If you want a controversial ex politician to give a talk to your group, do you expect that person to will fly unaccompanied in coach, find a taxi to your site, and stay at Motel 6?

Or do you think that the politician will ask for a decent airline flight (first class, for security reasons, or private plane that has a good safety record), and accommodations at a decent hotel (again, for security reasons).

From the Smoking Gun.

JULY 17–If you’re looking to book Al Gore for a 75-minute “Environmental Multimedia Lecture,” the former vice president will cost you $100,000, plus travel, hotel, security, and per diem expenses. Gore’s standard speaker’s contract, a copy of which you’ll find below, also stipulates that the Democrat’s ground transportation be “a sedan, NOT an SUV.”… The Gore contract…stipulates that no press be permitted at the event and that the Democrat receive approval over the distribution of photographs from the appearance.

Fussy, isn’t he?

The Smoking Gun also reports a similar contract for a Dick Cheney talk: you will need to keep the room cool, and supply decaf coffee and decaf Sprite for him to drink.

In contrast, John Kerry and his wife have an entire list of meal preferences for you to supply, including no celery for him (okay for Teresa), and Skippy peanut butter on his bus.

All of this makes the “scandal” about Sarah Palin asking for a straw in her generic bottled water a pseudo tempest in a teacup.

Perhaps CNN needs to google to find out what is routinely requested by the agency that books high priced speakers before ridiculing Ms. Palin.

As for Mr. Brown, who is supposedly aghast at this, one wonders if he is trying to milk this for publicity for political purposes.

You see, Mr. Brown has (or had) a contract with a similar agency to give talks, and although one suspects his fees as an out of date hippie was not as high as those asked by Sarah Baracuda, one simply longs for reporters to find if he had any special requests in his speaking contract.

Reality check, please.

Perks like a room in a decent hotel, where one can get room service and adequate security, are necessities in a land where Governor Jindal’s staff are beaten up by right wing militia types left wing demonstrators  because they were wearing Obama Palin buttons.

One need not support Sarah Baracuda for president to recognize a biased press hatred of the lady. I would say they hated Palin, except for the obvious bias of the press against Hillary Clinton during the last presidential campaign.

No uppity women allowed, I guess.

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Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the rural Philippines. She blogs at Makaipa Blog.

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