'Maverick' Sarah Palin to sign new book in Salt Lake City

Get your maverick on: Sarah Palin is coming to town.

She'll be promoting her new book, "Going Rogue," on Dec. 9, at the Salt Lake Costco, 1818 S. 300 West, from noon until 3 p.m.

The GOP nominee for vice president in 2008 kicked off the tour for her memoir in Michigan on Wednesday and continued in Indiana on Thursday.

Palin, who resigned as Alaska's governor earlier this year, has been drawing huge crowds willing to stand in line for hours to have her sign a copy of her controversial book.

Kevin Campbell, manager of the Salt Lake Costco, said he's ready for a big turnout here, too.

"I think the response is going to be very positive," he said. "Whether you support her or not, there's a celebrity status that I think attracts a lot of people."

While crowds are nothing new at the discount warehouse store, a big name like Palin has never appeared there.

"We're able to handle it," Campbell said, even though he's already predicting some Palin fans will leave empty-handed. "In three hours, you can only sign so many books."

The self-described "maverick" is scheduled to visit 31 cities in 25 states, mostly Republican strongholds. Salt Lake City is her only stop in Utah, and she is scheduled to be in Reno, Nev., that evening.

"She wanted to go off the beaten path, kind of," said California book distributor James Phirman, who is coordinating Palin's appearance at three Costco stores in the West. "She picked Salt Lake, or her people did."

Utah, among the most Republican states, backed the party's presidential ticket led by Arizona Sen. John McCain. But the favorite GOP candidate by far among Utahns was former Salt Lake Olympic leader and Mormon Mitt Romney.

Romney, who is believed to be eyeing another try for the White House, easily beat McCain in Utah's party primary with 90 percent of the vote before dropping out of the race.

He'll bring his book tour to Utah, too, when "No Apology: The Case for America's Greatness" is published in the spring. The University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics will host a book signing for Romney at the Salt Palace on March 13.

"We're expecting 10,000 people," said Kirk Jowers, the institute's director and a longtime Romney supporter. Unlike Palin, Romney will deliver a lecture in Salt Lake City, presumably outlining the book's policy prescriptions.

Jowers said he doesn't understand the level of interest in Palin.

"It mystified me, but there appears to be a fringe here in Utah, as well as most of the rest of the country, who really seem to like former Gov. Palin," he said. "She just seems so clearly not up to the task of tackling America's biggest problems."

State GOP Chairman Dave Hansen couldn't name any Utah backers of Palin's political aspirations. "They're definitely out there. I just don't know who they are," he said. "Utah is very strong for Romney, but at the same time, that doesn't mean we're excluding anyone else to take a look at."

Hansen said he hoped to meet with Palin during her brief visit but won't be heading to Costco. "I'm not much for standing in line."

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