Is Alaska big enough for celebrity Palin?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Oprah Winfrey wants her, and so do other U.S. TV show hosts. Fresh from her political defeat, Sarah Palin is juggling offers to write books, appear in films and sit on dozens of interview couches at a rate that would be astonishing for most Hollywood stars, let alone a first-term governor.

The failed Republican vice-presidential candidate, who is still Alaska's governor, crunched state budget numbers this week in her 17th-floor office as tumbling oil prices hit Alaska's revenues. Meanwhile, her staff fielded television requests seeking the 44-year-old Palin for late-night banter and Sunday morning Washington policy.

Agents, including those from the William Morris Agency, have come knocking. There's even been an offer to host a TV show.

"Tomorrow, Gov. Palin could do an interview with any news media on the planet," said her spokesman, Bill McAllister. "Tomorrow, she could probably sign any one of a dozen book deals. She could start talking to people about a documentary or a movie on her life. That's the level we are at here."

McAllister said he had "multiple conversations" with producers for Winfrey as well as some late night TV hosts and other shows.

Palin is considering about 800 requests for appearances from December through 2009, with 75 per cent coming from out of state. A year ago, just a sprinkle of requests came from beyond Alaska's borders. They range from invitations to speak at The Chief Executives' Club of Boston to attend a five-year-old's birthday party, from a prayer breakfast in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to a business conference in Britain.

She has invitations to make appearances in 20 foreign countries, typically with all expenses paid, McAllister said. She has more than 200 requests for media interviews, again from around the globe.

While books and movie deals could be worth millions of dollars, it's not clear if Palin would be able to legally earn it. State rules say she cannot accept outside employment for compensation. But there appears to be little in the way of precedent left by former governors to judge if book deals or lucrative speaking appearances amount to "employment."

"She has to deal with the perception that she bobbled her debut," said Claremont McKenna College political scientist John Pitney. "She needs to stay home for a while. If she wants a future in national politics, her No. 1 job is doing a good job as governor."

Just this week, shortly after conducting a string of national TV interviews and skipping a state education conference, she was scolded by the Anchorage Daily News. "There are ... low graduation rates, plummeting North Slope oil prices, proposals to build alternative energy projects, the gas pipeline," the paper said in an editorial. "It's time for the governor to refocus on Alaska's needs."