WASILLA, ALASKA — The woman behind the infamous e-mail that aired criticisms of Sarah Palin to millions across the cyber-globe sat at a computer screen scrolling through unread messages, as dozens more popped into her inbox.
"Let's see, what is the next one?" Anne Kilkenny said with a smile, killing time before her family attended a Saturday evening church service. She clicked and skimmed the words: "Hateful liar."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, October 04, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 85 words Type of Material: Correction
Sarah Palin e-mail: An article in Tuesday's Section A about Anne Kilkenny, a local government watchdog in Wasilla, Alaska, whose e-mailed critique of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin ended up posted widely on the Internet, reported that the e-mail was 24,000 words. It was 2,400 words. The article also reported Kilkenny's age as 57; she is 59. Her son Leif's name was misspelled as Lief, and he is 18, not 17. It also said her driveway was made of concrete. It is made of asphalt.
She opened the next one: "I think you are nothing more than disgruntled and jealous in some way!! Be truthful now. Are you pro-abortion? For gay marriages? Embryonic stem cell research? Euthanasia?"
"Blah, blah, blah, blah," Kilkenny said, chuckling and shaking her head, moving on to the next e-mail: "Get your own life Anne and leave hers alone."
"Shame on you Anne Kilkenny, that is if you really do exist!" one person wrote. "You are probably fake."
Kilkenny, 57, lives with her husband and son in a one-level home surrounded by raspberry bushes, crab apple trees, birch and fireweed. She speaks in a high-pitched voice, cheerful as a grade school teacher, pausing for deep breaths between thoughts. She parts her steel gray hair down the middle, wears ankle-length skirts, irons meticulously and grows potatoes and asparagus in her backyard.
After Sen. John McCain named Palin, the governor of Alaska and former mayor of Wasilla, as his Republican vice presidential running mate on Aug. 29, friends of Kilkenny's in other states began asking, "What do you know about her?" Two days later, Kilkenny decided to set down her observations about Palin in a 24,000-word sober critique, e-mailed to 40 of her friends in the Lower 48.
Kilkenny wrote that she knew the governor's family and had witnessed Palin's political career take off. She wrote that Palin was ruthless in firing staff and did not tolerate those who opposed her. She talked of Palin's stance as a fiscal conservative during her six years as mayor of Wasilla and her spending decisions.
"Dear friends," Kilkenny wrote. "So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up. Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks."
Kilkenny told her friends to feel free to pass her e-mail along, but asked: "Please do not post it on any websites as there are too many kooks out there."
