Top McCain aide: Palin’s lying about what happened with Couric

You’ll be pleased to know that this comes on the same day that Maverick revealed he received a signed copy of “Going Rogue” in the mail. The inscription: “J– It’s my turn. –S.”

I’m kidding about that last part. Maybe.

Reflecting on the first set of interviews Palin did as the GOP vice presidential nominee, [Mark] Salter said that the sit downs were “discussed and agreed to by senior members of the campaign staff in consultation with the candidate” and that Wallace did not choose either the journalists or the outlets Palin spoke to.

“Nicolle Wallace, along with others, was tasked with helping the Governor prepare for some of her interviews. She did not decide which interview requests the candidates would accept. Nor was she tasked with securing the candidates’ agreement,” Salter said.

“Those decisions were made by campaign management in consultation with the candidates. Campaign management and the candidates agreed to multi-segment interviews so the Governor would maintain a presence in the media while she was in debate prep,” he added. “And to the best of my knowledge, any interviews the Governor had with the individuals she referred to were approved and arranged by the campaign management with her agreement.”

Former McCain strategist John Weaver was more direct in his criticism, slamming Palin for using the book for “petty and pathetic” score-settling.

“Sarah Palin reminds me of Jimmy Stewart in the movie ‘Harvey,’ complete with imaginary conversations. All books like these are revisionist and self-serving, by definition,” Weaver wrote in an email to POLITICO. “But the score-settling by someone who wants to be considered a serious national player is petty and pathetic.”

Not as harsh as Ann Althouse’s “Sarah Palin is dumb” takedown from this morning, but still plenty harsh. We’re in for a good, solid month of this sniping as she does her grand tour of cable news, aren’t we? Ah well. A toast — to easy content.

Here’s Palin defender Matthew Continetti appearing on “Hardball” this afternoon to plug his new book about her abuse by the media. And here’s the obligatory AP fact-check of her book. Was Sarahcuda really anti-bailout? Hmmm.

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