Sarah Palin's Unconventional Campaign Continues With Debut of 'Real American Stories'

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2010— -- Sarah Palin's unconventional potential campaign for president continued Thursday evening with the debut of "Real American Stories."

The first installment of Palin's new periodic series, which aired at 10:00 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel, is the latest reminder of how Palin is attempting to rewrite the rules of American politics.

Since quitting her job as governor of Alaska, Palin has written a best-selling memoir, posted provocative messages on Facebook, delivered paid speeches, stumped for conservative candidates, touted Sen. John McCain's, R-Ariz., re-election bid in Arizona, and provided political commentary on the Fox News Channel.

Palin's latest effort on behalf of the Fox News Channel allowed her to associate herself with "inspirational real-life tales of overcoming adversity" as she continues to preach against the evils of government activism.

There is nothing new about a politician recounting heroic stories.

But Palin's effort to celebrate the American spirit differs from efforts made by other politicians because of the journalistic hat that she wears for the Fox News Channel.

Instead of regularly submitting to press interviews from a variety of news organizations the way that potential Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty do, Palin plays the role of the storyteller.

In her Thursday program, Palin mixed taped pieces with interviews in front of a studio audience.

In an effort to juice up interest in the program, Palin tweeted the following message on Thursday: "America is EXCEPTIONAL! I'll show you a few 'ordinary' Americans do extraordinary things on 'Real American Stories' tonight on FOX, 10 pm EST."

These are the "real American stories" that Palin featured on Thursday:

**A Wall Street financier who puts inner city kids through college.

**A 22-year old Marine who put his helmet on a grenade in Iraq so that his friends would live.

**An 11-year old with cerebral palsy who learned to walk with the help of a black lab.

**Jack Welch recounting how he started with nothing but eventually became CEO of General Electric.

**Toby Keith, inspired by his dad's military service, performing for servicemembers in hard-to-reach places in the wake of 9-11.

**A Latina who stopped her car and rescued a trucker who had caught on fire when his vehicle flipped over.

One person who did not appear in the first installment of "Real American Stories" is James Todd Smith, the rapper-turned-actor better known as LL Cool J.