Palin quotes John Wooden (Legs)

Palin's Latest Rogue Gaffe

By Geoffrey DunnAs the epigram to Chapter Three, "Drill, Baby, Drill," Palin assigns the following remarks to the Hall of Fame hoops coach:

Our land is everything to us... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember our grandfathers paid for it--with their lives.
Only the quote wasn't by John Wooden. It was written by a Native American activist named John Wooden Legs in an essay entitled "Back on the War Ponies," which appeared in a left-wing anthology, We Are the People: Voices from the Other Side of American History, edited by Nathaniel May, Clint Willis, and James W. Loewen.

Here's the full quote:

Our land is everything to us. It is the only place in the world where Cheyennes talk the Cheyenne language to each other. It is the only place where Cheyennes remember the same things together. I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember our grandfathers paid for it--with their life. My people and the Sioux defeated General Custer at the Little Big Horn.Comment:  Not only did Palin misattribute and mangle the quote, she misused it. Wooden Legs is talking about protecting the land from Americans, not protecting for Americans so they can drill it.

Of course, Palin's ghostwriter Lynn Vincent is really to blame. She's the one who has Palin quoting Plato and Aristotle as if Palin knows who they are.

For more on the subject, see Natives Call Going Rogue Fiction and The 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Below:  "I made a mistake? Who cares? Facts are for Democrats, not Republicans."