Winning the auction would be a boon to McGinniss, who says in his email, "I think such a dinner would be the perfect way to kick off the reporting for my new book: Sarah Palin's Year of Living Dangerously. (To be published by Broadway/Random House in fall of 2011.)"Alaska Dispatch writer Scott Woodham was rooting for Joe McGinniss to win the dinner:
We're crossing our fingers really hard today ... bestselling author Joe McGinniss is a strong contender to win the Ebay auction for a dinner with Sarah Palin.
Hopefully the Dispatch and haters at Huffington Post weren't wearing out any rabbits feet; McGinniss doesn't look like he was really trying to win that auction. As someone who has experience buying and selling on eBay, McGinniss played his cards all wrong if his true intention was winning the bid. McGinniss merely drove up the price and bought himself some free publicity for his forthcoming book in the process:
(click image to enlarge)
According to the reporting, McGinniss was known to have made the $59,999.99:
c***i ( 18 ) | US $59,999.99 | Sep-17-09 19:15:53 PDT |
| f***l( 31) | US $60,000.00 | Sep-18-09 06:55:45 PDT |
| c***i( 18) | US $60,101.01 | Sep-18-09 12:56:42 PDT |
Meg Stapleton, Palin's spokeswoman, had this to say when we informed her of McGinness' high bid: "With hours to go before the auction ends, it's hard to say who is serious about the bidding and who will be the winner. However, the governor and Todd are thrilled that, above all, our wounded warriors are being recognized and honored, and will receive every penny of the money raised. It is a small token of appreciation for the warriors' sacrifices on behalf of our great nation."Woodham then adds:
Given the volatility of web auctions, McGinness had better have something left in his war chest, not to mention a wicked computer and a screaming-fast web connection. Ebay auction snipers are even more cutthroat than Big Oil.Well if you look at the screen cap above, either McGinniss had nothing left in the war chest or he had the slowest internet connection known to man. He never placed another bid after that point. If you follow the bid history it is fairly easy to see the winning bidder was determined to win the auction. McGinniss merely positioned himself to drive up the final price and bought a lot of free publicity for himself as the highly trafficked Huffington Post followed the supposed horse race recounting all McGinniss' reporting on Palin in the process.
The Dispatch ran a copy of the congratulatory email McGinniss sent to the winner, Cathy Maples of Huntsville Alabama:
Ms. Maples,As one of the underbidders, I salute you and congratulate you on winning the dinner with Sarah Palin.How noble of him to accept "defeat" with such grace, puhleeease. Meanwhile AP has more on the one who really supported the troops. Through her winning bid, Cathy Maples will be able to enjoy dinner with the woman she hopes will one day be President:
I'm pleased that my bids helped increase the total proceeds that will go to our wounded veterans through Ride2Recovery. I wish you the best for your forthcoming trip to Alaska.
Although I would have enjoyed the opportunity for a frank exchange of views with Gov. Palin, I'm pleased that someone with your record of accomplishment will grace her table.
Sincerely,
Joe McGinniss
Cathy Maples of Huntsville, Ala., on Friday won the dinner in an Internet auction, which was a benefit for a charity that aids wounded veterans.Congratulations to Cathy Maples and her lucky guests who will have dinner with the Palins!
Maples says she fully supports the military and the men and women fighting for this nation. Maples, who owns a defense contracting company, also says she's a "big advocate" for Palin, and would love to see her as president.
H/T:Memeorandum
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