Wasilla woman’s e-mail offering firsthand critique of Palin becomes Internet sensation

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?articleid=1117551&srvc=2008campaign&position=3

WASILLA, Alaska - At 3 a.m. Thursday, Anne Kilkenny unglued herself from her computer and went to bed after spending hours answering an endless string of e-mails from strangers.

By 9:15 the next morning, she had 382 fresh ones in her inbox and her phone was steadily ringing with calls from news media from all around the world.

That’s how it’s been the past week for the Wasilla stay-at-home mom turned accidental celebrity. All because of a letter she wrote to friends and family about Sarah Palin.

The 2,400-word e-mail, circulated on blogs, Web sites and through e-mail chains, has become an Internet hit embraced by many Democrats and Palin critics and attacked by Palin supporters.

In all the coverage of Palin, Kilkenny’s e-mail offers something maybe unique: a critique from someone who has known Palin since 1992 and been observing her up close for many years, long before Palin became widely known even among Alaskans.

"Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis," her e-mail begins. "Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99 percent of the residents of the city."

Kilkenny, a registered Democrat, sent the note Aug. 30, the day after Republican presidential candidate John McCain picked Palin to be his running mate. She said she sent it to 30 relatives and friends outside Alaska to answer the questions she was getting about Palin. She signed her name and asked that it not be posted, but it went viral across the Internet almost instantly.

The barracuda is not one to be crossed...

Reading about the vindictive nature of Palin, I hope she can defend herself........literally. Great lady and we need to support her for being so courageous.

Poor woman.

. . . and I saw it posted on DU at least three times.

Positively viral! :woohoo:

Positively

But I for one am very glad you wrote that when you did. Thanks :toast:

I can agree with most of it, but I'm still not buying the "miraculous 1 month pregnancy" part of it.. The email is just a bit too convenient to put another "explanation" out there..

on the other hand the original hoax could be disinfo, too, feeding off of the 'lie' that Palin flew home in labor.

It could be that the only lie about Palin's pregnancy is the boastful 'i gave a keynote address after my water broke' thing. Maybe some guy talked her into believing that it would make her look like some kind of jock. Or a Slim Pickins

Imagine her distress when they showed up with a gurney to take her to a big ole hospital in Texas...

Doctor:.."Mrs. Palin we cannot seem to find a heartbeat, so we took an ultrasound"