re: #72 Rancher

Being a “very public figure” doesn’t matter, ask celebrities who have successfully sued the National Enquirer.

Actually, it does matter, very much. The Enquirer’s stock and trade is printing libelous stories, every day. There’s only been a handful of successful cases against the NE, and most of those were settled out of court. The threshold a public figure must reach when litigating a libel or slander case is very high.

Plus, the founding fathers weren’t too kean on beuarocrats using what became to be known as SLAPP suits to silence their opposition. There’s a reason America doesn’t now and never did have a “star chamber”. The first amendment is a powerful protection, for just this reason.

I can’t think of a single case, at least not in the last 100 years, where a sitting Governor has brought a defamation case and won. Palin’s chances of success with such an action are very minimal, at best. Plus, she then exposes her self to all manner of discovery and deposition. I’m guessing on this issue, she’s a paper tiger.