Palin a No-Show Yet Again

OH QUELLE SURPRISE, as they say in the lower 48! Once again the famous Alaskan quitter Sarah Palin will be a no-show at some major event where the organizers thought she was going to be a very special guest.

Just a few weeks ago, the Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley, a group in suburban Los Angeles, revealed that Palin would attend their 50th anniversary gala on August 8.

But even as they made the announcement, the women's group should have known they were just being set up for more disappointment. "The Alaska governor's office did not respond to e-mail or phone messages," reported the Associated Press.

That is not generally a sign of great enthusiasm. It was, however, fairly typical behavior from the Palin camp, which likes to make both tentative and serious commitments to events before pulling out at the last minute, to the horror and embarrassment of their organizers. The Republican Women of Simi Valley are just the latest victims of this novel PR approach.

Since last September, Palin has bagged on numerous important events: an Eagle Forum get-together in St. Paul; an Republican fundraiser in Orange County; and the Conservative Political Action Conference, where sad conservatives had to content themselves with the repellent wingnut radio troll Rush Limbaugh instead of the nice lady from Alaska.

With a record like that, it's a wonder that Palin made it to her own resignation speech.

So this Simi Valley event really must be put it in context. Is it unfortunate for the gala organizers, who will now have to refund who knows how many tickets to disappointed Palin fans? Absolutely.

But that's just Sarah being Sarah: mavericky, unpredictable, and never around.

Etiquette columnist Sara K. Smith writes for NBC and Wonkette.