McCain Advisor a Hoax: Palin Still May Not Know Africa is Continent

According to The New York Times, one of the most blogged about tidbits leaked from the McCain campaign in the aftermath of the election was nothing more than a piece of an elaborate hoax. When FoxNews quoted an unnamed McCain advisor as stating that Palin did not know that Africa was a continent, the blogosphere exploded with bellowing laughter, and the traditional media followed suit. This blog took the bait as well.

On Monday, MSNBC's David Shuster revealed that the unnamed McCain advisor was none other than Martin Eisenstadt. Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn't exist.

Look, I'm not going to bore you with all the details (which you can read here), but this is awesome, hilarious and somewhat embarrassing. The guys who perpetrated this hoax created a fake think tank for "Eisenstadt" to work at as a senior fellow, the Harding Institute, created a blog for him to blog on, created youtube videos purporting to show him being interviewed on Iraqi tv, and the list goes on and on. This was elaborate. This was genius. And this was a load of bullshit. Well played.

***UPDATE*** In the most-meta moment we can recall, the hoaxy Martin Eisenstadt, who doesn't actually exist, claims on his blog that yesterday's expose in the NY Times (link above) was the actual hoax, perpetrated by the group Yes Men, who put out a very realistic uber-liberal faux NY Times from the future yesterday. To sum up, the hoax is suggesting that the hoax is reality and the real expose is the actual hoax. Get all that? Check it out here. See Valley Wag's take on the story here.

Africa the Country

Breaking News: Fox News reporting right now that McCain aides were shocked to discover that Sarah Palin did not know, among other things:

1. That Africa is a continent, and not just a country. Yes, she thought that Africa was a country, and that South Africa was a state in Africa.

I'm dead serious.

2. The NAFTA signatory countries.

3. Basic civic organization - Federal, State and local.

Also, Sarah Palin would throw "tantrums" after reading her press clippings (I seem to recall that she claimed she didn't read her press clippings).

She is a shopaholic.

This is not a joke.

***UPDATE #1***

One video - additional details given during O'Reilly.



***UPDATE #2***

Courtesy of WAP:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books

***UPDATE #3****

Also courtesy of WAP:

NEWSWEEK --“McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.”