Sarah Palin dropped into Haiti for a quick nano-visit
Sarah Palin returned from her trip to Haiti on Sunday, before most people knew she was gone.
by Jean Williams
The Palin’s, including Sarah, Bristol, and Todd were invited last month by Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, to visit Sumaritan’s Purse in Haiti.
Graham and the Palin family commuted in and out of Port-Au-Prince via Samaritan’s Purse private helicopter. No commercial flights have been scheduled to arrive or depart, due to civil unrest in the country over a contested election. Chartered flights and cargo planes have been the only flights allowed in or out.
Fox News had the exclusive media coverage and no other U.S. press outlet got interviews of Sarah’s quick visit.
Palin did spend a brief time with International press outside the Samaritan’s Purse location, but her appearance was so short, there weren’t any notable quotes that emerged.
Media coverage was tightly controlled, but Samaritan’s Purse released exclusive photographs of Palin visiting cholera patients, holding sick children, and delivering gifts.
Most of the people of Haiti didn’t know who Sarah Palin was, so she was not greeted by throngs of adoring fans that has become her custom.
According to a Time.com article, the fact that Palin was given a 30 page booklet on the situation with Haiti since the January 12 earthquake devastated one of the poorest countries in the world, she still asked questions that had obvious answers.
Samaritan's Purse vice president of programming Ken Isaacs said she asked things like:
“Why doesn't Haiti have proper sanitation? Why doesn't it have proper infrastructure?”
Critics see the trip as nothing more than a conversation piece and a photo-op. Palin has only been to 3 other countries outside of North America and her 2 day visit to Haiti adds a 4th to her passport.
Former president Bill Clinton visits Haiti on a regular basis, without media. Many others, including actor Sean Penn have quietly made several trips to the country to bring in aid.
“As a PR campaign, surprisingly, Palin blew a real opportunity,” said political analyst, Jonathan Alter, when asked for his assessment. “What she should have done, was to spend two weeks in Haiti, without media, then allow them all in at the end of her stay. That would have shown sincerity. Two days with only Fox News documenting her visit was not very convincing.”
Sarah Palin fans see it as another sign that she plans to run for president in 2012, by further demonstrating her “momma grizzly” compassion on a global level.
Opponents of Palin say the two day trip was a blatant political ploy to flesh out her scant worldly resume and keep her name in the press. Not many were convinced by the former governor of Alaska, who quit midterm, to launch a political speaking career, that she had any true altruistic motives behind a two day, tightly controlled, trip to Haiti.
The impoverished country has lost 2000 people to the latest cholera out-break and thousands more are susceptible. Haiti supporters say it needs more help than any locally unknown politician’s blip of grandstanding can deliver.
Furthermore, it was reported by Palin Twitter followers; "the first tweet she released after her return from Haiti was complaining about the condition of her hair."
Sarah Palin's reality show, Sarah Palin's Alaska, has been falling in the ratings and her latest book sales have been weak.
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