A Review of Sarah Palin Out Of Nowhere by Frank Aquila

As someone who’s been a grassroots conservative activist most of my life, thanks mainly to the influence of my own Mama Grizzly, I remember well my first exposure to the Governor of Alaska, sometime in late-2007/early-2008 when she appeared on a cable news program to discuss her efforts and achievements specifically in the area of energy development and domestic drilling.

I recall my first thought being, “Man, this woman knows what she’s talking about! She really needs to be on the national stage”. Thus began my interest in Sarah Palin as a political figure, patriot, Christian, wife, mother and soon-to-be electrifying conservative warrior running for the VP slot on the GOP ticket in 2008. On the day she was officially announced, I remember texting back and forth with two of my brothers, also Palin fans, in anticipation of the big news. I’ll never forget the euphoria we all felt when the McCain campaign formally introduced her in Dayton, Ohio to an enthusiastic crowd, which prompted us to start our own blog Palin Drone, devoted to all things Palin and conservative.

Larry Kudlow interviews Governor Sarah Palin, circa 2008.

And my previous plan to drag myself to the polls on Election Day, “hold my nose” and vote for the lesser of two evils was immediately replaced with renewed vigor and determination to roll up my sleeves and do everything I could to help McCain-Palin get to the White House.

What I didn’t know at the time was that I had Frank Aquila to thank for her presence on the ticket.

Because the Chairman of the McCain Campaign in San Joaquin County, California had persistently devoted his time in the aftermath of McCain’s nomination to getting the Senator to name Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, having spent the better part of the year following Palin’s achievements as governor of Alaska and learning everything he could about her as a person, Christian and public figure.

After the repulsive accusations leveled against Sarah Palin in the wake of the Gabby Giffords shooting, Frank was moved to write a book chronicling his efforts in 2008 to influence the McCain campaign to eschew the selection of a “moderate” (such as contenders Pawlenty, Romney and Lieberman) for VP and –  in his words — choose someone instead who would “electrify” the base of the Republican Party.

Governor Sarah Palin addresses the crowd in Dayton, Ohio after her announcement as the VP nominee in 2008.

In Chapter One, Aquila leads us through his thought process as he pondered the potential choices, noting that Newsmax had left Palin’s name conspicuously off their list of possible contenders, even though her record as a reformer and her status as a “rising star” in the Republican Party were becoming well-known in political circles. He backs up his story with actual emails sent and received from McCain campaign officials, as well as his many letters to the editor in which he discussed the important issues facing the nation, along with touting Palin’s record on energy and domestic drilling, among others.

I got goosebumps when I read Aquila’s account of how he learned that Sarah Palin had indeed been announced as Senator John McCain’s running-mate. “I just want to be the first to say congratulations. You got your girl!” enthused Bob Pacheco, Chairman of the McCain Campaign in California to Aquila on that fateful day in August. “I know you had been lobbying for her for quite a while, and your emails did it.”

Author Frank Aquila holds the front cover image of his book Sarah Palin Out Of Nowhere.

I could vicariously feel Frank Aquila’s joy, excitement and gratitude as I read his account of a day that in my mind, marks the second best thing John McCain did for his country.

But what distinguishes Aquila’s book from other Palin books on the market — aside from his monumental role in helping to put her in the national spotlight — is his own personal story of triumph over hardship.

After struggling through his elementary and high school years with a learning disability, Aquila went on to become a peace officer and obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice — an achievement earned over an 11-year period. Like Sarah Palin and many grassroots activists, he also had his run-ins with the Republican establishment in his area, which rejected his fresh, innovative ideas to attract more voters and help release the liberal stranglehold on the Golden State. Undaunted, Aquila went on to found his own organization, the South San Joaquin County Republicans which now boasts a membership of over 2,000.

The success of Aquila’s organization set him up to be a McCain Campaign Chairman in 2008, meet President George W. Bush, organize a gala dinner for Gold Star Families and become a sought-out endorsement for local, state and national candidates.

His experience and expertise in the political realm, coupled with extensive research has enabled Aquila to write a book that not only celebrates American Exceptionalism, Sarah Palin and the ability of the individual to move mountains with enough persistence and determination, but also serves as a practical guide for every patriot who is serious about returning the United States of America to its Constitutional principles.

Readers learn about the history of communism in the United States, the real reason Palin resigned as governor, the “media mafia” that sought to destroy her and Aquila’s ten solutions for the restoration of America.

I cannot recommend Sarah Palin Out Of Nowhere highly enough and encourage all Palin supporters to purchase it — not just for themselves but for the Palin skeptics in their lives and anyone who is seeking to make a positive contribution to the effort of returning the United States of America to greatness.

Full Disclosure: A few months prior to the publication of his book, Frank Aquila contacted me to inquire about the social media services offered by my company Revolutionary Media. After speaking with him and learning more about his book, I discovered Frank to be a man of high integrity and agreed to contract with him as his PR and Social Media representative. As of this post, he is still my client.