BUCKLE UP: NATIONAL ENQUIRER PROMISES MORE ON THE ALLEGED SARAH PALIN AFFAIR

Oh baby: The National Enquirer is digging in on the “Sarah Palin affair” story it published today. And with the McCain campaign threatening to sue, the Enquirer isn’t even blinking.

A spokesperson tells the Huffington Post:

“The National Enquirer’s coverage of a vicious war within Sarah Palin’s extended family includes several newsworthy revelations, including the resulting incredible charge of an affair plus details of family strife when the Governor’s daughter revealed her pregnancy.”

Then, somewhat remarkably, the Enquirer raises its pimp hand to slap John McCain square in the face:

“Following our John Edwards’ exclusives, our political reporting has obviously proven to be more detail-oriented than the McCain campaign’s vetting process. Despite the McCain camp’s attempts to control press coverage they find unfavorable, The Enquirer will continue to pursue news on both sides of the political spectrum.”

The irony here, as Sam Stein reminds us, is that for weeks nearly every single conservative in the country gleefully heaped ridicule on the “mainstream media” for what they viewed as turning a blind eye to the John Edwards Sex Scandal … first published in the Enquirer.

Now, with the chosen one, Sarah Palin, caught dead in the Enquirer’s cross-hairs, how many of those same Republicans do you think will push for further investigation into the claims made by ”supermarket tabloid trash?”

The McCain campaign’s response:

“The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov. Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie,” said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt.

“The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American people will reject it.”

HuffPo’s Stein observes that the Enquirer has built up a “reservoir of legitimacy” following the Edwards fiasco. And he’s right.

Buckle your seatbelts folks because the Enquirer is promising a “larger report” next week.

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The politics of this for the Obama campaign are simple: stay - the - fuck - away - from - this. Or anything that even smells like it.

If Palin did have an affair, it will out.

That wouldn’t be enough for McCain to dump her though, I mean, how could he when he himself has admitted to having had multiple affairs on his first wife ?!?!

What? It’s OK for the man to seek the highest office in the land with an adulterous background, but not the woman? How would all the Republican Party’s newfound feminists react to that scenario?

If this alleged Palin affair is true, can you imagine what that would look like for the party of Family Values?

I have a hard time with the idea that Palin would’ve agreed to run for the White House if indeed she had had an affair; but then again, I thought the same thing when I heard about the Edwards affair at first too.