Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama get personal in new book
In America by Heart, Palin tackles race and Obama's former pastor as well as liberals and being unpatriotic
Sarah Palin's new book published tomorrow reads like a dress rehearsal for a campaign against Barack Obama for the White House in 2012, making pointed criticism not just of his policies but about his personal life.
In America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag, Palin tackles areas that even Obama's 2008 Republican challenger, John McCain, regarded as off-limits: race and Obama's incendiary former pastor, the Rev Jeremiah Wright.
In a lengthy passage, she questions whether Obama is proud of America. "I think ordinary Americans are tired of Obama's global apology tour and of hearing about what a weak country America is from left-wing professors and journalists," Palin says.
The main thrust of Obama's speeches on the world stage have been that America is "somehow worse than other countries, that it is hypocritical about its ideals, falls short of its responsibilities, and is forever in need of correction".
America yearns, she says, for presidents, whether Democratic or Republican, "who are not embarrassed by America, who see our country's flaws but also its greatness: leaders who are proud to be Americans, and are proud of her every day, not just when their chosen ones are winning elections".
The latter is a reference to a speech by Michelle Obama in February 2008 in which she said that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of America, in response to her husband's victories over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
Palin's first book, Going Rogue, published last year was autobiographical; America by Heart is more of a political manifesto, setting our her philosophy.
Although Palin has said she is still considering whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination, her book is in the tradition of political treatises by would-be US presidential candidates.
The publisher, HarperCollins, took legal action against the website Gawker to force it to withdraw excerpts from its site, parts of the book are available on sites such as Palingates, which tracks her.
In the book, Palin portrays Obama's legislation to reform healthcare, passed earlier this year, as having been pushed through against popular opinion and pledged to reverse it.
"We don't consider the healthcare vote a done deal, not by a long shot. Instead, it was a clarion call, a spur to action," she says.
In what sounds liked a campaign speech, she adds: "We will not let America sink further into debt caused by government controlling another one sixth of our economy – and mandating its approved health care coverage – without a fight. We will not abandon the American dream to government dependency, fewer freedoms, and less opportunity."
To coincide with the launch, Palin is to embark on a 16-state book tour, beginning in Phoenix, Arizona.
As well as attacking Obama, much of the book is filled with criticism of liberals and the mainstream media, and feminists who support abortion. She writes about her inspirations, such as Dr Charles Stanley's How to Reach Your Full Potential for God, which provides tips for living and making the most of life's opportunities.
One of the most controversial parts of her book deals with race. McCain avoided this during the White House campaign, partly because he did not want to be accused of having fought an election in which he had made Obama's colour an issue. Ignoring the advice of some Republicans, including Palin, his vice-presidential running mate, he also refused to exploit provocative comments made by Wright, Obama's long-time pastor and mentor in Chicago.
"The worst thing you can say about a fellow American in politics today is that he is racist," she writes, adding the accusation is often used as an excuse to stop debate on issues or against groups such as the Tea Party.
"The second reason that the charge of racism is levelled at patriotic Americans so often is that people making the charge actually believe it. They think America – at least America as it currently exists – is a fundamentally unjust and unequal country. Barack Obama seems to believe this, too. Certainly, his wife expressed this view when she said during the 2008 campaign that she had never felt proud of her country until her husband started winning elections.
"In retrospect, I guess this shouldn't surprise us, since both of them spent almost two decades in the pews of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church listening to his rants against America and white people."
