Everything wrong with Palin, in one diary, in 933 words

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Tuesday September 02, 2008 · 3:20 PM PDT

2008/09/02 · 15:20

The following reasons listed are non-partisan in nature. Following each section are lists of web pages used as sources for the information provided.

McCain's vetting process:

About 25 researchers were assigned to compile reports on individual candidates for Republican vice president nominee, using online resources. They did not interview any Alaskans in the state government or her neighbors during the process. A vetting team was only deployed to Alaska on the day before the announcement was made, which was the same day Palin filled out the standard 70 question questionnaire and went through a three hour interview.

Lieberman and Pawlenty came closest to being picked. In the case of the former, advisers had said that picking a pro-choice candidate would anger the base, and Karl Rove had called Lieberman and asked him to tell McCain he had withdrawn. In the case of the latter, they chose not to pick Pawlenty because they wanted someone "fresh," that the media had not been expecting for months. Perhaps this would have given valuable time for opposition researchers to find vulnerable lines upon which to attack, but they also wanted it to be a "surprise."

This alone hints that appearances in the media were more important than the actual issues, which is confirmed by campaign manager Rick Davis' quote: "This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates." Additionally, it turns out the McCain campaign lied about doing an FBI background check. That's against bureau policies.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/...
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/...

Troopergate:

Governor Palin allegedly fired the Public Safety Commissioner for refusing to fire a state trooper who was Palin's ex-brother-in-law. The state of Alaska has hired a public lawyer, who is currently trying to move the investigation from a panel made up of state legislators to a panel made up of Palin appointees.

http://www.adn.com/...

Executive privilege:

Like George W. Bush, Governor Palin claims executive privilege on e-mails when it comes to public records requests. Subject lines refer to Andrew Halcro, the Independent in the 2006 gubernatorial election that received 10% of the votes, and Dan Fagan, a radio talk show host critical of Palin's policies.

http://www.ktuu.com/...

Mayor of Wasilla:

Sarah Palin fired a police commissioner on political grounds for opposing a concealed gun law the NRA supported. She threatened to fire a librarian for refusing to give "full support" to the mayor after she was asked how the governor would go about banning books voters didn't like from Wasilla.

http://www.time.com/...

Alaskan Independence Party:

A video on YouTube shows Sarah Palin kicking off the Alaskan Independence Party 2008 Convention. She says she agrees with their economic policies and welcomes competition among political parties in Alaska, but she also says she agrees with that Alaska must be a "self-sufficient" state and she shares their "vision for the [state] constitution."

Though official records contradict, the Alaskan Independence Party itself claims that Sarah Palin was once a member, having attended a state convention in 1994. Her husband had been a member from 1995 through 2002. The Alaskan Independence Party advocates a vote on secession from the United States.

http://www.youtube.com/...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...

Military command experience:

On September 1, John McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds claimed that Sarah Palin possessed more "military command experience" than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined, due to the Alaskan National Guard. A quick check with the Cornell University Law School's copy of the United States Code shows that the biggest role the state governor performs in relation to these claims is assigning troops and units to the federal National Guard, which then may call on them in times of war or national emergency.

Tucker Bounds repeatedly claimed, despite anchor Campbell Brown's attempts to have him regain his sanity, that the Alaskan National Guard was under state control with regards to war in Iraq and thus had the necessary experience to even be commander-in-chief. The adjutant general of the Alaskan National Guard, Craig Campbell, agrees that although the state has control over the Alaskan National Guard during emergencies and national disasters, it plays no role in national defense activities.

In an interview last month, Palin stated, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." Meanwhile, Republicans have no problem contending that 20 months in the state executive branch is equivalent to 37 years in the Senate between Obama and Biden, including those that ran for president on Senate experience.

http://www.youtube.com/...
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/...
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/...
http://www.nydailynews.com/...

Earmarks and pork barreling:

Sarah Palin told a lie not even 650 words into her first campaign speech as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Although she said that she had fought against the $223 million "bridge to nowhere" project she derided as pork barreling, while running for the office of governor she took a "build-the-bridge" position and said that the term "bridge to nowhere" was insulting. During the time Palin held the office of mayor in the town of Wasilla with an estimated 9,000 residents, she secured $26.9 million in earmarks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

Post-publication updates:

Not only is the Troopergate investigation trying to be moved to a board composed of governor appointees, but the McCain campaign also may be trying to delay the report, due four days below the election, to prevent an October Surprise. As mentioned elsewhere on Daily Kos, a business owned by Sarah Palin and her husband was shut down by the state, leading to questions over her competence as manager of "the world's largest business," as Republican primary contender Mitt Romney would put it.

The town of Wasilla was left $20 million in debt after Sarah Palin left office. As governor, she used the power of line-item veto to slash state government funding for teenage mothers.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/...
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/...
http://www.politico.com/...
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/...

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