McCain Campaign's Damage Control of Palin Report Points to Vetting Problem

New York Times Points to Heavy Hand of Alaska Governor's Office in Troopergate

Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was the focus of a little more than Tina Fey's satire or David Brook's descriptive comments Friday, October 10. The Alaska state legislature received the report of independent investigator Steve Branchflower, who was hired by the legislature to look into possible Palin abuses of office in what has become known as Troopergate.

The Palin Report is being downplayed by the John McCain campaign. Before its release, McCain staffers were quick to point out that the investigation had been "hijacked" by Democrats. They say that the Alaska legislature had taken a policy issue between a governor and a subordinate and attempted to make it look as if inappropriate behavior was involved.

But Democrats aren't the only people intent on finding the truth about the matter of the firing of Alaska state Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, who claims that he was fired because he would not bow to the intimidation tactics of Governor Palin and her office to terminate the employment of State Trooper Mike Wooten. Alaska state Senate President Lyda Green, a Republican, who has had confrontations with Palin, states: "When you're the governor, you leave your household hat at home and you become governor."

The legislative council that voted for the investigation of Governor Palin was a bipartisan 12-member council and voted unanimously for the investigation.

The New York Times is reporting that the Palin Report reflects badly on the Alaska Governor. The Times maintains that Palin has not cooperated with the investigation as she promised. It has also been found that her various reasons for dismissing her Safety Commissioner are not bearing the weight of close scrutiny, either. Her claims that part of her reasoning was two unauthorized trips that Monegan took have been found to be untrue. The trips were authorized.