[zilsolley3]

TPM:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...it.php?ref=fpa

She's earned $13 million since the 2008 presidential race that shoved her onto the national stage, but Sarah Palin apparently is a crappy tipper. A new Vanity Fair profile of the former Alaska governor paints a picture of a woman who has skyrocketed to success -- stepping on staff, friends and family along the way -- but who is so deeply concerned about controlling her public persona that she hired a friendly blogger to write her much-ballyhooed Facebook posts.

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The most fascinating nuggets from the piece explore the many consultants Palin has paid to sharpen her image and help her as she (maybe) explores a 2012 White House bid. TPM took a close look at her spending this summer and found Palin spent nearly $400,000 on consultants, lobbying firms and the standard direct mail and fundraising firms politicians frequently use just in the second quarter.

Our piece detailed that Palin paid $22,000 to Rebecca Mansour's Aries Petra Consulting for "internet messaging," also known as posting on the Palin Facebook page. Previously identified by Politico as a "Los Angeles screenwriter and political neophyte whose creation of the popular cheerleading blog Conservatives4Palin (C4P) endeared her to Palin's inner circle," Mansour is described by Vanity Fair as "Palin's most unconventional hire."

Palin can afford the expensive consultants, given she's being paid $2 million for the TLC Network show "Sarah Palin's Alaska" and a nice advance for her new book, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag. But Gross found that, despite her new-found fortune, she didn't show much in the way of largess to the working class folks that weren't explicitly fans: she tipped the bellhop in Wichita only $5 for seven bags, and didn't tip another one at all, despite arriving with ten bags well after midnight. And none of the maids at either hotel received tips. Palin did, however, give a $100 bill to a St. Joseph, Michigan chocolate store owner who sent her a care package -- in front of fans and a few press people.