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Politico reports that Sarah Palin is already feuding with Obama’s new chief of staff, Pete Rouse. That’s no surprise, I guess. Is there anyone who’s ever lived in the state of Alaska that Palin doesn’t have a grudge against?

But this is truly looking glass territory:

Palin appears to have been no fan of Rouse for a long time. In her 2009 memoir, she accuses him of being among those in the Obama presidential campaign who allegedly tried to smear her when she was named McCain’s vice presidential nominee.

She also accuses him of lifting Obama’s “change” slogan from her own gubernatorial campaign in 2006.

“Every part of our campaign shouted ‘Change!'” she wrote. “We were amused a couple of years later when Barack Obama, one of whose senior advisers (come to think of it) had roots in Alaska — adopted the same theme,” she wrote in reference to Rouse.

I don’t know whether Rouse tried to smear Palin or not. Given Palin’s expansive understanding of the word “smear,” I wouldn’t be surprised. But does she really think that she’s the first politician to ever run on the theme of “change”? And that Obama via Rouse stole it from her? Holy cow.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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