The National Enquirer is teasing a story in their upcoming issue about excerpts it claims to have received from a new book about Sarah Palin: “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” by Joe McGinniss. The details are sordid and potentially shattering for the Alaskan Prima Dona.

According to the Enquirer, McGinniss has uncovered evidence that Palin had a one-night stand with NBA star Glen Rice, who was playing for Michigan University at the time. That’s no big deal. She was young and single and how often would she have the chance to nail a 6’8″ athletic hunk in Alaska?

The more troubling reports concern her alleged cocaine use and an affair with her husband’s business partner that eventually resulted in the dissolution of the business.

Joe McGinniss has a pretty good reputation for accuracy in his books and he spent considerable time in Alaska researching this one. He rented a house next door to the Palins, whose paranoia drove them to erect a wall to keep him from peering in (Palin even accused him of being a Peeping Tom).

But what is most curious in the wake of this leak by the Enquirer is that Palin has not responded at all. In the past she has aggressively defended herself when attacked by taking to Twitter or Facebook and denouncing the fiend who would tarnish her virtue. However, she has been conspicuously silent on these matters.

Silence, of course, is not an admission of guilt. But it is inconsistent with her pattern of behavior and there must be some reason for that. We will know before too long. The book is being released next week and there is no way that Palin, as she continues her charade that she is considering a run for the Republican nomination for president (she isn’t), can evade questions about these allegations.