McCain Aide Nicolle Wallace: Sarah Palin's Claims are "Fiction"
In her new book "Going Rogue," the former vice presidential candidate claims that Wallace convinced Palin to do an interview with CBS News Anchor Katie Couric because Couric admired Palin as a working mother. Palin also claims that Wallace, a former CBS political analyst, told her that Couric had low self-esteem.
"The whole notion there was a conversation where I tried to cajole her into a conversation with Katie [Couric] is fiction," Wallace told MSNBC. "I am not someone who throws around the word 'self-esteem.' It is a fictional description."
Furthermore, Wallace said, the interview was set up on the day of the U.N. General Assembly to emphasize Palin's foreign policy savvy -- in other words, the interview was not about the connection Couric and Palin shared as working mothers.
"It was never made as two working gals," Wallace said. "It's either rationalization or justification or fiction."
Wallace took issue with Palin's overall depiction of her as well as her characterization of McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt.
"She hated me from the beginning," Wallace said. "I try not to take it personally, the fact is that she wrote a book based on fabrications... This book is a bizarre fixation on things that everyone else has moved on from."
Other members of McCain's campaign staff have disputed the stories from Palin's book. Additionally, factual errors and discrepancies in Palin's claims have come to light since excerpts of the book were released. McCain himself has said Palin was wrong about a $50,000 bill she claimed to have received for the vice presidential vetting process.
More Coverage of Sarah Palin:
Washington Unplugged: Fact Checking Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue"
CBS News Poll: Fewer Than 1 in 4 Have Favorable View of Palin
Marc Ambinder: Palin Needs to Take Herself Seriously
Is Palin Selling Books or Settling Scores?
Exclusive: Palin Accounts Disputed by McCain Aides
Fact Check: Palin Seems to Misrepresent Timeline on Daughter's Pregnancy
Fact Check: Palin Contradicts Her Own Version Of Events With Oprah
Sarah Palin Calls Newsweek Sexist
Sarah Palin: I Was "Annoyed" by Katie Couric's Newspaper Question
Sarah Palin: My Life is Like a Reality Show
Bob Schieffer on Palin: No Future in Politics
