I was alerted just one hour before the Governor of Alaska; Sarah Palin arrived with her family in Arizona. The plane touched down and this family stepped off the plane, there were several of them, I'd seen her somewhere before, at first I wasn't quite sure where? Finally I heard someone say, "Oh my God that is the Governor of Alaska and her family", they seemed to be as in the dark as I was, well, it didn't matter, I was just there to observe, takes notes and write the script for the upcoming show, and I was willing to give up the next few months to learn about their lives so we could hire just the right folks to give us the next series in the franchise, Real Housewives was already pretty popular for a cable network show, we figured a political Real Housewives would be a complete winner.

I sat down at a table with Sarah and Todd; they knew why I was there.  We smiled at each other a bit uncomfortably, but there we all were in the backyard of a sitting US Senator who was running for President, his heiress wife and their children, well some of their children. The couple from Alaska looked bewildered and thrilled to be here, it was easy to see Sarah was enamored of Cindy McCain. She followed her with her eyes, everywhere Cindy McCain walked Sarah watched, she watched how she walked, how she softly swayed across the lawn, she was in some beautiful dress by a designer Sarah had never seen other than in a catalogue, she watched Cindy's jewelry, her shoes, her hair, to Sarah she looked like a princess.  Todd; he was simply glad there was Bud light available, he didn't want any of the fancy crap available at the open bar, just a Bud Light. He muttered under his breath more than once about the fancy boys at the party. They seemed to disgust him, although he admired John, a man who gave so much for America, he just wondered why he had all these weasels surrounding him. He didn't like these men, but he'd made a deal with the devil, he'd keep his mouth shut, there would be no more of him having his own desk in his wife's office, he would officially be the spouse of an important official, the Vice President. He seemed confident they could help John McCain win it and that would be its own payoff, because next they would be in the Oval office and he could have a desk anywhere he wanted one. He'd sold his soul, but it happens to everyone once they begin to live their life on the stage.

Sarah continued to watch Cindy, she really wanted to shop somewhere that Cindy shopped, and she was oh-so-tired of The Limited, Wet Seal and the consignment shop.  What was worse she had to go to Anchorage to get to either store!  She did realize she was going to begin to get hers, and it was about time, she was confident, she knew she was a great journalist and governor, why as governor she'd accomplished so much, first and foremost she'd beaten that old crook, Frank Murkowski. That alone she felt was enough to help Alaska and enrich herself. She'd been a beauty queen, a journalist, on the city council, a mayor, and then governor and people really liked her. She had beliefs and she wanted everyone to know what they were.

I couldn't get over the fact she already had the appearance of a Real Housewife character! We couldn't have asked for more, her makeup and her look were over the top, I knew at the yearly gathering she would not just blend in, but really spur on sales of new Real Housewife franchises.

We could tell at the time her daughter was pregnant, it wasn't hard to see, and she was just 17. Wow, we'd really hit the jackpot with this family, we knew we were going to have a hit, and as you can see it hasn't stopped yet, even Levi has his own franchise, it was trailer court queen meets debutant, wow!  I could see dollar signs in my eyes, I couldn't believe it, it was better than the Gene Simmons show, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" this was going to be more edgy and "real". Blue Collar, Joe the Plumber real! While we sat there you could hear Dr. Hook in the background, it seemed odd at the time, but "Cover of the Rolling Stone" seems so prescient when I look back. Here I was with the new IT couple in politics, here began the saga of the Real Housewife of Alaska.