Getting a new neighbor usually entails being friendly and open, but when your Sarah Palin and the neighbor is Joe McGinnis, it becomes a national story with accusations of stalking.
Author Joe McGinniss, who is penning an exposé about Palin, took up residence right next door to Palin’s lakeside home in Wasilla in May, to research his new book. But, fortunately for the Palins, McGinniss’ time is up and he’s left Wasilla to head home to Massachusetts and start writing.
McGinniss, whose unauthorized biography of the former VP candidate is tentatively titled “Sarah Palin: The Year of Living Dangerously,” stirred controversy with the move and prompted Palin to take to her Facebook page to make McGinnis’ undercover operation very public.
“We found out the good news today,” she wrote. “We’re sure to have a doozey to look forward to with this treasure he’s penning. Wonder what kind of material he’ll gather while overlooking Piper’s bedroom, my little garden, and the family’s swimming hole?”
McGinnis denied accusations of stalking, but it was pointed out at the time that it has hardly necessary to move in next to the Palin family to do research. Palin and husband Todd also quickly erected an 8-foot fence so that McGinnis could not see into their property.
“I’ve been very busy but on Lake Lucille it’s been very quiet,” McGinniss told The Associated Press. “As I told Todd back in May – he came over to get in my face about moving in there – I said, ‘You’re not even going to know I’m there. A lot of the time, I’m not going to be here. And when I am, I mind my own business. I don’t care what happens on your side of the fence. That’s not why I’m here.'”
McGinnis stated that everyone he met in Wasilla was very friendly and open and often offered him the use of their guns. But McGinniss also says he noticed an “undercurrent of fear” when interviewing locals about Palin.
“People – I don’t know if they’re afraid of shadows or whether there’s something real there – she’s no longer in a position of governmental influence but there are people up there who are scared to death to talk because if Sarah ever found out they talked, oh, something terrible would happen to them,” he said.
Who knows if McGinniss’ new book will compare to the recent Vanity Fair hit piece, but as Palin has said, “We’re sure to have a doozey to look forward to.”
Read more articles by the National Sarah Palin Examiner at Examiner.com
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