Sarah Palin Talks to Reporters at Ground Zero

Yesterday, before heading to Pennsylvania for more campaigning, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made an "unscheduled" visit to Ground Zero. She visited the Tribute WTC Visitor Center as well as Ladder Co. 10's firehouse, which has a bronze mural honoring the 343 firefighters who died on September 11.

NY Daily News columnist Michael Daly happened to be at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, signing copies of his book about Fire Chaplin Mychal Judge, when Palin arrived. He writes:

My hosts suggested it would be fitting for me to give her a book, and there I was, a liberal puke of a columnist, faced with writing an inscription for Sarah Palin.

I thought of Mychal, who had bridged all differences. I recalled that Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Mayor Dave Dinkins and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani had all welled up while talking to me of their fallen friend. I now wrote in the title page what I felt sure to be true.

"For Governor Palin, who would have loved Mychal."

Daly also noticed that Palin wrote in the visitors' guestbook, "From your 49th state.... We will never forget.... Governor Sarah Palin, ALASKA"

Palin, described as "personable" and "a little emotional" by a firefighter who showed her the mural at Ladder 10, actually spoke to reporters briefly, citing her support for the war on terror, "I agree with the Bush administration that we take the fight to them, we never again let them come onto our soil and try to destroy not only our democracy but communities like, the community of New York, never again. So, yes I do agree with taking the fight to the terrorists and stopping them over there."

And another interesting detail emerged yesterday: Palin's parents were part-time contract workers working at Fresh Kills after 9/11, to help keep seagulls and rats away from the debris (which included bodies). Her father, Chuck Heath, told WNBC, “We were working with firemen and policemen, rubbing elbows with them and talking to them. That was a real highlight to me – hearing their stories." It's unclear how Heath felt about his daughter's second aired interview with Katie Couric, which was a little rough (video after the jump).

Palin will face off versus Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden in the VP debate on October 2 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on September 26, 2008 5:27 PM

Comments [rss]

Amanda Harletsch

sarah palin is on huge opportunist bimbo!

Rfive

What happened to ides? Has she left the state with Palin?

PKinNYC

Palin's Resume:

Sports reporter

Snowmobile, ATV and Watercraft store owner

Graduate Univ. of Idaho - Journalism

Runner up Miss. Alaska

City Council of Wasilla

Mayor of Wasilla

Governor of Alaska

oh wait...and she can see Russia from her state...that makes her a world leader...and she what got her passport last year or something...egad.

oh yeah...GET OUTTA NYC!!!

the3rdbridge

This woman is such an enormous idiot. She has been coached on how to answer without answering because,as 10 minutes with her shows us, her head is totally empty.

Qraymond

No seriously, get the fuck out of our city you ghoulish vulture woman.

malebranche99

"Although when the white trash democrat governor of Arkansas ran for president, somehow governing a state was considered perfectly valid experience."

Bill Clinton - Georgetown grad, Senate intern, Rhodes Scholar at University College, Oxford.

Barack Obama - Columbia U grad in Poli-Sci and International Relations. Editor of Harvard Law Review. Harvard magna cum laude grad. University of Chicago Law School senior lecturer in constitutional law.

And then there's Palin!

What proof of intelligent life have you found there that we've all missed?

Guess you'll have to, "try to find you some and I'll bring them to ya."

cucarachita

DINGBAT. DING DING DING DING DING!

moonbeam

executive experience? that's like saying an assistant manager at starbucks has the "executive" experience to run a fortune 500 company

ITA. LOL, at that ridiculous "executive experience" talking point. I especially enjoy when they attempt to list her "executive" job duties. Apparently her job description is the same as an entry level office clerk.

malebranche99

"Inept? She has more execuive (sic) experience than Obama, Biden or even McCain for that matter."

Yes ides, inept.

It's amazing how many people confuse longevity with competence. If she'd served 30 years as Empress of Narnia she'd still be an idiot. I think maybe we should bet on intelligence for a change.

By your criteria we'd be sitting pretty if we can re-elect W, after all he's had 8 years experience as president.

Maybe someone with a well inked passports should be given a shot. No?

babyhitler

she's gonna be the new rick lazio. remember him? try really hard. you got him in your mental picture yet. Yeah, that's her.

tingo

Oh, she knows who 'the bad guys are!'

I won't move if she gets into the White House. We just can't let her in the White House.

This is such a joke.

jibbly

Ides, Obama was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, the most prestigious law review journals in the country. It was a full time volunteer position where he presided over a staff of 80 editors. He went on to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard Law School then taught at U of Chicago for 12 years on constitutional law.

And all this before getting into politics.

What did Palin do as mayor of a tiny, remote town in Alaska? Look at comment #9 at this link:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/palin_tells_her.html

Now you're telling me that this inept, sorry excuse for an executive is more qualified for the presidency than Obama? You bore the tears out of anyone with a brain that reads these comments.

just saying

"Palin's parents were part-time contract workers working at Fresh Kills after 9/11, to help keep seagulls and rats away from the debris..."

Am I the only one who wonders why workers were brought in all the way from ALASKA to do this job? There are plenty of people in the NYC area who need employment and this job didn't sound like it required some special skill set that couldn't be found here. And you also have to wonder if her parents also received airfare and per diem compensation. Why weren't workers from the NY metropolitan area employed for this work?

(Please don't tell me that Palin used her political connections to get her parents hired for these jobs.)

sinisterteashop

This one's even better.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014876.php

ides_of_march

"Please get out of our city, Ms. Palin. We don't like you..."

Speak for yourself. Stop being a presumptous twit who assumes everybody drinks the same Kool-aid they've been gulping down.

ides_of_march

"that's like saying an assistant manager at starbucks has the "executive" experience to run a fortune 500 company..."

Although when the white trash democrat governor of Arkansas ran for president, somehow governing a state was considered perfectly valid experience.

I still haven't seen one iota of executive exprience on Obama's resume. Asst't manager at Starbucks would be a step up for this empty suit.

slappy

@ berniegoetz

OK, Fascist is an extreme "word".

But what "perspective" should I take on right wing christian crusades like hatred of gays, banning of books, creationism, no sex out of wedlock, a rifle and bible in every bedroom, sodomy laws, no women's right to choose, etc, etc, etc. For folks who embrace the supposed republican view of less government, they sure have a vigorous agenda for passing laws to control private behavior and thought. Orwelian creeps.

babyhitler

13- holy shitballs! bitch is crazy. If you elect mcCain/Palin say goodbye to Harry Potter in the biblioteca. It's not enough that you believe that a white blue eyed zombie from the middle east could walk on water and have heat vision but you believe in witches too.

sinisterteashop

I rebuke all her witchcraft in the name of Jaysus!

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/palin-muthee--1.html

NannyState

For a brief time yesterday, there were two giant holes in Lower Manhattan.

Atomische

Sarah Palin? I thought it was Giuliani in drag.

berniegoetz

"Fascist," Slappy? I don't like her either but let's try to retain some perspective.

GigiDmnd

Instead of talking and sending emails about how horrible Sarah Palin is, make a donation to Planned Parenthood in her name. PP will then send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her “honor”.

More details

Bubba

ides of march, executive experience? that's like saying an assistant manager at starbucks has the "executive" experience to run a fortune 500 company

slappy

Not since Dan Quayle have we had such an inept ridiculous VP candidate. She is much worse in many ways. Unfortunately there are lots of folks who will vote for McCain because of Palin's fascist right wing religious views. Yech.

And I agree. She should just get out of town ASAP.

ides_of_march

"I have a feeling that McCain's plan was to pick someone so inept..."

Inept? She has more execuive experience than Obama, Biden or even McCain for that matter. You don't like her politics, fine; at least give credit where it's due. She's actually held a job that requires more than just voting yes, no or present. A fact you can remain in denial about all you like.

MaiaW

Please get out of our city, Ms. Palin. We don't like you, we don't want you making political sentimental visits here to beef up your image with voters.

Bubba

babyhitler, could Joe Lieberman be John McCain's Jesus Christ???

babyhitler

Palin is done. Republican pundit who is a woman kathleen parker has called for her to step down. http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=MDZiMDhjYTU1NmI5Y2MwZjg2MWNiMWMyYTUxZDkwNTE=

I have a feeling that McCain's plan was to pick someone so inept that when palin steps down and he picks some regular male repub suit that was gonna be boring 2 months ago look like jesus christ compared to palin thereby sweeping McCain into the white house.