Sarah Palin has been a polarizing figure in American politics since Republican presidential nominee John McCain tapped her to be his running mate in the 2008 election. The former Alaska governor continues to be a lightning rod for criticism among liberals and even some moderate Republicans.

But is that criticism a form of sexism?

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Hillary Clinton believed so, at least in the 2008 presidential election.

The former U.S. senator, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for president that year, claimed in a 2014 book titled Hard Choices that unnamed members of Barack Obama's campaign asked her to attack Palin, in Clinton's words, "just for being a woman appealing for support from other women."

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Palin is one of only two women to have been nominated by a major party for vice president in U.S. history. The other was Democrat Geraldine Ferraro.  

How Hillary Clinton Responded to the Request

Clinton told NBC's Nightly News the request to criticize Palin came immediately after she accepted the nomination:

“The day she was nominated, the Obama campaign did contact me and asked me if I would attack her. I said, ‘Attack her for what — for being a woman? Attack her for being on a ticket that's trying to draw attention? There'll be plenty of time to do what I think you should do in politics, which is draw distinctions.’”

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Clinton writes in her book that she declined the request by the Obama campaign to attack Palin. “I was not going to attack Palin just for being a woman appealing for support from other women. I didn’t think it made political sense, and it didn’t feel right. So I said no."

Clinton also said that she addressed the issue with Obama after the Democratic primary was settled and Obama had secured the presidential nomination. She said the two had "an awkward but necessary meeting to clear the air on a couple of issues, and one of them was the sexism that — unfortunately — was present in that ’08 campaign.” 

Obama Campaign Disputes Claims

Soon after Clinton's book was published and details of the anecdote spread, Obama handlers disputed the claim, saying the former secretary of State's account wasn't accurate. They spoke to the news outlet Politico on the condition of anonymity.

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“The question that was raised with numerous Democratic leaders was whether Gov. Palin had the right experience to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and it’s the same question that would have been raised regardless of gender,” one of the Obama campaign officials told Politico in response to Clinton's claims.

How Sarah Palin Responded to Clinton's Claim

Palin, who remained popular among conservatives and was a popular and frequent guest on political talk shows in the years after the 2008 election, seized on that segment of Clinton's book. She commented on Twitter that Obama had launched a so-called war on women, something Democrats routinely blame Republicans for.

"Look who fired the 1st shot in the real 'war on women,'" Palin tweeted. "Hint: it wasn't the GOP."