Going Rogue: An American Life (86 page)
Read Going Rogue: An American Life Online
Authors: Sarah Palin,Lynn Vincent
Tags: #General, #Autobiography, #Political, #Political Science, #Biography And Autobiography, #Biography, #Science, #Contemporary, #History, #Non-Fiction, #Politics, #Sarah, #USA, #Vice-Presidential candidates - United States, #Women politicians, #Women governors, #21st century history: from c 2000 -, #Women, #Autobiography: General, #History of the Americas, #Women politicians - United States, #Palin, #Alaska, #Personal Memoirs, #Vice-Presidential candidates, #Memoirs, #Central government, #Republican Party (U.S.: 1854- ), #Governors - Alaska, #Alaska - Politics and government, #Biography & Autobiography, #Conservatives - Women - United States, #U.S. - Contemporary Politics
SARAH
PALIN
Jason and I hit my toe mark precisely on time. On the other side of the stage, Biden was supposed to hit his at the same moment. But when I looked across, his spot was empty. Seconds ticked by, an eternity in a tightly scripted television production schedule. Still no Joe.
Dang,
I thought.
He’s still running on Senate time.
An aide poked his head into the empty space where the senator was supposed to be, swiveled his head, withdrew. Looking back, it could’ve been backstage chaos causing the delay, or it could’ve been a strategy, sort of like icing the kicker just before a field goal.
Finally Biden appeared, as usual looking impeccable in his dark suit, tall and confident, his distinguished silver hair flawlessly groomed. I had never met him before, but now I tried to catch his eye, to give him, I don’t know, a friendly nod, a thumbsup, something to acknowledge that, hey, ultimately we’re all on the same team. Go, U.S.A.! But Senator Biden didn’t make eye
contact.
Instead he looked past me. His features then hardened into what can only be described as a “game face.” I could respect that. I knew what it was like to get into a zone before a big game. Then the senator started to stretch. Literally.
He put his hands on his hips and, staring grimly at some point behind me, began to bend at the waist, bouncing first to the right, then to the left. Then the neck rolls started, presumably to get rid of all that nasty tension from being the front-runner. After that, the senator from Delaware began scretching his quads, grabbing his dress shoe and pulling it up behind his designer-suited rear end. Right leg, then left.
I’m thinking,
O-kay. Didn’t know this was going to get physical.
I looked at Jason to mouth,
What the heck? Should I be doing
that, too?
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