Nov 15, 2009 8:21 pm US/Eastern
Palin Book Roils Former McCain Aides
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The cover of Sarah Palin's new memoir, "Going Rogue" is shown.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
This is going to be a big week for former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as her highly anticipated book hits the shelves. Some of the book's allegations have already sparked new controversies - and opponents are firing back, as CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reports.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's new book will not be released until Tuesday, but, it is already generating the kind of controversy that Palin brought to last year's presidential campaign as Sen. John McCain's running mate.
In "Going Rogue," Palin reportedly criticizes McCain's senior staff for allegedly pushing her to be interviewed by "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric; that interview produced a series of exchanges that dogged Palin throughout the campaign.
In an interview for the Oprah Winfrey Show, Palin accused McCain's campaign staff of misleading her about her performance with Couric.
"The campaign said, 'Right on, good, you're showing your independence. This is what America needed to see. It was a good interview,'" Palin recalled. "And I thought if you think that was a good interview, I don't know what a bad interview was, because I knew it wasn't a good interview."
Steven Schmidt, McCain's chief strategist calls Palin's account "fiction."
Other former McCain aides are refusing to speak publicly. But political strategists say they are not so concerned about what happened in the last election. They're looking at 2012.
"They need to hit back and this is about getting contracts for the next election cycle and lining up candidates in the future," said Politico reporter Andy Barr.
Palin, who resigned her post as governor of Alaska, refuses to say whether she will run for the White House in 2012. One former senior McCain advisor said, "This is not the book you write if you want to be president of the United States."
Still, Palin may have reason, for now, to dismiss her critics. She's been reportedly paid more than $1.25 million for the 400-page book. Plus, she's polling well among likely Republican presidential candidates in 2012.
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