-camera interview as well, but I was traveling between DC and New York when the story aired. I certainly have my issues with NBC, and even Keith Olbermann’s used me as a source on several occasions, so at least it was nice that this time they gave me full attribution.

Of course, as soon as their story ran, all hell apparently broke loose on the blogosphere, as you can probably tell by the vitriolic comments posted on the blog. My associate, Danny, has been trying to moderate the comments all day, but as you can see, many of the most vile ones snuck through anyway.

Danny tells me that one ongoing thread he’s seen on many of the blogs today is that I somehow don’t exist or am a fraud of some kind. As any loyal reader of the blog or of our new YouTube channel knows full well, every single one of these fallacious internet rumors can be attributed to a single source - a Mr. “Wolfrum,” whom we established is a very bitter tranny-loving golf blogger living in Brazil when we wrote about him back in June. When the BBC recently ran their YouTube series on me entitled “The Last Republican,” I even addressed the issue there. As you may have seen from my responses to this documentary, I’m quite upset at the way I was portrayed in the series, but in this one particular episode, at least I am asked, and I think I answer, the question directly. (please, though, I urge you to skip ahead to minute 1:50 where I address the issue head on - the rest of this episode takes much of what I say out of context)

For all of you naysayers out there, I ask you now not to believe everything you read on the internet. My reputation is at risk, and every single blog that has cast doubt on my existence has been traced back to this one, unrepentant golf blogger who has some sort of pathological grudge against me. And for those wondering why he would go after me, and try to discredit my views on Sarah Palin, you should take note that he himself comes from Alaska. Coincidence? Or just plain chance?

And I’ve posted it before, but I think it’s relevant here again, this is yet another specific case wherein I address my detractors in one of my video responses to the “The Last Republican”:


Finally, for anyone using inexact technology like Google, perhaps one reason you keep seeing the word “hoax” next to my name is because I have used this very blog to uncover several hoaxes, including the case of the photo-shopped Iranian missile picture, in which I was the first American to notice that the picture was a hoax. I urge people not to be gullible with the internet, and realize that you can’t trust the first couple lines of a Google search for all the answers.

HERE’S THE ORIGINAL POST:
By now you’ve all heard the Fox News report last week that “unnamed” former McCain advisers leaked that Sarah Palin was confused about whether Africa was a continent, and which countries were in NAFTA. I was perfectly happy staying under the radar as an anonymous source for Fox News‘ Carl Cameron, but now that Palin has accused her accusers of being “unprofessional…jerks…cowards… taking things out of context, and then tried to spread something on national news” and begun to cast doubt on the Fox News report, maybe she’s right to a certain extent. For those of us on the McCain campaign who thought that she acted like a rogue diva and lost John the election, maybe we DO have a responsibility to come out in public. But Sarah… careful what you ask for: some of us may have more to reveal.

So yes, to be clear, last week I was the one who leaked those things to a producer at Fox News who works with Cameron. Carl and his producers are good guys, and I don’t want them to have to worry about protecting their sources (and going through the wringer ala Judith Miller or Matt Cooper) on something like this.

As you know, I was one of the foreign policy advisers on the McCain campaign who worked with Randy Scheunemann to help prep Sarah on her debate with Joe Biden. Did we outright give her a geography quiz when we started the prep? No, of course not. But yes, in the context of the prep, it slowly became apparent that her grasp of basic geo-political knowledge had major gaps. Could she have passed a multiple choice test about South Africa or NAFTA. Probably. But it was clear that she simply didn’t have the ease of knowledge that we come to expect from a major party political candidate. Other slights came up, too: Not knowing the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas. Or the difference between the Shiites and Suni. Or when it came to international terrorist organizations, knowing that the IRA was in Northern Ireland, and ETA in Spain.

The real thing we had to constantly remind her was to never, ever compare herself in any way to Hillary Clinton, as she had at her announcement speech. We had it on good authority that Biden was prepping to unleash the inevitable line, “I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a friend of mine. And Sarah, you’re no Hillary Clinton.” Alas, Biden would have been right.