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Opinion: Palin not a big draw on the lecture circuit

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She quit as governor of Alaska in the middle of her term, presumably to cash in on her new-found fame as the Republican Party’s first female candidate for vice president. Feisty and controversial, Sarah Palin was thought to be a magnet for moneyed interests seeking star-power speakers. But now the New York Post is reporting that Palin has been a difficult sell for the Washington Speaker’s Bureau, which represents everybody from former President George W. Bush to magician David Blaine. Offered at $100,000 a speech, Palin is not attracting as many offers as might have been expected.

“Palin is polarizing, and some subscribers might cancel if she’s on the lineup,” one industry rep told the Post.

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Still, Palin does have a deep well of fans. Publication date for Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue,” has been moved up to Nov. 17, with a first printing of 1.5 million copies, so she’s got an obvious conservative audience out there somewhere.

And investors in Hong Kong recently paid in the low six figures to hear the possible future presidential candidate discourse on current events, from the economy to healthcare. There, she got high marks from a critic -- former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

“She’s fortunate that she can have a soft landing like this and figure things out from here,” Fleischer said. “She can take care of her financial future -- which she’s entitled to do -- and figure out policy later.”

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-- Johanna Neuman

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