Lorenzo Benet
Author and Assistant Editor, People Magazine
Wednesday, February 18, 2009; 1:00 PM
Lorenzo Benet, author of Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin and assistant editor at People magazine, will be online Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his book, a revealing personal look at the controversial vice presidential candidate and governor of Alaska, her family relationships and home life, her daughter Bristol and her teen pregnancy and her seemingly overnight climb up the political ladder to be John McCain's running mate in last year's election.
THIS STORY
Palin Now Owes Taxes on Payments for Nights at Home, State Rules
Transcript: Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin
A transcript follows.
In the course of preparing the book, Benet received the cooperation of Palin's parents, Chuck and Sally Heath; the governor's older sister, Heather Bruce; as well as in-laws, political allies and rivals.
Related Stories: Back Home in Alaska, Palin Finds Cold Comfort (Post, Feb. 18) and Palin Energizes Our Readers (dot.comments, Feb. 18).
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Lorenzo Benet: Glad to be here to talk about Sarah Palin and Trailblazer. I look forward to answering all your questions.
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Harrisburg, Pa.: When Sarah Palin was first chosen to be John McCain's running mate, some of the initial stories mentioned how she had admitted using marijuana. This overall is not a big deal in politics, except I noticed that some of the "religious right" seemed to then pull their punches about Obama's admitted youthful drug use in his autobiography. I don't believe past drug use was much raised as a concern from either side, except in the small blogosphere world. I am not wondering, though: where did the reports that Sarah Palin used marijuana originate, were they true, and is this a sign that most of the public is no longer as concerned about youthful indiscretions and more about current qualifications?
