Despite significant evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign continues to assert that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the federal government "thanks but no thanks" to the now-famous bridge to an island in her home state.....
But Gov. Palin's claim comes with a serious caveat. She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere....
Why is this one issue such a big deal? Sen. McCain's anti-earmarks stance has been paramount to his campaign. The Arizona senator has blamed everything from the Minneapolis bridge collapse to Hurricane Katrina on Congress's willingness to stuff bills full of pork barrel spending.
As such, Gov. Palin's image as a "reformer" is part of the storyline the McCain campaign needs to complement the top of its ticket. Her quip about passing on the bridge and "building it ourselves" has been a staple of her stump...
At a rally today, Sen. McCain again asserted that Sen. Obama has requested nearly a billion in earmarks. In fact, the Illinois senator requested $311 million last year, according to the Associated Press, and none this year. In comparison, Gov. Palin has requested $750 million in her two years as governor -- which the AP says is the largest per-capita request in the nation.
Another word for what Gov. Palin is doing is, of course, lying.
Once again, her comical performance isn't the issue; of course she's a travesty as a national candidate, and the next six weeks will be filled with one gaffe after another, at least as far as the GOP allows her to speak openly. The issue, as it has always been, is McCain's decision to include her on the ticket. He vowed that the person he ultimately chose as his running mate would be the person best able to fulfill his responsibilities should something happen to him. He had months and months to find that person, and when the time came, he picked Palin. This is about judgment. This is about temperament, and this is about erratic behavior on the part of the man the GOP has chosen as their standard bearer.
UPDATE: Careful, some on the right are already wishing and hoping that the 72 year old four time cancer survivor doesn't even make it that long..
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