It's Cheaper Than a Teleprompter, isn't it?

Critics have ridiculed former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin for writing crib notes on her hands for her Tea Party speech on Saturday.

Mrs Palin was shown reading from her hand and displaying the scribbled notes after she had made the address.

She had spoken in the speech of a "charismatic guy with a teleprompter", apparently meaning President Obama.

Mrs Palin received a standing ovation for the speech as she called for a "return to conservative principles".

But a photo taken during a question-and-answer session after the speech showed her left hand with the words "energy", "budget cuts", "tax" and "lift Americans' spirits". The word "budget" had been crossed out.

'Cheat sheets'

Also, video footage showed her seemingly reading from her hand when asked what top three things a conservative-led Congress should do.

The footage prompted NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell to say that the "cheat sheets" were damaging in view of her attack on Barack Obama during the speech.

"If [senior Republican] Mitt Romney had notes on his hand, wouldn't we take it pretty seriously?" she said on MSNBC's Daily Rundown show on Monday.

There was controversy at the convention over Mrs Palin's appearance fee, reported to be as much as $100,000, although she said she would not financially benefit from it.

Some activists have also complained about the $500 (£317) registration fee for the Nashville conference.

The year-old Tea Party movement draws together opponents of Mr Obama's healthcare reform, his economic stimulus package and other aspects of his agenda.