Palin's Speaking Contract Uncovered

Quitting your day job has never before been this profitable. Since Sarah Palin stepped down from her $125,000-a-year job as governor of Alaska last July, she has reportedly earned at least $12 million as a private citizen. She has signed two book deals—the first of which earned her $7 million—and is due to make around $250,000 for each episode in an eight-part reality series about Alaska. She also has a multi-year contract with Fox News and commands speaking fees in the neighborhood of $100,000 in her packed schedule of appearances. On Tuesday, a speaking contract came to light in which Palin's "rider" includes first-class airfare--though if she's not flown first class, then at the least a Lear 50 private jet--bendable straws for her bottled water, and a suite with two single rooms in a luxury hotel. Scheduled to speak at a university foundation in June, Palin's contract was uncovered by students sifting through a trash bin. When the Associated Press filed a motion for the documents to be released under the California Public Records Act, the administration denied that their existence. The students got a tip that the administration was shredding the contract, and when they recovered them, presented them to the state attorney general.