Palin‘s note-scrawled hand draws critics‘ ridicule

Palin was shown to have the words “Energy,“ “Tax“ and “Lift American Spirits“ scrawled on her hand during the question-and-answer session.

WASHINGTON, February 8, 2010 (AFP) - US conservative superstar Sarah Palin came in for ridicule from her critics Monday, after published news photos showed her referring to talking points scribbled on the palm of her hand during a major speech.

Palin was shown to have the words "Energy," "Tax" and "Lift American Spirits" scrawled on her hand during the question-and-answer session of a speech late Saturday to the conservative Tea Party movement.

Her palm also appeared to have the words "Budget cuts" scribbled across it, with the "Budget" crossed out.

Palin was seen glancing at the notes after her highly acclaimed speech to Tea Party supporters, when asked the top three things a conservative-led Congress should do.

The photos of Palin scrutinizing the answers on her hand were published on the Huffingtonpost.com blog.

"Sarah Palin knew that speech like the back of her hand. The Q&A answers, however, were on the front of her hand," quipped one critic in a comment posted on the blog.

Another noted that while Palin frequently criticizes Obama's use of the teleprompter, she relied on her own "Telepalmer."

The former Alaska governor and one-time Republican vice presidential candidate has maintained a high profile since her unsuccessful bid for the vice presidency.

In a US television interview Sunday, she said "it would be absurd" for her to rule out running for president in 2012 if she thought it would be right for America.

Palin abruptly resigned as Alaska's governor last July, and has since made her living writing a best-selling memoir, "Going Rogue," giving speeches, penning opinion pieces and using her Facebook page to weigh in on the news.

She is also due to hit the campaign trail over the next several months on behalf of various Republican congressional and gubernatorial candidates, ahead of the November elections.

She has been one of the most vocal Republican critics of Obama, declaring the policies he has pursued have all but guaranteed he will fail to win reelection.

"He's not going to win," she told Fox New Sunday, "if he continues on the path that he has America on today."

Palin also ridiculed Obama's handling of the fight against global terrorism, drawing cheers from her Tea Party boosters Saturday when she said, "We need a commander in chief, not a professor of law."