Elan Frank filming Sarah Palin on April 8-9, 2008 - The complete footage

The footage which was taken by Elan Frank in Juneau on April 8 and 9, 2008 has always been a focus of interest for us. It provides "unfiltered" views on a woman who supposedly gave birth to a baby weighing 6 lb. 2 oz. just ten days later - and it also provides interesting insights of the interactions with other family member. In addition, the footage provides famous memorable moments like Sarah's belly-slapping followed by some "The cat that swallowed the canary" remarks.

At the end of the footage, Sarah already announces that she plans to go back to work immediately after the birth - rather unusual for a mother who carries a Down-Syndrome baby with a heart defect, is it not?

Elan Frank's footage is scattered over six clips on the internet in total, where it is used in little bits and pieces - making it very difficult to watch in its entirety. I have therefore cut out all the Elan Frank footage from these clips and put them together in one clip, for easier viewing and examination. I have to say that this was already a revelation for myself, as it's now much easier to see it all in context.

I have taken the footage from the following clips, in this order:

Israeli news report

Fox documentary: Sarah Palin, An American Woman

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

This is the compilation - only a few seconds with unimportant bits are missing, in order to get in under 10 minutes, which is needed for an upload to youtube:

Although it's also mentioned in the clips that the footage was taken several days before Palin "gave birth" to Trig, we also know from her official schedule, which was obtained through a FOIA request, when Elan Frank was filming with Sarah Palin in Juneau:

This is Sarah Palin, four days later, on April 13, 2008 (the "Gusty-picture", which appeared on the internet on August 31, 2008, after Sarah's nomination):

(see the photo album)

Another question which indirectly arises from this footage is why the Palins waited so long to tell the world that the baby is a boy. Sarah describes in "Going Rogue" that Sarah and Todd already knew since the amniocentesis, which according to Sarah was performed at 13 weeks, that the baby would be a boy. A similar account is provided by Lorenzo Benet in his biography "Trailblazer" and also for example in an article by him in People magazine from September 15, 2008:

Already destined to become the second sitting governor to deliver a baby while in office (Jane Swift, the former acting governor of Massachusetts, was first in 2001), Palin was in for another shock when, at age 43 and 13 weeks pregnant, an amniocentesis indicated that the baby she was carrying had Down syndrome. Devastated, Palin, a staunch opponent of abortion, kept the news to herself until Todd returned from a business trip three days later. "The good news is we have a boy," she tearfully told him. "But we have a challenge." Todd's response, she says: "Awesome! I'm getting another boy."

In Sarah's book "Going Rogue", the story was told quite differently, but by then, one year after Sarah talked to Lorenzo Benet, she apparently realized that many of her supporters would be very keen on one thing - "God" (from page 178):

In the footage where Sarah Palin wears her "orange scarf", which we know was taken on April 8, 2008, Elan Frank asks Sarah in her kitchen in Juneau what they baby will be, and she answers "It's a boy!" Then she has a short conversation with Piper about it: "But you love BROTHERS"...(at 9:10 in the video).

By coincidence, Sarah Palin had just one day earlier, on April 7, 2008, officially announced that the baby would be a boy:

"Palin confirms fifth child will be a boy
Submitted by Alaska_Politics on April 7, 2008 - 6:29pm.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — It's a boy.

Gov. Sarah Palin confirmed Monday that her fifth child, due May 18, will be a boy.

Palin and her husband, Todd, have not yet selected a name for the child, but are getting plenty of ideas offered by Alaskans.

The boy will be the couple's second son, following in the steps of 18-year-old Track.

The first couple's three daughters are Bristol 17; Willow 13; and Piper, 7."

What took them so long to announce it? Why not let the world know straight away that the baby would be a boy together with the announcement that Palin was pregnant on March 5, 2008?

Also, why didn't they on the TWO occasions when they made announcements, on March 5, 2008 and April 7, 2008 also tell the world at the same time that the baby had Down Syndrome? After all, this was only revealed in the press conference on Monday, April 21, 2008.

I am not asking these questions in order to confuse everyone. I am just trying to work with the available facts, in order to get a clearer picture about what actually happened. As we all know, there are still many open questions, and it's a painstaking task to get the full picture.

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We received two more, very funny and smart contributions to our "xtranormal" fun fest.

By ProChoiceGrandma - Sarah Palin breaking "Pillowgate" in her own words:

By Rationalist - Sarah Palin & Dr CBJ: For some reason I couldn't embed it, so please click here to watch.

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