Daily Nonsense

You really have to wonder what she was thinking.  When President George H.W. Bush officially pardoned the first Thanksgiving turkey in 1989, it became a cute little White House tradition and photo op for the President and his family. 

A lighthearted moment for the 6 o’clock news normally filled with war and famine. An opportunity for the POTUS d’ jour to appear a little less of a monster.  But fundamentally, it’s a silly and stupid ‘tradition’ that is better left forgotten.  My guess is it’s the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board who continue to send the White House a live bird that foster this pseudo-tradition.  Like Americans need a reminder to eat a bird on Thanksgiving…

This last Thursday, Failin’ Palin decided that as governor she could enjoy the same photo op as still president Bush and held a little turkey pardoning of her own.  It all sounds banal, right?  Enough for a page 3 ‘feature’ in the Wasilla Wildlife Weekly perhaps?  Well, that would have been the case had she not totally failed to understand the underlying premise of the pardon itself. 

Her failure?  She pardoned one bird while standing directly in front of the mass wholesale slaughter of hundreds of other fowl victims.

Audiences gobble up latest Palin interview

BACKFIRE: Camera catches slaughter of turkeys after governor’s playful pardon.

By SEAN COCKERHAM
scockerham@adn.com

Published: November 22nd, 2008 02:33 AM
Last Modified: November 22nd, 2008 03:06 AM

It’s being called "gobblegate," "the interview of death," and "Silence of the Turkeys."

Gov. Sarah Palin granted a Thanksgiving pardon to a turkey at a Mat-Su poultry farm on Thursday, a photo-op associated with presidents but done by governors as well.

But by Friday, video of Palin giving an upbeat interview while other turkeys were being slaughtered behind her had turned into an Internet sensation, with the governor once again at the center of controversy.

The video, shot by KTUU Channel 2, had 1.2 million hits on YouTube. It was prominently featured on the home pages of newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and Denver Post. MSNBC’s "Countdown" paired the video with "breaking news" headlines such as "Gov. Palin picks worst possible backdrop for TV news interview." Countered the conservative site RedState.com: "Media shocked to discover how farming works"

Such footage of any governor would no doubt have drawn interest, but the continuing obsession with the former Republican vice presidential nominee sent this one into the stratosphere.

The governor’s office wasn’t particularly amused.

"It’s unfortunate because it’s been a rough fall and this was meant to be a lighthearted event," said Palin spokesman Bill McAllister.

McAllister said Palin wasn’t aware that the slaughter was going on behind her in the interview — during which Palin was asked if she was concerned about "state programs on the chopping block" and why she wanted to pardon a turkey.

"For one, you need a little bit of levity in this job. … to just participate in something that isn’t so heavy handed politics that invites criticism," Palin replied. "Certainly we’ll probably invite criticism for even doing this too, but at least this was fun."

‘THAT’S JUST LIFE’

Anthony Schmidt, owner of Triple D Farm & Hatchery, where this all took place, said Friday that animal rights activists from around the nation had been calling all day to "say how horrible it was they were killing that turkey and people could see it."

"And I guess, to some degree I understand that. If I had my choice it wouldn’t have been aired, that part of it. But, on the other hand, that’s just life," he said. "Americans are going to consume 46 million turkeys at Thanksgiving. I’m only doing six or seven hundred. Give somebody else a hard time."

Schmidt said he was busy during the governor’s visit and didn’t realize turkeys were being killed right behind the governor, or he would have stopped it. He said the publicity is increasing turkey orders but he doesn’t like the fallout.

"They’re sliming the governor and I think it’s wrong, totally, wrong," Schmidt said. "I mean, come on guys, get a life."

McAllister said the slaughter had not started at the time the cameras were set up. He said that, while the cameras were rolling and a worker at the farm began placing turkeys head-down in a big metal cone to cut their necks and drain blood, Kris Perry, the governor’s friend and director of her Anchorage office, "was actually physically nudging (the KTUU videographer), saying ‘look at this,’ and encouraging him not to frame the shot to include that, or to do something about it later, where he wouldn’t use it," McAllister said. McAllister said KTUU showed the slaughter in its 5 p.m. broadcast, but not at 6 p.m., and pulled the video from its Web site. "So obviously there was concern about it there too."

BEHIND THE SCENE

KTUU News Director Steve MacDonald said the footage was too graphic, out of context, and should not have made it on the air at all. He said the station wasn’t attempting to embarrass Palin and had a breakdown in its vetting system.

"We feel really bad about what happened. We take our reputation very seriously, we take our place in the community very seriously and the last thing we want to do is harm our integrity with our viewers," MacDonald said.

MacDonald said the station’s videographer denies Perry was nudging him during the shot. He said the crew thought Palin knew what was going on behind her but believes McAllister was correct that the slaughter didn’t start until after the interview began.

Democratic blogger Linda Kellen Biegel was at the turkey pardon and didn’t believe Palin was unaware of what was happening. "Give me a break! There is NO WAY she couldn’t have known!" Biegel wrote on her blog, Celtic Diva’s Blue Oasis.

MSNBC’s host David Shuster, substituting for Keith Olbermann on "Countdown," said on his show Thursday night that "governor Palin’s office is now telling our NBC news desk that a photographer asked her if she wanted that as a backdrop and she replied ‘no worries.’ " KTUU’s MacDonald said he’s not aware of that.

Palin spokesman McAllister said she may have said that before the slaughter started, but not after it began.

[Thanks, The Anchorage Daily News]

God slammed another door shut in Sarah Palin’s face today when incumbent Republican Senator Ted Stevens conceded the race to Democratic contender Mark Begich, thus bringing an end to 40 years of unethical behavior and malfeasance.

Good riddance to another piece of Republican garbage and good riddance to the fragile hopes of EX vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  No Washington for you.  You might want to try sucking up to Bill O’Reilly or some other NeoCon Radical Right jackhole.  Someone’s got to want you aside from the Alaskans, don’t cha’ think?

Stevens: ‘It is apparent the election has been decided’
Posted by Alaska_Politics
Posted: November 19, 2008 – 11:48 am

E-mail from Sen. Ted Stevens office:

Senator Stevens’ Statement on Recent Vote Tallies

ANCHORAGE, AK – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) today released the following statement regarding his campaign and the most recent vote tallies in Alaska:

“Given the number of ballots that remain to be counted, it is apparent the election has been decided and Mayor Begich has been elected.

“My family and I wish to thank the thousands of Alaskans who stood by us and who supported my re-election. It was a tough fight that would not have been possible without the help of so many Alaskans – people who I am honored to call my friends. I will always remember their thoughts, prayers, and encouragement.

“I am proud of the campaign we ran and regret that the outcome was not what we had hoped for. I am deeply grateful to Alaskans for allowing me to serve them for 40 years in the U.S. Senate. It has been the greatest honor of my life to work with Alaskans of all political persuasions to make this state that we all love a better place.

“I wish Mayor Begich and his family well. My staff and I stand willing to help him prepare for his new position.”

[Thanks, Anchorage Daily News]

The length of my comments are commensurate with the length of the article which is oddly enough, commensurate with the length of the ‘Press Conference’.

7.5 minutes, 3 questions, and 3 run on sentence answers.  That’s my girl, keep opening your mouth.

Sarah Palin’s first press conference
9:05 AM Thu, Nov 13, 2008
Christy Hoppe

In Miami at the Republican Governor’s Association, Sarah Palin held her first national press conference. About 100 reporters gathered. The bank of TV camera were two-deep on the risers. And — drumroll please — it lasted three questions and about seven and a half minutes.

Palin when asked what message and motivation she might have for the press conference, as well as interviews in the past two days to Matt Lauer of the Today Show as well as Fox’s Greta Van Susteren and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Larry King, she intimated that she would have liked more freedom during the presidential campaign. “I don’t want to talk about the strategy of a campaign that is over,” Palin said.

She said she stood with the other red state governors because she thinks states will offer the solutions of balanced budgets, nonpartisanship and the ideas that will lead the GOP out of the wilderness.

[Thanks, Dallas Morning News]

I have been telling friends and family that once Ted Stevens was elected, Governor Palin was going to convince him to step down and hold a special election putting herself on the ballot.  That would satisfy the pundits who are calling for Ted’s resignation and satisfy the burning yearning in Sarah’s soul to become one of the Washington elite.

I may have spoken too soon.  The thing I didn’t count on was the Alaskan voters doing the right thing in the face of Mr. Stevens lying and ethical behavior.  For the above scenario to actually take place Stevens would have to win the election and that doesn’t seem likely.

Sarah had mentioned in her ‘interview’ earlier this week that she would keep an eye out for doors which her god might open for her.  Seems to me that this door has been slammed in her face.

Begich takes lead in latest vote count

SENATE RACE: Anchorage mayor swings from 3,000-vote deficit to 814-vote advantage.

By SEAN COCKERHAM and KYLE HOPKINS
scockerham@adn.com

Published: November 13th, 2008 01:20 AM
Last Modified: November 13th, 2008 01:56 AM

Mark Begich made a dramatic comeback Wednesday to overtake 40-year incumbent Ted Stevens for the lead in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race.

Begich, who was losing after election night, now leads Stevens by 814 votes — 132,196 to 131,382 — with the state still to count roughly 40,000 more ballots over the next week.

The state Division of Elections tallied about 60,000 absentee, early and questioned ballots from around the state on Wednesday. The ballots broke heavily in the Democrat’s favor, erasing the 3,000-vote lead the Republican Stevens held after election night Nov. 4.

Stevens is trying to become the first person ever elected to the U.S. Senate after a being found guilty of felony crimes. A Washington, D.C., jury found him guilty a week before the election of lying about gifts on his financial disclosure forms.

The state still needs to count at least 15,000 questioned ballots and an estimated 25,000 absentees. With all the absentee votes coming in, this will be one of the biggest turnouts, if not the biggest in terms of ballots cast, the state has ever seen. That’s despite questions in the media and on blogs about why turnout appeared low on Election Day.

Most regional elections headquarters will count their remaining ballots on Friday. But the most populous region, based in Anchorage, won’t count its ballots until either Monday or Wednesday, state elections chief Gail Fenumiai said.

Begich pushed hard in the campaign for people to vote early, a factor both Democrats and Republicans said contributed to his surge. More than 9,000 of those early ballots weren’t counted until Wednesday to give the state time to double check and make sure people didn’t vote early and then come back and vote on Election Day as well.

Candidates push early voting as a strategy to take away the potential their supporters won’t get around to it Election Day.

The absentee votes counted Wednesday were those that made it in to state officials before Election Day. Many of those might have been cast before Stevens came back to Alaska from his trial in Washington, D.C. Republican strategists credited Stevens’ homecoming, which was followed by rallies and advertisements where he blasted the verdict, as playing a key role in winning back support of voters.

Neither candidate was around Wednesday night as the drama unfolded. Begich was on vacation with his family "at an undisclosed location" and not available on Wednesday night to comment, his campaign staff said. Begich, who is the mayor of Anchorage, also did not return a message left on his cell phone.

Begich will be appearing on national liberal talk shows today to discuss the election. He will be on "The Ed Schultz Show" on radio and "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC.

Stevens is back in Washington, D.C., where it was well past midnight when the final returns came in. His campaign spokesman said there would be no comment on the turnaround.

Republican Party of Alaska Chairman Randy Ruedrich wasn’t giving up hope for Stevens, saying Begich’s advantage could lessen as the state finishes counting the early votes.

He said remaining mail-in absentee votes "should be much more favorable to Republicans" than the ones counted so far.

But state Democratic Party spokeswoman Bethany Lesser said Begich workers are cautiously optimistic the lead would hold. She noted that the election district based in Nome, which covers Northern and Western Alaska, has not counted any of its absentee ballots yet. Begich beat Stevens in that area on Election Day, just as he did throughout Bush Alaska, a traditional Stevens stronghold that relies on federal appropriations.

Begich also won the voting on all four of Alaska’s military installations on Election Day. That makes the Begich campaign optimistic about overseas absentee ballots from service members.

The state didn’t have a breakdown Wednesday night of where the remaining ballots come from.

Anchorage pollsters Ivan Moore and David Dittman, who had predicted a Begich victory before the election, both said Wednesday night they believe the Democrat would pull it off.

"I think it’s all over at this point," said Moore, who often works for Democrats but didn’t poll for either candidate in this race.

He said mail-in absentee ballots don’t favor Republicans as much as they used to. They historically tended to be from people out of town on business or other reasons, Moore said, adding that they were generally wealthier and more Republican than other voters, he said.

But now a wider variety of people vote absentee, he said. Also, Moore said, questioned ballots tend to favor Democrats, and are often people who have recently moved and might be single, less established, without as much money.

Dittman, who polled for Stevens during the campaign and tends to work for Republicans, also predicted Begich’s lead would widen, but not drastically, as the remaining votes are counted.

While Stevens’ era in the Senate is in danger of ending, another longtime Alaska Republican is returning to Washington, D.C. Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young maintained his solid lead over Democratic challenger Ethan Berkowitz after Wednesday’s count. Berkowitz made some headway but Young still led by more than 15,000 votes.

[Thanks, Anchorage Daily News]

It’s only been a week since John McCain, wearing poise and dignity like a fine Italian suit, conceded the 2008 Presidential election to Barack Obama.  But in that short week the fortunes of McCain’s running mate have eclipsed and started a plummeting fall that hopefully will lead Palin and family back into obscurity.

From a favorable rating of 57% Palin has fallen to a 49% rating with a 43% actually giving an unfavorable rating.  Of course, that’s better than Still President Bush’s ratings, but really doesn’t bode well for someone who was splashed onto the national stage in the manner, and capacity, that she was.

It should be an indication to her that national aspirations should remain dreams and shouldn’t be acted upon.

Views of Palin deteriorate as GOP looks ahead
Posted: 12:14 PM ET

From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) — Just a week after this year’s presidential election, 2012 buzz may already be swirling around Sarah Palin – but a new national poll suggests just under half the American public holds a favorable opinion of the Alaska governor, with nearly as many viewing her unfavorably.

Forty-nine percent of those questioned in the survey released Wednesday have a favorable opinion of the woman John McCain picked as his running mate. Forty-three percent view her unfavorably.

And perceptions of Palin seem to be dropping.

"In early September, just after the GOP convention, her favorable rating among registered voters was 57 percent, and only a quarter of all registered voters had an unfavorable view of her," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. Now, Palin is less popular than vice president-elect Joe Biden, with a 64 percent favorable rating, or ticket-mate John McCain, who is seen favorably by 61 percent of the public

The poll also suggests that men may have a slightly more positive view of Palin than women, with 51 percent of males viewing her favorably, compared to 48 percent of female respondents. Forty-one percent of males questioned in the survey have an unfavorable opinion of Palin, as do 44 percent of women.

"With fairly high negatives and lower support among women, who should be a natural constituency for Palin, she’s not starting off from a position of strength," says Holland. "The question is no longer whether Palin was a drag on the McCain ticket, but whether her unfavorables could be a drag on a future Palin ticket."

Among Republicans. Palin’s rating remains high, with 86 percent of Republicans questioned in the poll holding a favorable opinion of her. That number drops to 48 percent among Independents, and down to 27 percent among Democrats.

Palin is attending the Republican Governors Association conference in Miami, Florida today and tomorrow – the first major gathering of GOP leaders since the party lost the White House, along with additional seats in both the House and the Senate.

There’s been speculation that Palin – along with other incumbent governors at the conference like Charlie Crist of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota — could have designs on running down the road for the Republican presidential nomination in the next race for the White House. All three governors were on John McCain’s list of possible running mates, before the Arizona senator named Palin as his running mate.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted November 6-9, with 1,246 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The poll comes as Palin sits down for a one-on-one interview today with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, which can be seen on the Situation Room starting at 4 pm ET. Palin is also speaking with CNN’s Larry King: that interview can be seen on Larry King Live at 9 pm ET, and again at 9 pm PT.

[Thanks, CNN]

After 4 years of slow growth in the Alaskan standardized testing system, students this year are showing the results of life under Palin.  With test scores plummeting across the board, I guess it’s ‘All Children Left Behind’ for Sarah’s state.

It’s as important as ever that Alaska has the socialized welfare program where the citizens get kickbacks from the oil industry.  When the Alaskan students can’t compete in the future workplace, they will at least have a small income to pay the heating bills.

Forget that those dollars come from gas taxes and gas profits and are basically coming out of your pocket.  That’s not important, right?

Test scores decline in Anchorage schools

ANNUAL REPORT: Poor test results in ‘three R’s’ come after four years of gains.

By MEGAN HOLLAND
mholland@adn.com

Published: November 10th, 2008 10:22 PM
Last Modified: November 10th, 2008 11:12 PM

Reading, writing and math scores for Anchorage public school students showed nearly across-the-board declines last year, according to the district’s annual report card.

The recently released data showed that Anchorage schools did not make progress toward meeting the education standards set by the state in 2003.

But while test scores are down slightly, the district did make a dent in its dropout rate by keeping more kids in school.

The report shows how students are doing in a variety of ways, including achievement differences between ethnic groups, whether the same students improved year to year, and how different high schools compare. The results of the Standards Based Assessment tests taken by students in grades three through 10 are also tabulated. On those tests, students and schools in almost all subject areas and grade levels lost ground.

Among the findings in the report:

• In Anchorage, 81 percent of students in grades three through 10 were proficient in reading and writing. That’s down one percentage point from the year before.

• Math showed a deeper dip, from 76 percent proficiency in the 2006-2007 academic year to 73 percent proficiency last year.

• The same student’s proficiency levels one year to the next generally eroded.

• Fewer 10th-graders passed the high school exit exam, a test required for a diploma that students first take in the 10th grade, then repeat in the 11th or 12th grades until they pass.

• The public high schools showed a wide range of graduation rates.

The slipping grades come on the heels of four years of improved scores.

"We were disappointed with the slight downward trend but we’re going to work really, really hard in every school to get the trend reversed and move back up again," said School District Superintendent Carol Comeau.

The annual report was developed to measure the district’s academic achievements year to year by giving students in each grade the same tests, year after year. Every public school in the state has something similar, measuring its students with the same statewide tests.

Alaska statewide results on reading, writing and math were also slightly down last year after several years of improvement, according to the state Department of Education and Early Development.

IS CHANGE NEEDED?

School administrators caution against overreacting to a one-year drop in numbers.

"The scores did dip slightly last year, no question about it, and that does concern us," said Anchorage assistant superintendent Rhonda Gardner. "It would be inappropriate for us to change dramatically something we have been doing and having great success with … based on one year’s data."

If the next report card shows eroding grades again, then the district will need to take a hard look at what needs to be fixed, Gardner said.

In the meantime, the district is taking some steps. Superintendent Comeau has asked every school to write an action plan. Math tutors have been sent into high schools to help teachers learn how to teach better. And the district is working with English teachers to help kids on grammar and punctuation — two areas of writing that they think kids need to improve.

The math and writing numbers have been an area of concern for the district for several years, administrators say.

While 79 percent of third-graders passed proficiency tests for math last year, only 66 percent of 10th-graders did.

Mike Henry, director of high school education, said the math tutors will work with teachers to help identify where kids are falling short.

WHERE SCORES IMPROVED

In one encouraging finding, the district’s dropout rate went from 5.1 percent to 4.2 percent. The rate measures the percentage of students who leave school and don’t go to another school or school program. Henry attributes some of the decrease to better accounting methods — keeping track of kids who previously got lost in the system and were counted as dropouts when they really weren’t — and also increased intervention methods by high school administrators and teachers.

Ninth-graders also performed slightly better on reading, writing and math. Henry and Comeau attribute it to strong efforts by high school teachers to ease kids into high school through programs like the "freshman houses" that separate the first-year high schoolers from the upperclassmen to create a more personal, less intimidating school experience.

[Thanks, Anchorage Daily News]

Am I the only one who sees the irony in this article published in the Politico web site?  Two years ago, when McCain decided to run yet again for president, Palin was still trying to live down having been Mayor of Wasilla in her bid for the Governors office.

Status quo is one thing, but being the cause of the GOP failure as a virtual unknown is another.  Sarah, it’s time to fade back into the woodwork.

And yes, to answer your question, we would LOVE to see your real medical records, not a note scrawled in purple crayon on a cocktail napkin by a family friend.  Or, maybe some less invasive DNA testing, how’s that for a compromise?

Palin: GOP ticket was too ‘status quo’

By ANDY BARR | 11/10/08 11:19 AM EST

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Sunday that she and running mate John McCain lost because the Republican ticket “represented too much of the status quo.”
In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News posted on the paper’s site Monday morning, Palin pointed a finger at the Bush administration for souring the GOP brand, adding that it was “amazing” that the McCain campaign did as well as it did.

“I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration?” Palin said.

“If we’re talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented, and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change, I think, went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It’s amazing that we did as well as we did.”

Looking back on the race, the Alaska governor said that she was “frustrated” by misinformation spread about her, especially related to her family.

“Some of the goofy things, like who was Trig’s mom. Well, I’m Trig’s mom, and do you want to see my medical records to prove that? And banning books. That was a ridiculous thing also that could have so easily been corrected just by a reporter taking an extra step and not basing a report on gossip or speculation,” Palin said.

“Just looking into the record. It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn’t even been written when I was the mayor. So, gosh, we have so many examples, I mean every day, especially the first few weeks, every day something that was thrown out there.”

After railing against earmarks and congressional spending on the campaign trail, Palin promised “fewer earmark requests” for projects “that can help on a national front, not just on a state front.”

Asked about running for the Republican nomination in 2012, the Alaska governor seemed cool to the prospect, pointing out that current polling showing favorable prospects in a potential GOP primary field are likely to shift.

“Look how fickle poll numbers are,” Palin said. “Look where I’ve gone, up and down, up and down, even in the state of Alaska the last couple of months. We can’t pay attention to those numbers.”

[Thanks, Politico]

In a startling news story, the US Secret Service has laid the blame for the spike in death threats against then presidential candidate Barack Obama right on Sarah Palin’s doorstep.

While we’re all agreed that Sarah Palin was the cause behind the spectacular fiery crash of the Republican presidential campaign this summer, it’s interesting to note how Palin’s attempt at defaming the Obama campaign essentially did just the opposite.

While I’ve already commented on Palin and the hate-mongering, I’m still wondering if there are any legal repercussions she should be watchful for.

Maybe we should just allow Sarah and her husband to realize their greatest dream.  Let’s let the socialist state of Alaska to secede from the union and forever remove Palin as a threat to our Presidency or the Republican National Committee.

Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama

Sarah Palin’s attacks on Barack Obama’s patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

By Tim Shipman in Washington
Last Updated: 8:38AM GMT 10 Nov 2008

The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin’s attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin’s credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues."

Irate John McCain aides, who blame Mrs Palin for losing the election, claim Mrs Palin took it upon herself to question Mr Obama’s patriotism, before the line of attack had been cleared by Mr McCain.

That claim is part of a campaign of targeted leaks designed to torpedo her ambitions, with claims that she did not know that Africawas a continent rather than a country.

The advisers have branded her a "diva" and a "whack job" and claimed that she did not know which other countries are in the North American Free Trade Area, (Canada and Mexico). They say she spent more than $150,000 on designer clothes, including $40,000 on her husband Todd and that she refused to prepare for the disastrous series of interviews with CBS’s Katie Couric.

In a bid to salvage her reputation Mrs Palin came out firing in an interview with CNN, dismissing the anonymous leakers in unpresidential language as "jerks" who had taken "questions or comments I made in debate prep out of context."

She said: "I consider it cowardly. It’s not true. That’s cruel, it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news that’s not fair and not right."

She was not asked about her incendiary rhetoric against Mr Obama. But she did deny the spending spree claims, saying the clothes in question had been returned to the Republican National Committee. "Those are the RNC’s clothes, they’re not my clothes. I asked for anything more than maybe a diet Dr Pepper once in a while. These are false allegations."

Speaking as she returned to her native Alaska, Mrs Palin claimed to be baffled by what she claims was sexism on the national stage. "Here in Alaska that double standard isn’t applied because these guys know that Alaskan women are pretty tough, on a par with the men in terms of being outdoors, working hard," she said.

"They’re commercial fishermen, they’re pilots, they’re working up on the North slopein the oil fields. You see equality in Alaska. I think that was a bit of as surprise on the national level."

[Thanks, Telegraph UK]

Sarah Palin has apparently ‘forgotten’ to return all of the clothes that were purchased for her and her family when she became John McCain’s running mate. The clothing, in an attempt to make her presentable to the masses, was purchased at such upscale stores as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s; and at the luxury retailer Barneys New York.

The designer clothing, valued in excess of $150,000, was obviously not enough lipstick on the sow, McCain and his campaign showed a steady and terminal decline in the polls once Palin opened her mouth and started spewing NeoCon crap to the masses.  And we all know what the final results were; Barack with 364 Electoral College Votes and McCain with a paltry 163.

I’m just curious to know if anyone has bothered to called around to the various hotels where Palin stayed and ask if they are missing any towels or bathrobes.  Oh, right, Sarah can’t be bothered wearing a bathrobe.

GOP tries to sort out Palin’s donor-funded duds

By SHARON THEIMER – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Party lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was purchased for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, what was returned and what has become of the rest.

And they are discussing with Palin, who’s back in Alaska, whether what’s left of the tens of thousands of dollars worth of designer clothing and accessories purchased for her on the campaign trail will go to charity, back to stores or be paid for by Palin, a McCain-Palin campaign official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the campaign hadn’t authorized comment.

The sorting should be completed in the next four or five days, the campaign official said, declining to say whether the RNC was sending anyone to Alaska to help take inventory.

The RNC spent at least $150,000 on designer clothing, accessories and beauty services for Palin after she became John McCain’s running mate in September. The spending included $75,062 at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis; $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue; $9,447 at Macy’s; and $789 at the luxury retailer Barneys New York. Some of the purchases were for Palin family members, such as $4,902 spent at upscale men’s clothier Atelier and $92 at Pacifier, a Minneapolis baby boutique.

The McCain-Palin campaign said about a third of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons. However, other purchases were apparently made after that, the campaign official said.

The spending drew a complaint against Palin and the RNC by a Washington government watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Palin and the GOP of violating a federal ban on the use of campaign funds for personal expenses such as clothing.

The RNC didn’t respond to repeated requests by The Associated Press for comment Friday.

It’s routine for candidates to get professional hair and makeup services at campaign expense before they go on camera, but Palin’s shopping spree at GOP donors’ expense is unusual. It contrasted with the down-to-earth "hockey mom" image that Palin sought to craft and gave the campaign unwanted publicity in the form of newspaper headlines, Internet chatter and comedians’ jokes.

FEC spokesman Bob Biersack declined to comment on the spending beyond confirming that the commission has received CREW’s complaint.

Palin and the campaign have characterized the purchases as legitimate campaign expenses and said there was never any plan for Palin to keep the items.

[Thanks, Google News]

I would have liked to think that McCain, an obvious supporter of Bush and all of his failed policies, could never have had a real chance at the White House.  I would have thought that almost any Democratic candidate could have run, and won.

But poll numbers in the weeks immediately after the Republican National Convention were proving me wrong.  America was being dazzled by the pretty face.  But couldn’t they see the rotten core that pretty face was hiding?

Apparently America has come to her senses.  Uncommitted voters, Hillary-centric Democrats who abandoned ship after the Democratic National Convention and many, many Republicans have started realizing just what an evil, petty and unqualified candidate Palin is.

And not a moment too soon.  As long as the Bush, Cheney, Mukasey triumvirate of evil doesn’t get its way in Ohio, we still have a chance.

Growing Doubts on Palin Take a Toll, Poll Finds

By MICHAEL COOPER and DALIA SUSSMAN
Published: October 30, 2008

A growing number of voters have concluded that Senator John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, is not qualified to be vice president, weighing down the Republican ticket in the last days of the campaign, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

All told, 59 percent of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

And in a possible indication that the choice of Ms. Palin has hurt Mr. McCain’s image, voters said they had much more confidence in Mr. Obama to pick qualified people for his administration than they did in Mr. McCain.

After nearly two years of campaigning, a pair of hotly contested nominating battles, a series of debates and an avalanche of advertisements, the nationwide poll found the contours of the race hardening in the last days before the election on Tuesday. Twelve percent of the voters surveyed said they had already voted. These were among the findings:

• Mr. Obama is maintaining his lead, with 51 percent of likely voters supporting him and 40 percent supporting Mr. McCain in a head-to-head matchup.
• Some perceptions of race are changing, with a marked increase in the number of people who say they believe that white and black people have an equal chance of getting ahead in America today.
• Mr. McCain’s focus on taxes, including his talk about Joe the Plumber, seems to be having some effect, as a growing number of voters now say Mr. McCain would not raise their taxes.
• Eighty-nine percent of people view the economy negatively, and 85 percent think the country is on the wrong track.
• Mr. Obama continues to have a significant advantage on key issues like the economy, health care and the war in Iraq.

The survey found that opinions of Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain had hardened considerably, as 9 out of 10 voters who said they had settled on a candidate said their minds were made up, and a growing number of them called it “extremely important” that their candidate win the election. Roughly half of each candidate’s supporters said they were “scared” of what the other candidate would do if elected. Just 4 percent of voters were undecided, and when they were pressed to say whom they leaned toward, the shape of the race remained essentially the same.

Bolstered by the fiscal crisis and deep concerns about the direction of the country, Mr. Obama has seemed to solidify the support he has gained in recent months. When likely voters were asked whom they would vote for in an expanded field that included several third-party candidates, Mr. Obama got the support of 52 percent of them, Mr. McCain 39 percent, Bob Barr 1 percent, and Ralph Nader 2 percent.

The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Saturday through Wednesday with 1,439 adults nationwide, including 1,308 registered voters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

The poll was conducted as a wide range of state polls have shown Mr. Obama, of Illinois, ahead or tied in several crucial contested states, including some traditionally Republican states that Mr. McCain, of Arizona, must carry to win the election.

The survey suggested that Mr. Obama’s candidacy — if elected, he would be the first black president — has changed some perceptions of race in America. Nearly two-thirds of those polled said whites and blacks have an equal chance of getting ahead in today’s society, up from the half who said they thought so in July. And while 14 percent still said most people they knew would not vote for a black presidential candidate, the number has dropped considerably since the campaign began.

Mr. McCain’s heavy focus on taxes in the final weeks of the campaign seems to be having some effect, the poll found. Forty-seven percent of voters said Mr. McCain would not raise taxes on people like them, up from just 38 percent who said so two weeks ago. (And 50 percent said they thought Mr. Obama would raise taxes on people like them, while 44 percent said he would not; both numbers are similar to two weeks ago.)

With just days until Americans choose a new president, the survey found them deeply uneasy about the state of their country. Eight-five percent of respondents said the country was pretty seriously off on the wrong track, near the record high recorded earlier this month. A majority said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq. And President Bush’s approval rating remains at 22 percent, tied for the lowest presidential approval rating on record (which was President Harry S. Truman’s rating, recorded by the Gallup Poll in 1952).

Mr. McCain’s renewed efforts to cast himself as the candidate of change have apparently faltered. Sixty-four percent of voters polled said Mr. Obama would bring about real change if elected, while only 39 percent said Mr. McCain would. And despite Mr. McCain’s increased efforts to distance himself from President Bush, a majority still said he would generally continue Mr. Bush’s policies.

Dixie Cromwell, a 36-year-old cosmetologist from Shelby, N.C., who is a Republican, said in a follow-up interview that she had already voted for Mr. Obama.

“I generally vote Republican, but this year I voted Democrat,” she said. “I just don’t feel we can go through any more of the same old thing that we’ve been going through with the Republican Party.”

Mr. Obama’s policies were seen as much more likely to improve the economy, provide health insurance to more people, and scale back military involvement in Iraq than Mr. McCain’s were. But Mr. McCain enjoyed an advantage when it came to questions about which candidate would make a better commander in chief: 47 percent of voters said Mr. McCain was very likely to be an effective commander in chief, compared with 33 percent who said Mr. Obama would be.

While a majority viewed Ms. Palin as unqualified for the vice presidency, roughly three-quarters of voters saw Mr. Obama’s running mate, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, as qualified for the job. The increase in the number of voters who said Ms. Palin was not prepared was driven almost entirely by Republicans and independents.

Over all, views of Ms. Palin were apparently shaped more by ideology and party than by gender. Ms. Palin was viewed as unprepared for the job by about 6 in 10 men and women alike. But 8 in 10 Democrats viewed her as unprepared, as well as more than 6 in 10 independents and 3 in 10 Republicans.

Marjorie Connelly, Megan Thee and Marina Stefan contributed reporting.

[Thanks, NY Times]

While Todd Palin was otherwise unemployed and hanging around in the Governors Office, the deputy commissioner of public safety in Alaska told Todd that their pushing to get their ex brother-in-law fired could create "some extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment for the governor".  Thankfully for us, their arrogance wouldn’t allow them to listen.

The real central theme here is how the profound failings of Alaska’s First Family keep piling up.  Separationists, book burners, anti-abortionists at any cost, ethically challenged, and outright liars.  Are these people we want one heartbeat away from the presidency of this once great nation?  Is this really someone we want to follow in the Bush/Cheney footsteps.

I think not…..

Sarah Palin’s husband was warned about Troopergate

Sarah Palin’s husband was warned by a top police official to stop trying to have her ex-brother-in-law fired, it has emerged.

By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 11:53AM BST 15 Oct 2008

John Glass, Alaska’s deputy commissioner of public safety, told him the move could result in "an extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment," a state inquiry into the so-called "Troopergate" incident found.

Mrs Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, was found by the inquiry to have abused her power in personally pushing for the dismissal of Mike Wooten, a state trooper and her sister’s ex-husband.

The report discloses a warning given to Todd Palin by Mr Glass in the spring that disciplinary action had already been taken against Mr Wooten and that "we could not fire him".

"I also warned him that it was going to cause some extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment for the governor if they pursued this and it should never have become public," Mr Glass told the inquiry. "That it would just be not good for the governor if it continued, and that they needed to cease and desist."

The inquiry was sparked by Mrs Palin’s dismissal of Walt Monegan, Alaska’s Public Safety Commissioner, which he claimed was due to his refusal to sack Mr Wooten.

While he admits he never received a direct order to fire the trooper, Mr Monegan claimed his refusal to do so was the "central theme" of his 17-month spell as Commisioner.

The inquiry’s report found that Mr Monegan’s refusal to sack Mr Wooten was "likely a contributing factor" to his own dismissal.

The report found that Mr Palin used her wife’s office and its resources to push Mr Monegan to fire Mr Wooten, which Mrs Palin did nothing to prevent.

Mr Palin told the inquiry that Mr Glass said to him: "I’m telling you as a friend, I love the Governor, but I am telling you, stay away from this Wooten situation."

Mrs Palin described Mr Wooten as a "rogue trooper" and claimed he made threats against her family amid his 2005 divorce from her sister.

[Thanks, The Telegraph UK]

Yikes, I seem have been a little quick off the mark yesterday when I mentioned that the only real critical reports on the Republican VP candidate were from outside of our borders.  I’ll assume that Alaska is still part of the US for the purposes of this discussion, much to the chagrin of Todd, Alaska’s otherwise unemployed First Dude, member in good standing of the separationist movement in Alaska.

Here are a flurry of stories responding to the official reaction by Sarah to the Alaska Legislature’s Troopergate report.  They range from editorials in her local daily paper, which since she can’t name as a news source I can only guess she has never read, and include a scathing analysis on MSNBCs ‘First Read’ site.

But let us start with an article from Editor & Publisher:

Anchorage Paper Calls Palin Response to Troopergate ‘An Embarrassment’
By E&P Staff
Published: October 14, 2008 10:10 AM ET

NEW YORK Since its release late last Friday, the Alaska legislatures "Troopergate" has drawn much attention, and Gov. Sarah Palin has claimed numerous times that it actually found no ethical misdeeds on her part — even as it charged her with a serious "abuse of power." The main paper in her home state is not buying it.

The Anchorage Daily News’ angry editorial today was topped with the headline: "Palin vindicated? Governor offers Orwellian spin." It opens: "Sarah Palin’s reaction to the Legislature’s Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.

"She claims the report ‘vindicates’ her. She said that the investigation found ‘no unlawful or unethical activity on my part.’

"Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian."

An excerpt follows.
*
In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.

Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report. Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters.

That’s the charitable interpretation.

Because if she had actually read it, she couldn’t claim "vindication" with a straight face.

Palin asserted that the report found "there was no abuse of authority at all in trying to get Officer Wooten fired."

In fact, the report concluded that "impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."

Palin’s response is the kind of political "big lie" that George Orwell warned against. War is peace. Black is white. Up is down.

Gov. Palin and her camp trumpeted the report’s second finding: that she was within her legal authority to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. But the report also said it’s likely one of the reasons she fired him was his failure to get rid of her ex-brother-in-law trooper.

That’s not "vindication," and surely Gov. Palin knows it.

[Thanks, Editor & Publisher]

And let’s quickly segue into that original article from the Anchorage Daily News:

Palin vindicated?

Governor offers Orwellian spin

Published: October 13th, 2008 10:02 PM
Last Modified: October 13th, 2008 10:17 PM

Sarah Palin’s reaction to the Legislature’s Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.

She claims the report "vindicates" her. She said that the investigation found "no unlawful or unethical activity on my part."

Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.

Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act."

In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.

Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report. Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters.

That’s the charitable interpretation.

Because if she had actually read it, she couldn’t claim "vindication" with a straight face.

Palin asserted that the report found "there was no abuse of authority at all in trying to get Officer Wooten fired."

In fact, the report concluded that "impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."

Palin’s response is the kind of political "big lie" that George Orwell warned against. War is peace. Black is white. Up is down.

Gov. Palin and her camp trumpeted the report’s second finding: that she was within her legal authority to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. But the report also said it’s likely one of the reasons she fired him was his failure to get rid of her ex-brother-in-law trooper.

That’s not "vindication," and surely Gov. Palin knows it.

Gov. Palin does have a defense. She could have said:

"I’m gratified that the report confirmed what I said all along, that I had the authority to terminate Walt Monegan as public safety commissioner.

"I absolutely disagree that I violated state ethics law. In repeatedly complaining about trooper Mike Wooten, Todd and I were not pursuing a personal vendetta. We were trying to protect the integrity of the Alaska State Troopers from having an arrogant, almost-out-of-control law-breaker in their ranks. Because the action we were seeking was in the public interest, not purely our personal interest, there is no ethics law violation."

Gov. Palin and her husband felt so passionately about Wooten because the case was so personal to them. Their passion blinded them to any other considerations.

They had no sense that the power of the governor’s office carries a special responsibility not to use it to settle family scores. They had no sense that legal restrictions might prevent the troopers from firing Wooten. They had no sense that persistent queries from the governor’s office might be perceived as pressure to bend state personnel laws.

Gov. Palin and her husband were obsessed with Wooten the way Capt. Ahab was obsessed with the Great White Whale. No Wooten, no peace.

Has Gov. Palin committed an impeachable offense? Hardly.

Is what she did indictable? No.

But it wasn’t appropriate, especially for someone elected as an ethical reformer. And her Orwellian claims of "vindication" make this blemish on her record look even worse.

You asked us to hold you accountable, Gov. Palin. Did you mean it?

Bottom line: Gov. Palin, read the report. It says you violated the ethics law.

[Thanks, Anchorage Daily News]

And let’s flesh out this round of condemnation with MSNBC’s First Read:

Palin: Anchorage paper not happy

Posted: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 9:16 AM by Mark Murray

It’s not good when your home-state paper’s editorial page puts your name and "embarrassment" to the state in the same sentence. "Sarah Palin’s reaction to the Legislature’s Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation. She claims the report ‘vindicates’ her. She said that the investigation found ‘no unlawful or unethical activity on my part.’ Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian." 

But wait, there’s more. Another independent investigator is looking into more ethics complaints against the guv.

The New York Times writes, “Here is the thing about Gov. Sarah Palin: She loves America. Really loves it. She loves the smell of cut grass and hay, as she told Ohio voters Sunday. She loves Navy bases, she said in Virginia Beach on Monday morning. She loves America’s ‘most beautiful national anthem,’ she told a crowd here a few hours later.”

“Apparently there are people who do not feel the same way about America as Ms. Palin does, she said at campaign rallies over the last two days. Those people just do not get it.”

The AP: “Gov. Sarah Palin’s rural adviser resigned Monday amid criticism of the governor’s record on hiring Alaska Natives.” 

"Palin mistook some of her own fans for hecklers Monday at a rally that drew thousands" in Virginia, the AP writes. " ‘Louder! Louder!’ they began chanting, and the cry spread across the crowd to Palin’s left. Some pointed skyward, urging that the volume be increased. Palin stopped her remarks briefly and looked toward the commotion. ‘I hope those protesters have the courage and honor to give veterans thanks for their right to protest,’ she said. Some in the crowd tried to shout toward her what was really being said, but she couldn’t hear them."

[Thanks, MSNBC]

Staunch Republicans waited hours in the sun for the opportunity to glimpse their Vice Presidential Pit Bull at the Richmond International Raceway yesterday.  Once Palin did show up, she mistook groups of chanting supporters for hecklers and stopped her prepared speech to try and humiliate them with some of her ’scathing’ remarks.

To be fair, the supporters who caught the lashing from Palin were more than 100 yards away and we can only assume that Sarah has eyestrain from staring towards Russia watching for the invading Red Menace.

The AP reports:

Palin mistakes fans for protesters at Va. rally
By BOB LEWIS – 12 hours ago

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin mistook some of her own fans for hecklers Monday at a rally that drew thousands.

A massive crowd of at least 20,000 spread across the parking lot of Richmond International Raceway, and scores of people on the outer periphery more than 100 yards from the stage could not hear.

"Louder! Louder!" they began chanting, and the cry spread across the crowd to Palin’s left. Some pointed skyward, urging that the volume be increased.

Palin stopped her remarks briefly and looked toward the commotion.

"I hope those protesters have the courage and honor to give veterans thanks for their right to protest," she said.

Some in the crowd tried to shout toward her what was really being said, but she couldn’t hear them.

[Thanks, Google & AP]

Here are two articles which describe the fear that I have regarding an Alaskan family that has a rather lengthy history of excessive abuse of power and ethics violations (hey, Todd’s in on this too!).  They both illustrate how Palin could very well be an un-worthy but capable successor to the evil that is Cheney.

These kinds of commentary should bring pause to any rational American.  Obviously McCain and the majority of the Republican election/political machine could care less.

But I care – We must resist, not as a last act of defiant desperation, but as the first act of change and creation.  Incite Hope!

Editorial: Palin’s Troopergate actions disturbing

04:12 PM CDT on Monday, October 13, 2008

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin claims the Troopergate investigation clears her of wrongdoing in the firing of her public safety commissioner, which it does not.

The state ethics panel investigation – a bipartisan effort started by a Legislature controlled by her own Republican party – found that though she was technically within her rights to fire the man, she violated state ethics law and abused her power in doing so.

Specifically, the report found, the governor allowed her husband, Todd, to strong-arm government employees in an effort to get someone to fire a state trooper, Michael Wooten, who was going through an ugly divorce with the governor’s sister. The state investigator rejected the Palin family’s claims that Trooper Wooten was a personal threat, concluding that the governor misused her authority "to advance a personal agenda."

Ms. Palin would be wise to quit trying to spin her way out of this mess. It would be far more plausible if she admitted error but said she and her husband acted out of fear – perhaps misplaced – for the family’s safety. But to claim vindication when the report is actually fairly damning should give even McCain-Palin supporters pause.

The temptation to use public power to settle private accounts bedevils all politicians. This Troopergate imbroglio is eerily reminiscent of the 1993 Travelgate scandal involving first lady Hillary Clinton. Her behind-the-scenes machinations against the White House Travel Office – engineering the dismissal of career employees, apparently for the benefit of the Clintons’ Arkansas cronies – were legal but unethical.

Just because something is legal on paper, of course, doesn’t make it right.

This story would be confined to local newspapers in the moose belt if the Alaska governor weren’t running to become vice president. Since she is, Americans have a right to expect that politicians asking for their votes will be good stewards of their trust.

Ms. Palin’s best move would be to assure voters that she and her husband take to heart a line from the Alaska report: "Compliance with the code of ethics is not optional."

[Thanks, Dallas Morning News]

And:

Palin Too Close for Comfort

It’s time to start taking Sarah Palin seriously.

Though the latest polls show the Obama-Biden ticket ahead, the Alaska governor is still uncomfortably close to becoming vice president of the United States. The thought should concentrate the mind of every American who remembers the abuse of executive power by the administration of Richard Nixon. Just look at what Palin has done, in a short time, with the authority delegated to her by Alaskans.

The "Troopergate" report, conducted by an independent investigator and released Friday by a bipartisan legislative committee, tells the tale. It documents the campaign that Palin and her husband Todd waged to get her former brother-in-law fired from the Alaska state troopers.

Palin did, indeed, have the authority to dismiss the state’s public safety commissioner, the report says. But she violated a state law, the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, which prohibits state officials from taking actions that benefit personal interest. According to the report: Palin abused her power as governor when she "knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."

I shudder to think of the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon at her beck and call.

The role played by Todd in carrying out his wife’s vendetta was highly unusual. He had no official duties in government. He acknowledged, however, that he made numerous calls to state officials to press his case against the governor’s ex-brother-in-law.

It’s been well reported that Todd Palin’s involvement in his wife’s official business unsettled some Alaskans. He has been known to sit in on the governor’s meetings, use her office for his own meetings and intervene in state business using his status as "First Gentleman." Clearly, he’s a man with a lot of time on his hands.

What if he assumed the same role in Washington? Imagine Todd in a town that has no use for snow machines (which he loves to ride) or work for commercial fishermen (of which he is one, during the summer months). What would he do? Would he follow the vice president to her White House office? Join her meetings in the Situation Room? Sit in on her daily national security briefings?

Where does Todd Palin stand on America anyway? Neither he nor Sarah Palin ever explained his seven-year membership in the Alaska Independence Party, a group that seeks a vote on secession from America. "I’m an Alaskan, not an American" was the slogan of the party’s founder, Joe Vogler, who also said "I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions" and "I won’t be buried under their damned flag." What made Todd Palin hitch his wagon to that anti-American train when Alaska offered the Democratic and Republican parties?

Troopergate shows the Palins to be small-bore people unable to distinguish selfish personal interests from official responsibilities. Imagine the power of the U.S. government at their disposal.

The prospect of Vice President Sarah Palin is no laughing matter.

By Colbert King |  October 13, 2008; 12:58 PM ET

[Thanks, Washington Post]