Yesterday I asked Kaiser to read over my story on Sarah Palin in case it was too harsh. For that story I watched the 46 year-old former Vice Presidential candidate on Leno Tuesday night and was struck yet again by how inarticulate and bumbling she is. Every time she makes an appearance I try to watch it with an open mind and see if she has something meaningful to say, and she just doesn’t. She speaks in vague general concepts and platitudes and expects people to eat it up, and some of them do. Anyway Kaiser said my post was harsh, but we went with it and many of you agreed with me.

Today there’s more news about Palin, and she has grand plans to keep herself in the spotlight with some kind of reality show she’s pitching with producer Mark Burnett. It’s being described as a “docudrama” about the state where she recently resigned as governor, Alaska, so it’s not like we’ll get to watch her hunt moose or shoot down wolves from helicopters. EW reports that Palin and Burnett have had meetings with networks including ABC, CBS, and NBC.

Meanwhile Palin, her daughter Willow, and an entourage of 20 are said to have almost totally cleaned out an Oscar gifting suite full of swag. To her credit, Sarah did give a $1,700 donation to the Red Cross at that event, but she also left with several times worth that amount in free stuff, and her crew was so grabby that they were described as “locusts.” Palin also requested that the suite open two hours early so she could get first dibs on the merchandise. Both PopEater and E! Online are running this story with separate insider quotes about Palin’s greedy behavior.

“They told us last minute to get here superearly for [Palin]. Then, she wouldn’t let anyone take her picture or do any interviews.”

“Everyone was in awe and sort of surprised that a former vice presidential candidate was at our gifting suite… And she kind of cleaned the place out.”

“They were like locusts. She showed up with like 20 people, and they immediately swarmed the place taking everything!”

According to E! Palin took “some oversize sweatshirts and tie-dyed ‘jeggings’ for Bristol, got a blowout by colorist Erick Orellana from the Chris McMillan Salon, along with snatching up jewelry from Pascal Mouawad, Skagen Watches, Lash Food and 40 pairs of Aiaiai headphones.”

She supposedly plans to donate everything to charity. Yeah, right! She’s probably only saying that because she doesn’t want to pay taxes on all that loot.

I would bring up the point that Sarah and her family were outfitted by the RNC for the campaign to the tune of $150,000. The stylist that purchased the clothing said that the cost had to do with the last-minute nature of the request and the fact that she had to pay retail, and that Palin did not personally pick out the clothing.

Swag is one of the tackier aspects of celebrity. And that’s really saying something. It’s always aggravating to see wealthy famous people loading up on thousands of dollars worth of luxury goods, but it’s particularly annoying when the vast majority of the rest of the country is struggling to meet basic needs. That didn’t stop actress Vanessa Hudgens from stocking up on $12,000 worth of luxury items at the Golden Globes last night – nor did it keep her from bragging about it, along with her giant new house.

Vanessa Hudgens has a unique recession strategy: Get as much as you can for free. The “High School Musical” star hit the Golden Globes swag suites hard over the weekend, leaving her assistant to carry four “overflowing” bags of freebies, totaling a whopping $12,000.

Hudgens overtook “Access Hollywood’s” Stuff You Must … lounge suite, making sure to “take something from every booth,” our witness said. Among the gratis goods were a one-year pass for her and a pal to a AMC Theatres, a BlackBerry Pearl, a coffee machine, a $4,000 diamond pendant, designer clutches, a year-long gym membership and more.

It was more than a little ironic when, during her spree, Hudgens commented on how overjoyed she was with the “huge house I just bought.” We’re guessing it’s a little easier to fill a new home when you’re spending three hours in a gift lounge.

[From Gatecrasher]

I’m surprised we didn’t see Vanessa’s assistant lugging home a nice couch from the swag sitting areas. Of course a lot of other celebs partook of the free merchandise. But Gatecrasher points out that many refuse, or at least are gracious enough to limit it to one or two items.

At the BAFTA/L.A. Tea Party, Clint Eastwood, nominated for “The Changeling” and “Gran Torino,” told us: “I don’t want anything. I don’t want any gifts. [These] companies are trying to advertise, and they figure it’s low-cost advertising. They want to sell their product and help make the economy better, which is okay, but it’s not for me.”

Over at the HBO Luxury Lounge, Ricky Gervais picked up only a pair of shades from Solstice. “Sunglasses are the only things I can bear to take from these lounges,” he said. “I’m kind of like Elton John that way.”

[From Gatecrasher]

Clint Eastwood has a point – companies are trying to get free (or relatively inexpensive) press in exchange for getting celebs to use their products, so there certainly is a point to the whole thing beyond gratuitous excess. There’s just something about it that always seems so tacky to me, even when the economy is doing well. If there’s anyone who can afford expensive stuff, it’s celebrities. Some donate their items, which is definitely a more gracious way to go. But I do like the idea of just grabbing a pair of sunglasses or something similar as a nice compromise.

Here’s Vanessa Hudgens with Zac Effron at the Golden Globes last night, and at an afterparty later that evening. Images thanks to WENN, Bauer-Griffin, and Splash.

Award shows like The Oscars and The Emmys are going to have trouble getting celebrities to accept their swag bags. The IRS is reminding everyone that all the crap they receive, typically worth $50,000 and up, is subject to taxation. Presenters at next week’s Emmy awards have to sign a statement acknowledging that they accept tax responsibility for all the gifts they receive. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also said there will be no more skyrocketing swag bags for Oscar presenters! Oh no!

So that’s why George Cooney donated his presenter gift bag. The IRS had already announced that Oscar gifts were taxable at that point, it just hadn’t received much press. You’re going to see a lot more press releases about celebrities donating their spa stays and luxury goods to charity, except you’ll know it’s not so selfless. What’s Life and Style to do now that they can’t market a bunch of expensive products to laypeople that celebrities get for free? Those poor luxury goos manufacturers will have to find another marketing strategy.

This affects much more than just award shows, because companies often sponsor parties for celebrities, hoping to get pictures of them posing with the free stuff. Spa suites are set up before The Oscars to get celebrities “prepared” to market more crap. Hopefully the IRS will crack down on that practice, too. What will happen to Sundance? Will celebrities stop showing up to so many events? How will celebrities cope with having to buy their own stuff? Will divas get a little more humble?